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Seven #4
Ink Me
Ink Me <> Paperback <> RichardScrimger <> OrcaBookPublishers
224 pages, Paperback
Published October 10, 2012
25 people are currently reading
331 people want to read
About the author
Richard Scrimger
35 books29 followersI was born with very little hair and very little feet and hands. They all grew together and I still have them, together with all my organs except tonsils. I do not have four children -- they have me and we all know it. I write and teach and talk about writing and other things. Actually, I talk a lot. I’m right handed, my car has a dent in the passenger side door, and my blood type is A-. The motto of South Carolina is Dum spiro spero.— success comes by breathing. I like black licorice and rice pudding and ratatouille and coffee. Lots of coffee. My hair usually needs cutting. How much more do you need to know about anybody?
I have been writing since 1996. No, that's not true. I wrote for years before that, but no one cared. Since 1996 I've published fifteen books for adults and children. You can read more about them somewhere else on this site. A few of the books did very well. Some came close. A couple didn't do well at all. My most recent offering is Ink Me, a tragicomedy about a tattoo gone wrong, told in supercool phonetic speak by our learning-disabled hero. Zomboy – an undead story – is due out next year. (My editor and I are arguing about certain scenes right now.) And I am writing a semi-graphic novel about kids who fall into a comic book.
Do you want more details? Really? Okay, then.
In 1996 I published my first novel, Crosstown (Toronto: The Riverbank Press), which was short-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award.
Humorous short pieces about my life as an at-home dad with four small children used to appear regularly in the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine, and can still be found fairly regularly on the back page of Today's Parent. I reworked some of this material into a full-length chunk of not-quite-non-fiction, which was published by HarperCollins as Still Life With Children.
I started writing children's fiction in 1998. Two middle-school novels, The Nose From Jupiter and The Way To Schenectady did well enough to require sequels. There are four Norbert books so far, and two Peelers.
My work has received a lot of attention in Canada and The United States. The Nose From Jupiter is a Canadian bestseller. It won a Mr Christie Book Award, was on most of the top ten lists and has been translated into a Scottish dozen languages (that’s less than 12). Bun Bun’s Birthday, From Charlie’s Point of View, Mystical Rose, and Into the Ravine made a variety of short lists and books of the year – Quill and Quire, Canadian Library Association, Globe and Mail, Chicago Public Library, Time Out NY (kids), blah blah. Ink Me is part of the “7” series – linked novels featuring seven grandsons with quests from their common grandfather. Pretty cool, eh? As my most recent book, it is my current favorite. But watch out for Zomboy next year. It’s a killer!
I have been writing since 1996. No, that's not true. I wrote for years before that, but no one cared. Since 1996 I've published fifteen books for adults and children. You can read more about them somewhere else on this site. A few of the books did very well. Some came close. A couple didn't do well at all. My most recent offering is Ink Me, a tragicomedy about a tattoo gone wrong, told in supercool phonetic speak by our learning-disabled hero. Zomboy – an undead story – is due out next year. (My editor and I are arguing about certain scenes right now.) And I am writing a semi-graphic novel about kids who fall into a comic book.
Do you want more details? Really? Okay, then.
In 1996 I published my first novel, Crosstown (Toronto: The Riverbank Press), which was short-listed for the City of Toronto Book Award.
Humorous short pieces about my life as an at-home dad with four small children used to appear regularly in the Globe & Mail and Chatelaine, and can still be found fairly regularly on the back page of Today's Parent. I reworked some of this material into a full-length chunk of not-quite-non-fiction, which was published by HarperCollins as Still Life With Children.
I started writing children's fiction in 1998. Two middle-school novels, The Nose From Jupiter and The Way To Schenectady did well enough to require sequels. There are four Norbert books so far, and two Peelers.
My work has received a lot of attention in Canada and The United States. The Nose From Jupiter is a Canadian bestseller. It won a Mr Christie Book Award, was on most of the top ten lists and has been translated into a Scottish dozen languages (that’s less than 12). Bun Bun’s Birthday, From Charlie’s Point of View, Mystical Rose, and Into the Ravine made a variety of short lists and books of the year – Quill and Quire, Canadian Library Association, Globe and Mail, Chicago Public Library, Time Out NY (kids), blah blah. Ink Me is part of the “7” series – linked novels featuring seven grandsons with quests from their common grandfather. Pretty cool, eh? As my most recent book, it is my current favorite. But watch out for Zomboy next year. It’s a killer!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
November 11, 2013
I struggled to rate this book. As an adult with good literacy skills, I appreciated the bold choice to write this book phonetically as a character-building tool. I really did feel Bunny's struggle to understand his world and his simple outlook on everything. My struggle to read this absolutely make me feel his struggle to write. I was completely engaged in Bunny's journey from beginning to end, and at the end I felt as I'm sure his parents and brother did about how everything turned out. For myself, I'd rate this around 3.5 stars.
