ARC Review: Rain by Amanda Sun

Title: Rain (The Paper Gods #2)
Author: Amanda Sun
Release Date: 24th June 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Find on: Goodreads, Amazon

Quick Review: American Katie Green has decided to stay in Japan. She's started to build a life in the city of Shizuoka, and she can't imagine leaving behind her friends, her aunt and especially Tomohiro, the guy she's fallen in love with. But her return is not as simple as she thought. She's flunking out of Japanese school and committing cultural faux pas wherever she goes. Tomohiro is also struggling—as a Kami, his connection to the ancient gods of Japan and his power to bring drawings to life have begun to spiral out of control.

When Tomo decides to stop drawing, the ink finds other ways to seep into his life—blackouts, threatening messages and the appearance of unexplained sketches. Unsure how to help Tomo, Katie turns to an unexpected source for help—Jun, her former friend and a Kami with an agenda of his own. But is Jun really the ally he claims to be? In order to save themselves, Katie and Tomohiro must unravel the truth about Tomo's dark ancestry, as well as Katie's, and confront one of the darkest gods in Japanese legend.

Detailed Review: I have that urge to re-read this book again. And I just finished reading it a few hours ago.

Have you ever had a book that made a huge impact on you and you can's stop thinking about it? Rain was one of these books. 

The characters themselves, the culture, the story, the setting. Everything begs to be re-lived again. And it was so hard to move on from Rain.

Maybe it was the characters, the romance between Tomo and Katie. I couldn't help but shiver most of the time when Tomo and Katie were together. And there was just that one time when I felt my heart break into two when they were almost torn from each other. 

Katie is one of the best heroines out there, living out of her comfort zone, and not backing down even when she's scared. She has a fighting spirit. And that's what kept her alive throughout the book. Not only does she have Tomo and his powers to worry about, she has to worry about being sent to international school as her vocabulary didn't meet expectations. But still, she worked hard and did everything she could to solve the problems.

Rain had the best character development, especially for Jun and Shiori. In this book, you see Jun's true colours when he loses control of his powers and reveals who he truly is. Shiori showed a huge change of character. We get to know her more in Rain as she starts making more appearances in the book. There's more to her soft and delicate appearance than she lets on. To be honest, I disliked her in this book (she was so MEAN to Katie I felt like killing her, and there was just one part where I got a feeling of satisfaction because she honestly deserved it).

Maybe it was the rich culture that pulled me in. I love Japan. I've been there twice and I loved it there. Japan is everything from fun to amazing to heaven. Reading Ink right before jumping into Rain only immersed me deeper into Japan's rich tradition and mythology. This book may even be one of the factors that make me love Japan even more. Besides, you get to learn Japanese while reading Rain. Kendo also makes my heart pound and blood heat because even when it doesn't seem like it, it plays a huge part in this book.

Maybe it was the story itself. It was made of so many layers. The top layer covered many more layers underneath, mostly secrets. Secrets about Jun's past and his true identity. Secrets about Tomo's loss of control over his powers. Secrets about Katie's ink. And you wouldn't want to miss a single thing about them.

But overall, I loved Rain as much as I loved Ink. It's definitely a great read if you want to read books in a different setting and culture. We read diverse books, right? 

If you missed my review on Ink, click HERE.

For our interview with the author, click HERE.

Brief Review: Amanda Sun, you are an amazing writer and storyteller. You have left a huge impact on me with your words and I can't begin to express my love for you for writing Rain. I can't tell you how often I think of Japan now after reading your book. Well-developed characters, complex storyline, a beautiful country with a rich culture is what makes this book as good as it was. I couldn't have asked for a better sequel to such an awesome book.

Final Rating: 5/5 'Totally Amazing!'

Your Reviewer:

An Interview with Amanda Sun, author of INK!!!

This is really one of the times when me (Elicia) and Chloe get really excited to interview an author! We've read Amanda Sun's INK and found it amazing! We wanted to personally know her so... We asked her and she agreed to let us interview her!

*APPLAUSE, CHEERS*

*DRUMROLL*

Are you ready?!?

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1

ACTION!

