Inkling

Ethan’s father is a famous graphic novelist, and everyone always assumes Ethan must be an amazing artist too – except he isn’t. So when Ethan discovers Inkling – an incredible, living ink blob who ‘eats’ the ink from books, posters and magazines, then creates brilliant pictures – Ethan figures all his struggles with drawing are over. And maybe Inkling can help Ethan’s dad too, who’s been struggling with writer’s block since Ethan’s mum died.

But Inkling is even more special than even Ethan realises. He doesn’t understand how he came to be, but he knows he’s here for a reason: there’s something he has to find… But time is running out, and what if the wrong people get their hands on him first?

This is a wonderfully inventive and unusual story about a family struggling to overcome a terrible loss, twisted together with a story about power and, in particular, the power of words. Inkling is hilarious and clever, taking on the personality of whatever genre he ‘reads’ while Ethan tries to figure out the moral dilemmas he’s suddenly facing and how to keep his family together. A fantastically told novel that, like Inkling myself, defies categorisation.