As the parent of a hi-lo reader, this book was an unmitigated disaster that undid some of the huge strides and positive progress we have been working so very hard towards for the last several years. If I had known ahead of time that this book was written phonetically, I would have never given this book to my eldest. He loved the book, opted to read instead of taking advantage of what little video game time he gets, and asked to stay up past bedtime because he was so fully engaged. All of that is wonderful and amazing.
However, he took from this book that spelling and grammar are not important. He took from it that 'text speak' should be good enough for me and his teachers because it's good enough for a publisher. This book has resulted in a huge backslide in his reading because correctly written books are "too hard because they use real words" and "not easy like Ink Me." In addition to the shift in his attitude, he has gone back to misspelling words that he worked so hard to learn because reading them over and over in this book has confused him. I have always held the philosophy that any reading a reluctant reader does is good reading, and I have typically always given him pretty loose reins when it comes to books because he's so hard to engage, but this is a rare and probably isolated case of a book that has done demonstrable harm and very little good.
I am a fan of the Seven series and I do think this book is a good one, but I would recommend it only for readers with literacy skills that are strong enough to make the connection that the writing is a character building device to help us understand Bunny. I would not recommend it for readers who are reluctant because of difficulties with reading and writing.
As the parent of a hi-lo reader, this book was an unmitigated disaster that undid some of the huge strides and positive progress we have been working so very hard towards for the last several years. If I had known ahead of time that this book was written phonetically, I would have never given this book to my eldest. He loved the book, opted to read instead of taking advantage of what little video game time he gets, and asked to stay up past bedtime because he was so fully engaged. All of that is wonderful and amazing.
However, he took from this book that spelling and grammar are not important. He took from it that 'text speak' should be good enough for me and his teachers because it's good enough for a publisher. This book has resulted in a huge backslide in his reading because correctly written books are "too hard because they use real words" and "not easy like Ink Me." In addition to the shift in his attitude, he has gone back to misspelling words that he worked so hard to learn because reading them over and over in this book has confused him. I have always held the philosophy that any reading a reluctant reader does is good reading, and I have typically always given him pretty loose reins when it comes to books because he's so hard to engage, but this is a rare and probably isolated case of a book that has done demonstrable harm and very little good.
I am a fan of the Seven series and I do think this book is a good one, but I would recommend it only for readers with literacy skills that are strong enough to make the connection that the writing is a character building device to help us understand Bunny. I would not recommend it for readers who are reluctant because of difficulties with reading and writing.
August 18, 2018
Ink Me was okay. I didn't like the way it was written, as it just bugged me. I liked the idea of the series and think if I would have started it with the first book, I might have liked this book more. I just didn't like the characters or the reason he got the tattoo.
November 24, 2012
So far this year, it's one of the best I've read, any genre. Bias alert: it's in a series called Seven, and I've authored Devil's Pass, one of the books in the series. However, I should also point out that this book is not in the genres I usually read, so I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did, and the craft of writing in this book is at an extremely high level -- much is said with simple words. The story is equally compelling. Get ready to bust a gut with laughter and two pages later, swallow down a lump of sadness. Just started Jump Cut, the companion book to this one, and am loving it too.
August 31, 2018
The story is told from the perspective of Bunny and uses his grammar and way of speaking throughout. This was very difficult to read and I was very thankful I was reading it on my Kindle so I could use the text-to-speech option (which helped immensely with understanding what was written!). Not a book I'd recommend, but if you don't mind reading books with lots of spelling errors (intentionally, for storytelling reasons) then maybe you'd enjoy the book more than I did.
2.5 stars
2.5 stars
Read
September 11, 2014OK, so, Ink Me ... Well, if you've read the other reviews you'll know it's written phonetically. Here's how that went for me when I opened it:
Out loud - "Oh no! There's no way I can read this!"
In my head - 'You are so narrow-minded. You are an author. You should celebrate other author's efforts,' etc.
Then my boys intervened - you see we're reading Seven: The Series out loud, and we had just finished Jump Cut, which is the closest companion to this story (it's about Bunny's brother, and refers to Bunny fairly often). Anyway, of course the boys wanted me to read this to them and, of course, they didn't have to tackle the phonetic spelling since I was the one doing the reading.
