Inkbound: Meticulous Jones and the skull tattoo

This story starts with an unusual twist on quite a common theme of a child reaching a significant birthday and coming into powers: Meticulous Jones, known as Metty, is about to be 10 years old, and receive the tattoo that will establish what she will do with her life.  Her Aunt Magnificent (her Dad, Captain Moral Jones, says the family competes in the giving of silly names) had sent her a book detailing the symbols and their possible meanings, and Metty has been excited about the options. When she gets her tattoo, though, she is horrified to find that it is of a skull, which is ‘associated with death, or foul murder’.   She fears that the world needs to be protected from her, but her attitude changes when her Dad disappears, and she has to step into action.

This very imaginative and inventive story tells of Metty’s attempts to make sense of her tattoo, and her entanglement with a sinister group known as the Black Moths (with appropriate tattoos) who want to create their own rules about the use of magic.  She has to make her own destiny, finding out about her family background, about the River of Ink and the New Cities, and realising that an ‘association with death’ can also mean Life.  Of course, she also manages to rescue her Dad…

The eccentric names are reminiscent of The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, but they all begin with M, and are used in a different way. There are some great characters; Metty’s feisty street urchin friend Faith O’Connell and her ginger-haired family, Aunt Mag’s young ward Sundar, a mystery in himself, are reliable allies, and Matty’s gargoyle friend Pumpkin provides help, and some amusement. The Black Moths are temporarily vanquished by the end, but it is clear that there will more adventures to come in this exciting new series.