Review of Tattoo, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Just got this cranked out this morning with enough time to get ready for work this afternoon. Enjoy! 

Review of Tattoo by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

This book was technically my first foray into the world of teen, or Young Adult (YA) books. It was also the first ARC (Advanced Reader’s Copy) that I ever picked up from the break room at work. I was intrigued by it because, frankly, the cool cover featuring a “tramp stamp” tattoo of the title on a girl’s back. And since I have a tattoo, it doubly intrigued me.

Tattoo is about a Bailey and her three friends, Delia, Annabelle, and Zo, who get temporary tattoos from a kiosk in the mail as they are trying on dresses for their school’s dance. The four friends each have their own personalities that you’d think would keep them from being friends, but they somehow keep their friendship: Delia is the beautiful, popular one; Annabelle is the quiet, bookish one; Zo is the rough, tomboy; and Bailey seems to be the “average” girl who’s only distinguishing feature is her naturally multi-colored hair. Now, back to the tattoos. After much arguing, Delia convinces the girls to wear the temporary tattoos by really just placing them on the other three without truly asking, signally the discussion was over.

After the tattoos are on, the girls start to exhibit strange powers. Bailey has strange dreams that seem to be signaling something bad is coming soon. On top of strange dreams, she can start fires; Zo can see the future; Annabelle can control people; and Delia can turn objects into other things. The girls are naturally confused and scared as to why they have these powers, but the answers may lie in Bailey’s dreams. It seems there are other supernatural forces converging that will put the world in danger, and they are converging fast. It turns out that ancient supernatural beings, known as Sidhe, are in the middle of a power struggle, and taking it out on the humans; one of the Sidhe is stealing souls from innocent humans. It’s up to Bailey and her friends to stop the Sidhe from hurting humans and restoring balance.

This book is a quick read, and a fun one. It has your WB… or I guess it's CW now... vibe of One Tree Hill or other such teen-geared shows, where the seemingly mismatched group of friends have to overcome their own personality differences to work together to save the day. Through the level-headed narration of Bailey, the story flows well with a mixture of teens off to save the world action and scenes of teen girls just trying to make it to the dance on time to dance with the boys of their dreams. Thankfully, the four girls learn from their supernatural adventure, their tangle with the Sidhe affecting them and how they see the world as the book wraps up. The girls have grown and the way it’s set up, you know that a sequel is in the works. And the sequel, Fate, indeed was written to help bring some closure to the world of Bailey and friends. The sequel follows Bailey and her friends as their lives continue to change and evolve during high school, as well as the after effects of their encounters with the Sidhe. I'm certainly going to seek out the sequel, since I don't like to leave series half-read and loose ends untied. 

I recommend this book because it shows how strong girls can be. Unlike another popular teen girl series *cough*Twilight*cough* where the lead girl, when you boil away all the “romance” and “we’re fated to be together” crap, the girl just goes along for the ride while the man makes all the decisions and controls her. But here, Bailey and her friends take matters into their own hands and work on saving the world. It’s also a good book for those teens/kids who are reluctant readers. Having worked at Barnes & Noble, I met many parents and their kids who were struggling to find something to read. This is a good book to get them started with. It’s not too long, so the thickness of the book won’t scare the kids away; and it’s a fun supernatural book that’s a fun departure from the vampires, werewolves, and witches that seem to be plaguing the bookshelves nowadays.

So I recommend this book, for adults and teens alike, as a fun, fast read for the summer days ahead. On my scale of 1 (literary hari kari) to 10 (literary orgasmic bliss), I rate Tattoo a solid 7. Go pick it up for summer vacation today!


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So here's the updated list of my books to review, so far:

• Dead of Night
• Crooked Little Vein (4-11-12)
• Homer's Odyssey (3-26-12)
• Crimson City Series
• Circle of Heck series (thus far) (4-8-12)
• Joe Ledger series (thus far)  (3-27-12)
• Mutant Island series 
• Double Booked for Death (3-15-12)
• Family Affair
• Sacre Bleu
• How I Paid for College
• Attack of the Theater People!
• Liberty
• Tattoo (Jennifer Barnes) (4-30-12)