So, first important point, the phonetic spelling would probably have stopped me from reading this book if it wasn't part of a series we were already committed to. Which is something to keep in mind, because as an author, you don't want somebody closing your book on the first page.
Second point. I get why the author used phonetic spelling. I understand it. But I still didn't like it, and I don't think it was necessary. Bunny was an engaging character, with a great voice. I understood his struggles with the world. I loved his unique viewpoint. This came through in his observations and thinking process. I don't think the misspelling was necessary.
Third point. The spelling did pull me out of the story many times. A good example was "one". The author never spelled the word "one" - he always used the numeral "1" - which, in the typeface of the book, was very close to "I". At first, I kept thinking "1" was "I" and, later, when I figured it out, there were places it still didn't work. "No one" for example, was always written No 1 - and I would always get confused and think it was the abbreviation for "Number 1" and then I'd be reading out loud, "Number one says ..." and would have to stop, and go back and try to figure out where I went wrong.
Last point. When you do something so different, and so noticeable, as a reader, I start analysing the way it's been done. There are a few words that just don't work phonetically. "Bourgeois" was one of them - the way it was written phonetically was off. Also, part of the story takes place at Sherway Gardens mall in Toronto. Bunny says something like "The bus sed sure way ..." But would he? I mean the correct spelling would have been right in front of him, on the bus. It would have said "Sherway" - right? So, in that case, wouldn't he have spelled it correctly? Do you see how picky this made me? Then, there was the occasional word that was spelled correctly - those started to stick out like sore thumbs.
I liked this book. My kids liked this book (they got to listen to it). This was skilfully written and the character was well-developed. There were complex and subtle emotions and contradictions exposed through the viewpoint of a developmentally delayed character. Excellent.
I just wish the phonetic spelling had been an idea the author and editor had discussed, and then decided against. I wish the flow of the book had been less interrupted for me.
Out loud - "Oh no! There's no way I can read this!"
In my head - 'You are so narrow-minded. You are an author. You should celebrate other author's efforts,' etc.
Then my boys intervened - you see we're reading Seven: The Series out loud, and we had just finished Jump Cut, which is the closest companion to this story (it's about Bunny's brother, and refers to Bunny fairly often). Anyway, of course the boys wanted me to read this to them and, of course, they didn't have to tackle the phonetic spelling since I was the one doing the reading.
So, first important point, the phonetic spelling would probably have stopped me from reading this book if it wasn't part of a series we were already committed to. Which is something to keep in mind, because as an author, you don't want somebody closing your book on the first page.
Second point. I get why the author used phonetic spelling. I understand it. But I still didn't like it, and I don't think it was necessary. Bunny was an engaging character, with a great voice. I understood his struggles with the world. I loved his unique viewpoint. This came through in his observations and thinking process. I don't think the misspelling was necessary.
Third point. The spelling did pull me out of the story many times. A good example was "one". The author never spelled the word "one" - he always used the numeral "1" - which, in the typeface of the book, was very close to "I". At first, I kept thinking "1" was "I" and, later, when I figured it out, there were places it still didn't work. "No one" for example, was always written No 1 - and I would always get confused and think it was the abbreviation for "Number 1" and then I'd be reading out loud, "Number one says ..." and would have to stop, and go back and try to figure out where I went wrong.
Last point. When you do something so different, and so noticeable, as a reader, I start analysing the way it's been done. There are a few words that just don't work phonetically. "Bourgeois" was one of them - the way it was written phonetically was off. Also, part of the story takes place at Sherway Gardens mall in Toronto. Bunny says something like "The bus sed sure way ..." But would he? I mean the correct spelling would have been right in front of him, on the bus. It would have said "Sherway" - right? So, in that case, wouldn't he have spelled it correctly? Do you see how picky this made me? Then, there was the occasional word that was spelled correctly - those started to stick out like sore thumbs.
I liked this book. My kids liked this book (they got to listen to it). This was skilfully written and the character was well-developed. There were complex and subtle emotions and contradictions exposed through the viewpoint of a developmentally delayed character. Excellent.
I just wish the phonetic spelling had been an idea the author and editor had discussed, and then decided against. I wish the flow of the book had been less interrupted for me.
