After the Ink Dries
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Courtney Summers meets Deb Caletti in this “all too believable” (Publishers Weekly) page-turning suspense story about a teen girl—reeling in the wake of betrayed trust—who learns what it is to face hard truths about yourself and others, and how to find strength when you need it most.
Sixteen-year-old Erica Walker is a webcomic artist who wants to fit in at her affluent new high school. Seventeen-year-old Thomas VanBrackel is an aspiring songwriter and reluctant lacrosse goalie who wants out from under his father’s thumb. After their electric first kiss at Saturday’s lacrosse match, Erica and Thomas both want to see where their new relationship could take them.
The next morning, however, following a drunken house party, Erica wakes up half-clothed, and discovers words and names drawn in Sharpie in intimate places on her body—names belonging to Thomas’s lacrosse friends, including the boyfriend of Erica’s best friend. Devastated, Erica convinces herself Thomas wasn’t involved in this horrific so-called prank…until she discovers Thomas’s name on her skin, too.
Told in alternating viewpoints, Erica seeks to uncover what happened while battling to keep evidence of her humiliation from leaking out, as Thomas grapples with his actions and who he thought he was. Woven throughout, illustrated graphic novel interstitials depict Erica’s alter ego superhero, Erica Strange, whose courage just might help Erica come through to the other side.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The night after a party, new student Erica Walker wakes up in the host's bedroom—her bra is missing, and her body is markered with boys' names and slut-shaming comments. The guys involved play lacrosse with her boyfriend, Thomas, and the party's host is her best friend Caylee's boyfriend. Ashamed and confused, Erica, who's white (like all the primary characters), heads home, initially hoping that Thomas wasn't involved and that Caylee will offer support—hopes that are soon dashed. The events of the following week are narrated by both Erica, who's new to the area and doesn't feel like she fits in, and Thomas, an aspiring musician struggling to please his domineering father. Gustafson's debut doesn't pull punches; the book is open about Erica's suicidal ideation, the male chauvinism Thomas is steeped in, and the bullying both experience. Vieceli's graphic novel panels represent the superhero comic that Erica draws, and pages featuring her heroine appear as she tries to channel bravery to speak the truth and hold her abusers accountable. The quickly paced ending feels abrupt following the characters' lengthy, detailed remembrances of the incident, but this all-too-believable book will open eyes and start conversations about sexual assault, toxic masculinity, and victim shaming. Age 14–up. Author's agent: Sara Crowe, Pippin Properties.
Customer Reviews
Stunning and heart wrenching
OOF! This book made me cry, yearn, and yell with the main character, Erica, as she went on a fight for her identity, her bodily autonomy, and her life. I loved her and want every girl in America to read this book and know her own self worth!