Poison Ink (review)

Sammi, TQ, Caryn, Letty, and Katsuko are a tight-knit group of high-school juniors who decide to cement their strong friendship by getting the same tattoo. The quintet settles out of necessity (since the girls are underage) on Dante's shop, where the proprietor is as disreputable as his rundown neighborhood; there four of the girls go through with the procedure while the fifth, Sammi, changes her mind for fear of her parents' reaction. Within a few days, the four tattooed girls shun their former friend and become infamous for their lascivious and aggressive behavior; Sammi then realizes that the tattoos have put her friends in thrall to dark puppet-master Dante and that only she can keep her friends from doom. There are missed opportunities here, particularly related to character development, which is rudimentary, and a romantic subplot that has possibilities for charm but is handled too hastily. The focus on action and sensation, though, will satisfy those in search of a quick horror read that includes girl-on-girl violence and a final scene very close to splatter-punk. Golden's descriptions of Sammi's confusion about her friends are effective, and since best-friend drama is a staple of the high school years, girls will particularly empathize with Sammi's trials in finding, then losing, and then finding her friends again.