December 21, 2013
This series has no particular reading order and I picked this one next because two of the books take place within Canada so I thought I'd get to one of those next and this author was totally new to me; I'd never even heard of him before. I've highly enjoyed every book in this series so far but have to say this one did not do much for me. The significance of the Grandfather is quickly forgotten in this entry after Bernard (everyone calls him Bunny) gets the tattoo as instructed in the will. Every now nd then he is mentioned but we have no idea what purpose this quest had for Bunny. His tattoo quickly gets him (a white boy) accepted into an all black street gang and involved in gang activities, mostly reckless but harmless, until a deal goes down involving drugs, guns and money. The book starts with Bunny being asked to write his account of what happened in a police station and this is how the book proceeds; Bunny's written narrative. The book is hard to read as Bunny is somewhat illiterate and the writing is full of spelling mistakes and words are written in his own vernacular. Bunny is also not quite ... right. Nothing is ever said what is wrong with him. But he continually refers to himself as "stupid" and not smart enough; he also has a fixation with counting mundane things. My impression was that he may have been autistic. I didn't find the story very believable as Bunny obviously needs to be watched over to some degree and his parents leave him to his own devices to the extent that it is neglectful, his acceptance into the gang is questionable and how he gets away with giving the impression he's someone he's not is also. On top of all that the question of why this all happens in the first place is too pat of an explanation, quickly accepted by all. I enjoyed parts of it, especially the race relations when the black gang accepts Bunny as a member and Bunny's colourless (raceless) viewpoint of people, which is often a symptom of autism, and his naive yet profound race questions.
From this point my next book in the series is quite obvious as Bunny has a brother who has his own quest and he is mentioned often in this book with his texts to Bunny playing a major role in what transpires in this story. So next up will be Ted Staunton's Jump Cut.
From this point my next book in the series is quite obvious as Bunny has a brother who has his own quest and he is mentioned often in this book with his texts to Bunny playing a major role in what transpires in this story. So next up will be Ted Staunton's Jump Cut.
December 9, 2012
What a remarkable book. I didn't know what to think at first but soon enough fell under the spell of the frank narration of Bunny (Bernard). Part of the Seven Series (a clever approach of conjoined books designed to engage young readers) "Ink Me" follows the adventures of one of seven grandsons, each bequeathed with a 'task' set by their departed Grandpa as part of his will.
But this is Bunny's story and Bunny is a special needs young man. Bunny follows Grandpa's directions and goes for a tattoo. Mayhem, suspense, mystery and discovery follows. And because Bunny is our narrator, we can only see his world through his eyes, his straightforward and unblinking eyes. And through his simple and direct narration. Like him, we discover that the world is not as it seems -- even the world of gangs and their turf.
Bunny can't spell too well. So as he "rites" his story for the "pleece", and as we readers crack his code of language, we become privy to other codes. Codes of friendship. Codes of tacit convention. And codes of sacrifice.
Best part of the book? The brilliant surprise towards the end. Richard Scrimger, I DID NOT see that coming. Well done.
Will YA readers get this? Oh, I think so. It will be a pity if only YA readers spend time with Bunny's story. Book snobs beware -- when a writer breaks the rules of spelling and grammar, there's likely much more at work (for example, Wm. Faulkner.) And with "Ink Me" there is indeed much more.
This book was one of my favourite reads of 2012.
But this is Bunny's story and Bunny is a special needs young man. Bunny follows Grandpa's directions and goes for a tattoo. Mayhem, suspense, mystery and discovery follows. And because Bunny is our narrator, we can only see his world through his eyes, his straightforward and unblinking eyes. And through his simple and direct narration. Like him, we discover that the world is not as it seems -- even the world of gangs and their turf.
Bunny can't spell too well. So as he "rites" his story for the "pleece", and as we readers crack his code of language, we become privy to other codes. Codes of friendship. Codes of tacit convention. And codes of sacrifice.
Best part of the book? The brilliant surprise towards the end. Richard Scrimger, I DID NOT see that coming. Well done.
Will YA readers get this? Oh, I think so. It will be a pity if only YA readers spend time with Bunny's story. Book snobs beware -- when a writer breaks the rules of spelling and grammar, there's likely much more at work (for example, Wm. Faulkner.) And with "Ink Me" there is indeed much more.
This book was one of my favourite reads of 2012.
March 20, 2013
Seven grandsons were given a task to complete from their now deceased grandfather. Bunny has received his task and it was to get a tattoo. Simple, right? Well that's what Bunny thought until he ends up befriending a person named Jaden and becoming part of a gang. As he gets closer with the gang, he realizes that they're not who they appear to be. Bunny must chose between his new friends that do bad things and what he knows to be right. Bunny chooses his friends and ends up living by the motto his grandfather told him: "together we fly". Bunny believes and hopes he made the right decision.
I picked this book to read because it was new in the public library so I checked it out. I finished this book because I like how the author made the book in his perspective and how the writing of the book/wording of the book fitted Bunny's personality and learning style.
I would recommend this book to Ohm because I think it'd be an easy book to understand and since he likes action, he would have plenty of it by reading this book.