1. Will there be a manga for Ink? 

There aren't any plans currently, but how cool would that be? I love manga and I think the cinematics and style of the genre would lend itself well to INK. I do get asked sometimes why I wrote INK as a novel and not a manga, and there a couple reasons for that. First, I'm a huge YA fan myself and wanted to write what I love. Secondly, I wanted to bring the world of manga and Japanese storytelling to the YA world. Maybe some people will read INK and then get into manga, or read INK and then get into YA. I'm glad my publisher included illustrations in INK because I get to live somewhere in between both worlds. :)

2. Which character in Ink best defines you?

That's a hard question, because a little piece of me goes into each of my characters. They are a mix of themselves and facets of myself, so I can identify with al
l of them to an extent. I think probably Tomohiro best defines me, because he's the artist in the story. He wants to create and express himself through his art. He's dissatisfied with the lot life has given him, and he wants to be more. He wants his life to matter. He values his close friends, but he's quiet, withdrawn, and likes to ponder the abstract. So I'd have to say Tomo and I have a lot in common. ^_^

3. What do you love about Japan? 

Everything! Haha. I lived in Osaka in high school, and the experience changed how I saw the world. Japan has its societal challenges, like every country, but I think there's a tendency there to consider other's needs and act thoughtfully toward others. On a less abstract level, I love the food, music, the cherry blossoms, and the TV dramas. *laughs* I wrote a lot about food in INK because I wanted to show that there's far more to Japanese cuisine than just sushi.

 

4. What can we expect in Rain? 

RAIN goes deeper into Katie and Tomo's history, and the origins of the ink. There is more mythology and more strange ink happenings, and I think RAIN is also very much Jun's book--we learn a lot more about him and why he's made the choices he has. Katie and Tomo will find themselves challenged to find a way to fight against the dark destiny of the ink. It's out in April 2014, and I hope you look forward to it! ^_^
 

5. How would you feel if Ink won a literary award?

Oh, gosh. Well, I would be really grateful! I think what's most important to me is that connection between reader and author. I like to know that someone has read my work and found a common understanding there, or a common experience. Books allows us to challenge and confirm our values and our goals in life, and winning a literary award would mean that many people had found truth in my work, so that would be very encouraging and validating. ^_^

6. Have you ever thought of co-writing a book with another author? If yes, who?

I have so much admiration for those who co-write books because I can't imagine how difficult it must be to incorporate both literary voices into one novel. I loved Will Grayson, Will Grayson, where John Green and David Levithan alternated chapters, and I think that's a great approach as well. If I'm dreaming, though, I might as well dream big. I wish I could work with Neil Gaiman on a project. He has a way of thinking about things that opens up so many creative possibilities.

7. Which character would you like to cosplay the most?

From INK? I've always wanted to cosplay Tomo-pony. For those who don't know, I have a custom My Little Pony version of Tomohiro. You can see him as my tumblr avatar (amandasunbooks.tumblr.com), and he sometimes pops up on Facebook.com/AmandaSunBooks or Twitter (@Amanda_Sun). I think it would be fun to make a ginjinka (humanization) of Tomo-pony. ^_^

8. If Ink was made into a movie, what would be the first thing you would do? Scream, shout, cry...etc.

Probably cry. I cry over everything. XD A couple weeks ago I was in the middle of RAIN edits, and I just started weeping because I'm so thrilled to be sharing my writing with readers. I also weep over commercials and glistening dew on flowers and things like that. So yes, crying would be first! Haha! Actually, I keep seeing these tweets from John Green about how he is crying everyday on the set of The Fault in Our Stars movie, and I think, yep, that would be my response too. ^_^

9. How did you develop the idea of Ink and it's characters involved?

INK came from a couple different sources. First, I've always been really interested in Japanese mythology and wanted to write a story combining that with my time spent as an exchange student in Japan. Secondly, I majored in Archaeology at university, and I learned that in Egyptian hieroglyphic, most snake hieroglyphs were drawn with lines chiseled through them, in case the snakes came alive on the tomb walls. I loved the idea of ink coming to life in a dangerous way. The two ideas combined in my head, and thus INK was born. XD

10. Hmmm... If you were able to come to Malaysia for a book tour for your book, Ink... Would you accept??? We would definitely LOVE 
to host with you!!!

I would love to visit Malaysia someday! One of my closest friends growing up had a lot of family in Malaysia, since her dad grew up there. It is a beautiful country, so fingers crossed for someday! :)

Check out Amanda's books, INK and SHADOW!

Click here to check out my review of INK!!!

ABOUT AMANDA SUN:

I’m a YA author and proud Nerdfighter. I was born in Deep River, Canada, a very small town without traffic lights or buses, and where stranger safety is comprised of what to do if you see a bear—or skunk. I started reading fantasy novels at 4 and writing as soon as I could hold a pencil. Hopefully my work’s improved since then.

​In university I took English, Linguistics, and Asian History, before settling into Archaeology, because I loved learning about the cultures and stories of ancient people. Of course, I didn’t actually become an archaeologist—I have an intense fear of spiders. I prefer unearthing fascinating stories in the safety of my living room.

​The Paper Gods is inspired by my time living in Osaka and travelling throughout Japan. That and watching far too many J-Dramas. I currently live in Toronto with my husband and daughter. When I’m not writing, I’m devouring YA books, knitting nerdy things like Companion Cubes and Triforce mitts, and making elaborate cosplays for anime cons.