Poison Ink

A fast-paced emotional thriller. High school junior Sammi and her four best friends are beautiful outcasts who formed an unbreakable bond. At least, she thought their bond was unbreakable—until she backs out of getting the friendship tattoo they all agreed upon. When Sammi's friends go from being distant to completely unlike themselves—getting into serious trouble with drugs, sex, and violent altercations—she starts to wonder if maybe there is something evil about their tattoos. Sammi tries to stop them from fighting with another group of girls, and her former friends beat her so badly that she is hospitalized. Determined to discover the truth, Sammi investigates the tattoo shop and finds frightening and disturbing links to the occult. The story has explicit language and descriptions and some violent scenes. While the motives of the tattoo-artist bad guy are a bit unclear, it's easy to get past that and go along for the ride. Sammi's interactions with her friends reflect a deeper fear about changing relationships and being alone, and throughout the book, she must also deal with her parents' strained relationship. With a likable protagonist and an eerie plot, this novel will mesmerize fans of the supernatural.—Sharon Senser McKellar, Oakland Public Library, CA