Ink Me was a unique book because of the way it's written. It's written in the format of a boy who can't write showing us the differences of everyone. This book talks about what happens all around the world even if it's things we don't know about. Ink Me is an amazing book.
I picked this book to read because it was new in the public library so I checked it out. I finished this book because I like how the author made the book in his perspective and how the writing of the book/wording of the book fitted Bunny's personality and learning style.
I would recommend this book to Ohm because I think it'd be an easy book to understand and since he likes action, he would have plenty of it by reading this book.
Ink Me was a unique book because of the way it's written. It's written in the format of a boy who can't write showing us the differences of everyone. This book talks about what happens all around the world even if it's things we don't know about. Ink Me is an amazing book.
October 4, 2012
I was very excited when I first heard about this series and was happy to receive this book from Orca for review.
The story is told in the voice of the main character, Bunny, and as such we have to try and read through his spelling and grammar mistakes. At first I found this very difficult but after a couple of chapters I got to like this, it added to my understanding of Bunny and his character.
The story is set in my neighbourhood of Mimico (southern Etobicoke) so I had a good grasp on the geography of the story which helped me with the atmosphere of the novel. I likely see kids like Bunny and his friends every day at my work in our local high school.
It's frightening to see how one person's mistake can alter the lives of so many people in such huge way. There were hints of what Bunny's cousins and brother are tasked with and look forward to reading the other six books in this set.
The story is told in the voice of the main character, Bunny, and as such we have to try and read through his spelling and grammar mistakes. At first I found this very difficult but after a couple of chapters I got to like this, it added to my understanding of Bunny and his character.
The story is set in my neighbourhood of Mimico (southern Etobicoke) so I had a good grasp on the geography of the story which helped me with the atmosphere of the novel. I likely see kids like Bunny and his friends every day at my work in our local high school.
It's frightening to see how one person's mistake can alter the lives of so many people in such huge way. There were hints of what Bunny's cousins and brother are tasked with and look forward to reading the other six books in this set.
October 23, 2012
When Bunny attends the reading of his grandfather’s will he is surprised that his grandfather has asked him to get a tattoo that his grandfather did not get the opportunity to get during his own lifetime. Bunny is a nice, well-meaning boy but he doesn’t always understand all the events that happen around him. However he decides to get the tattoo. Unfortunately the tattoo shop picked by his grandfather has changed hands and there is a slight mixup – unknown to Bunny his tattoo identifies him as a member of a black gang with one murder to his credit. Bunny relies on the advice his grandfather has given him during their experiences together to deal with this situation with novel and comical reasoning.
July 23, 2020
2020 Review: I forgot how fun this book was to read! The end, with a few twists, surprised me, even though I’ve read it once before. Well done!!
2016 Review: This is by far my favourite of the first 4 books that I've read in this series. The author, Richard Scrimger, takes a huge risk by placing readers inside the mind of a 15 year old boy with huge cognitive issues. Alas we have the character of Bunny. Everything that Bunny writes is spelled out phonetically. This forced me to slow down my reading to fully understand the story. Bunny gets caught up in a gang (not unheard of for young kids). They accept him for who he is, and he repays them by staying loyal to them.
The biggest flaw of this book is the fact that a 15 year old is able to get a tattoo without any parent present.
2016 Review: This is by far my favourite of the first 4 books that I've read in this series. The author, Richard Scrimger, takes a huge risk by placing readers inside the mind of a 15 year old boy with huge cognitive issues. Alas we have the character of Bunny. Everything that Bunny writes is spelled out phonetically. This forced me to slow down my reading to fully understand the story. Bunny gets caught up in a gang (not unheard of for young kids). They accept him for who he is, and he repays them by staying loyal to them.
The biggest flaw of this book is the fact that a 15 year old is able to get a tattoo without any parent present.
September 28, 2012
Ted Staunton's Jump Cut set a new standard for the Seven series and Richard Scrimger in Ink Me ain't letting us down with this marvellously inventive novel that truly gives voice to Bunny O'Toole, younger brother of Spencer, and a kid who is marginalized by being different because as he tells us, "he's a dummy". Perhaps to the outside world but Scrimger's absolutely fantastic first-person narrative brilliantly empowers Bunny by letting him tell his very wild story in his own very distinct fashion - you have to read it to believe but this is one fabulous novel!
January 2, 2016
I read this as part of a book club. I really didn't like the book, but I did meet the author and he was just pretty weird. However, one thing he did with us was have a draw on whose name could be featured in his next book. My name was drawn, and I had to send him an email with my hobbies, and things that I liked, but there's no way I'm reading the other book because this one was so boring, so if anyone has read the book he published after Ink Me, tell me if my name is in it. :/
May 24, 2015
Written in YA slang. Since I am used to reading this type of writing, it wasn't hard to read. Interesting book about a young boy trying to carry out a task from his grandfather's will. Would be interested in reading the other books in the series.
December 27, 2012
The writing style and poor grammar are exactly what is needed to draw you into the interesting world of Bunny. Great read.
November 15, 2013
This whole book is written with grammar and spelling worse than my kindergartner. I couldn't even get past the fist chapter.
May 31, 2017
Ink Me, A Humorous Book With an Interesting Character
To start off this review, Ink Me is one of the books from the series “Seven” made by multiple authors. The basic plot of the series is that a grandfather of seven grandkids David Mclean, has passed away and upon death he gives his grandchildren odd and different tasks for each child.
In Ink me, the story is about Bunny, (real name Bernard) a teenage boy who considers or knows himself as a person of low IQ or special needs, is asked by his deceased grandfather to get a tattoo in a shady part of the city that is unknown to him. In that certain part of the city, there is the issue of different rival gangs that walk the streets where guns, drugs, and violence are common things in life there. Upon getting a tattoo, people start acting a little off when they see bunny’s tattoo which he is unaware that it is not just any regular tattoo. After an event involving a fight, Bunny meets a boy named Jaden who sees Bunny’s tattoo and tells him he is also a member of “Posse”, confused, Bunny later finds himself part of a gang.
As you may have seen from the other reviews, the book is written phonetically to represent Bunny's illiteracy, which I think is an interesting idea. It may take a little while to get used to it but once you do, the rest of the book is easily more understandable.
I think this book properly captures the idea of gangs where the gangs also include young teenagers like in real life. One of the events in this book is a dealing between two gangs which bunny is in one of them. One gang is offering guns for money however, the other gang does not plan to give any money and plans to just take it. This event does often happen around the world but mostly with drugs.
My personal opinion on this book is that being a high school student myself, I found that this book was a lot more interesting due to the idea of gangs and where Bunny, a white teenager is accepted in a gang where the majority were blacks. I always had an interest in criminal groups and vigilante groups kind of like superheros and villains except more modern and realistic so the plot involving gangs caught my eye.
I recommend this book for readers in high school as I think this book would definitely be more interesting to them like it was to me. In the current society, high school students sometime tend to be rebellious and be more into gang type stuff so I think this would be a more interesting book as they can feel a little related to it.
To start off this review, Ink Me is one of the books from the series “Seven” made by multiple authors. The basic plot of the series is that a grandfather of seven grandkids David Mclean, has passed away and upon death he gives his grandchildren odd and different tasks for each child.
In Ink me, the story is about Bunny, (real name Bernard) a teenage boy who considers or knows himself as a person of low IQ or special needs, is asked by his deceased grandfather to get a tattoo in a shady part of the city that is unknown to him. In that certain part of the city, there is the issue of different rival gangs that walk the streets where guns, drugs, and violence are common things in life there. Upon getting a tattoo, people start acting a little off when they see bunny’s tattoo which he is unaware that it is not just any regular tattoo. After an event involving a fight, Bunny meets a boy named Jaden who sees Bunny’s tattoo and tells him he is also a member of “Posse”, confused, Bunny later finds himself part of a gang.
As you may have seen from the other reviews, the book is written phonetically to represent Bunny's illiteracy, which I think is an interesting idea. It may take a little while to get used to it but once you do, the rest of the book is easily more understandable.
I think this book properly captures the idea of gangs where the gangs also include young teenagers like in real life. One of the events in this book is a dealing between two gangs which bunny is in one of them. One gang is offering guns for money however, the other gang does not plan to give any money and plans to just take it. This event does often happen around the world but mostly with drugs.
My personal opinion on this book is that being a high school student myself, I found that this book was a lot more interesting due to the idea of gangs and where Bunny, a white teenager is accepted in a gang where the majority were blacks. I always had an interest in criminal groups and vigilante groups kind of like superheros and villains except more modern and realistic so the plot involving gangs caught my eye.
I recommend this book for readers in high school as I think this book would definitely be more interesting to them like it was to me. In the current society, high school students sometime tend to be rebellious and be more into gang type stuff so I think this would be a more interesting book as they can feel a little related to it.
November 14, 2017
“Ink Me” the fourth book in the “Seven” series, all written by different authors continues with Bunny (Bernard) a mentally challenged fifteen-year-old whose deceased grandfather has tasked him with getting a tattoo which he finds as strange as his brother Spence’s quest to be kissed by an old film star. Not only does he get a tattoo at the Ink Tank but after rescuing a teen named Jaden from being bullied he quickly discovers it’s his ticket into joining the 15 Street gang who hang out at a local gym.
Big with fast reflexes Bunny’s not only taught to fight, but makes friends with members of the gang naively revealing details about his brother’s travels in northern Ontario; an item of interest in a world that deals in guns, drugs and selling information. But when Bunny gets involved in a shady deal that goes wrong, he not only begins to recognize the danger he’s gotten himself into but must choose between loyalty to his friends or finding a way to get himself out of a bad situation.
With a uniquely inventive style of narrating, Bunny’s dialogue distinctive as he’s mentally challenged, the plot quickly heats up when he becomes involved with the 15 Street gang not only joining Jaden in spraying over the Angel’s monograms on the brick walls within their turf, but getting involved in a dangerous deal that could mean imprisonment if caught by the police. Skilfully Richard Scrimger even intertwines details from “Jump Cut” into Bunny’s story clarifying unanswered questions from the previous book. Yet the power and suspense in this plot lies not only in the gangs’ shady deals but in Bunny’s unquenchable desire to have friends and be accepted and the lengths he will go to achieve it. Filled with humor from Bunny’s acceptance into an all black gang, his bouts in the gym and Jaden’s revelation the plot progresses quickly and smoothly to a surprising ending.
Bunny is big, white and a loner who has difficulty making sense of the world around him while hating that everyone thinks of him as dumb. A caring individual with quick reflexes he is protective of anyone being bullied and will jump in to help an underdog like Jaden who was defenseless against one of the Mimico Angels. Jaden is daring and confident, becoming friends with Bunny and seeing the best in him. It is these two characters and others that breath complexity, realism and passion into this story.
I liked “Ink Me” with its innovative plot and colourful characters and I look forward to reading the last books in the Seven series.
Big with fast reflexes Bunny’s not only taught to fight, but makes friends with members of the gang naively revealing details about his brother’s travels in northern Ontario; an item of interest in a world that deals in guns, drugs and selling information. But when Bunny gets involved in a shady deal that goes wrong, he not only begins to recognize the danger he’s gotten himself into but must choose between loyalty to his friends or finding a way to get himself out of a bad situation.
With a uniquely inventive style of narrating, Bunny’s dialogue distinctive as he’s mentally challenged, the plot quickly heats up when he becomes involved with the 15 Street gang not only joining Jaden in spraying over the Angel’s monograms on the brick walls within their turf, but getting involved in a dangerous deal that could mean imprisonment if caught by the police. Skilfully Richard Scrimger even intertwines details from “Jump Cut” into Bunny’s story clarifying unanswered questions from the previous book. Yet the power and suspense in this plot lies not only in the gangs’ shady deals but in Bunny’s unquenchable desire to have friends and be accepted and the lengths he will go to achieve it. Filled with humor from Bunny’s acceptance into an all black gang, his bouts in the gym and Jaden’s revelation the plot progresses quickly and smoothly to a surprising ending.
Bunny is big, white and a loner who has difficulty making sense of the world around him while hating that everyone thinks of him as dumb. A caring individual with quick reflexes he is protective of anyone being bullied and will jump in to help an underdog like Jaden who was defenseless against one of the Mimico Angels. Jaden is daring and confident, becoming friends with Bunny and seeing the best in him. It is these two characters and others that breath complexity, realism and passion into this story.
I liked “Ink Me” with its innovative plot and colourful characters and I look forward to reading the last books in the Seven series.
September 5, 2018
This book is part of the Sevens series. The main character named Bunny's grandfather passes away. He leaves behind a quest for each of his grandchildren. Bunny's task was to get a tattoo of the number 15 with a candle. Bunny meets a gang member because of his tattoo. He is asked to join the gang and he does. The gang practices UFC fighting inside a warehouse and is also involved in a war with another gang. Throughout the rest of the story, Bunny discovers the real meaning of his tattoo.
I would recommend this book because it is an action packed thriller. I liked the main character Bunny because he is clueless and does not realize he is part of the gang. It is funny because Bunny does not know how to spell and so the author uses misspelled words throughout the book. It was easy to read. People who like the "I Am Number Four" series would like this book because there is a lot of action in both books.
I would recommend this book because it is an action packed thriller. I liked the main character Bunny because he is clueless and does not realize he is part of the gang. It is funny because Bunny does not know how to spell and so the author uses misspelled words throughout the book. It was easy to read. People who like the "I Am Number Four" series would like this book because there is a lot of action in both books.
February 9, 2018
The fact that the grammar is terrible because Bunny's writing skills are horrible is a very brave decision. On one hand, you have the Grammar Nazis who will start a book burning convention just for 'Ink Me'. And on the other hand, you have people who can care less about grammar and just want that story. Obviously you can fit in between, but that's beside the point. I am of the second hand, a person who simply wants a good narrative. And they delivered...most of the time.
Pros:
-Bunny is relatable on at least some level in every scene
-The possy and the character arc of the members is fairly decent
-Jaden/Jade is a very well designed character
Cons:
-Grammar sometimes made sense that don't make any sentences
This is my first book in the Seven Series, and it was a good enough start to pull me in. I will read 'Last Message' next.
Pros:
-Bunny is relatable on at least some level in every scene
-The possy and the character arc of the members is fairly decent
-Jaden/Jade is a very well designed character
Cons:
-Grammar sometimes made sense that don't make any sentences
This is my first book in the Seven Series, and it was a good enough start to pull me in. I will read 'Last Message' next.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2022
Bunny who is very trusting but can look out for himself gets caught up in a gang without knowing it. He's gotten a tattoo but there was a mix-up. Bunny doesn't mind because he's making friends and he's a part of something. When Bunny sees a young man being beat up he steps in and when Jared sees Bunny's tattoo he welcomes him into the 15. Bunny doesn't understand a lot of what's going on but he gets to fight in an actual ring at a gym which he enjoys. He's fast and is proud when others acknowledge his abilities. He enjoys the guys. He has no idea of what it means to be in a gang or what he's gotten himself into. It doesn't become real until he realizes what is going on but by then it's too late....the police are chasing him.
December 29, 2020
I won’t be recommending this book. I teach high school and have a hard enough time convincing kids to read without giving them something they would struggle to read. This book bugged me for a couple of reasons. It’s part of a series where 7 grandsons get tasks from their deceased grandpa. The others get trips to Africa and Spain and this kid gets a tattoo? Please. And then he gets sucked into gang life and by the end is in jail and happy about it. Thanks grandpa. Ugh! Add to that the phonetic spelling and it’s a big NO for me. It’s too bad because the story has potential but the struggle to read it isn’t worth it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 9, 2024
While I love the concept of the series, and have loved the other books in it that I have read, I am not a fan of this one. I am not a fan of the phonetic spelling and believe that it would not be good for youth - especially those with any struggles with reading or spelling. I am also not a fan of the main character portrayal. It would have been nice to see this character's strengths instead of all of his shortcomings, and self put-downs. In my opinion, it doesn't fit well with the rest of the series (I have currently read 5 of the 7).
February 5, 2018
The 4th in the series of 7. Bunny goes to get the tattoo his grandfather assigned to him. Bunny learns about trusting your gut, standing by yo9ur friends, and how sometimes things just happen. Bunny is "different" and "not smart" according to himself and others in the book and his voice is written in strange, inconsistent phonetics. I teach 2nd grade so I read all sorts of spelling but I found it exhausting to read Bunny's part of the story, which is most of the book.
August 26, 2021
So: this book had been on my tbr for sooo long.
i had a read another one in the series but wasn’t really looking forward to this one. finally i decided to get it over with.
at first it was very hard to read this because of the numerous spelling errors, but you get used to it.
the plot twists put into the book were unexpected, so was the ending!
all in all, this book was good and did surpass my expectations.
i had a read another one in the series but wasn’t really looking forward to this one. finally i decided to get it over with.
at first it was very hard to read this because of the numerous spelling errors, but you get used to it.
the plot twists put into the book were unexpected, so was the ending!
all in all, this book was good and did surpass my expectations.
November 21, 2022
STUNNING AND HEARTFELT
I read this novel back in middle school and absolutely devoured it. It had a captivating plot and was very fast-paced. I loved every second of it, and I connected with most of the characters. There were lots of good twists and turns in between, which made this a 5-star for me!
I highly recommend this one, to YOU.
I read this novel back in middle school and absolutely devoured it. It had a captivating plot and was very fast-paced. I loved every second of it, and I connected with most of the characters. There were lots of good twists and turns in between, which made this a 5-star for me!
I highly recommend this one, to YOU.
May 12, 2020
The story was okay, but the author elected to use the protagonist's spelling throughout the book. Too difficult to read, even for a special educator who is used to reading inventive spelling.
November 6, 2021
I didn't like the way it was written. I didn't like the ending.
May 9, 2022
The story wasn't terrible but the writing style just destroyed it. There are so many other ways to communicate this idea without writing an entire book this way...
Currently reading
October 12, 2022I CAN'T read the book
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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