Inkling (Kenneth Oppel)

Inkling
Kenneth Oppel
HarperCollins
Fiction, MG Fantasy/Humor
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: Ethan Rylance's mother passed away two years go, and nothing has gone right since. His father used to be one of the most sought-after comic book creators in the industry, but he hasn't touched his pens since Mom died, and some days can't be bothered to climb out of bed, let alone deal with his children. Ethan's kid sister Sarah, who has Down syndrome, struggles to process her grief and needs more care than a sixth-grade boy can provide. Now, his English class is doing graphic novels as a group project and everyone expects him to do the artwork; given how great his dad is (or was), surely Ethan must be kidding when he insists that he can barely draw a stick figure, though Dad barely had time to try teaching his son art before Mom's death and certainly doesn't have the time or patience now. The Rylances are stuck in a downward spiral of grief and anger... until something strange happens.
One night, the ink from Mr. Rylance's sketchbook comes to life and escapes the pages that trapped it. It feeds on ink and can draw just about anything, and it quickly becomes young Ethan's lifeline when he realizes that it can help him ink a graphic novel that will knock the socks off his entire class. But when other people learn of Inkling and its amazing abilities, Ethan will learn the hard way just how much responsibility comes with a special friend like the living blob of ink... and how much damage it can do if it falls into the wrong hands.

REVIEW: Starring a boy mired in grief and anger and worry over a father who seems to have given up on life and a lively little sapient blob of ink, Inkling uses art and humor to explore grief, hope, and creativity, as well as the dangers of artificial "creativity" that isn't really creative (read: the current flood of theft-based AI). From the moment Inkling escapes the sketchbook, it knows deep down it has a purpose, a reason it leapt to life, though it's very easily distracted by all the wonderful, tasty ink in the Rylance household, learning to "speak" by devouring books and learning art by absorbing (and erasing) illustrations and comic books and any other printed matter it encounters. When Ethan discovers it, and realizes that it can generate art and not just absorb it, he considers it an answer to his prayers: his teammates in English class have been pestering him for his art contributions to their graphic novel project, refusing to believe him when he says that stick figures are the best he can manage (his father was not the most patient teacher even before Mom's death, and since then can barely muster the energy to get through a day out of bed, if that much), and he's been putting them off as long as possible. True, he's supposed to be doing the art himself and Inkling is basing itself heavily on his father's style, but it's not really cheating, is it? He did do the storyboarding with his stick figures for layouts, so Inkling is just sort of helping him out, right? It's not until a friend asks to use Inkling to help him on a history test - absorb his notes and regurgitate answers onto the test page - that Ethan realizes the risks in relying on Inkling so heavily. But by then Sarah has discovered the living ink blob - calling "her" Lucy and insisting it's the pet dog their father has never let them get - and soon Ethan's own father learns what Inkling can do. It feels like the little blob is getting the whole family unstuck from where it's been after Ethan's Mom died, but instead it becomes another crutch... and when someone outside the family and Ethan's friend discovers the little blob, the stakes get a lot higher a lot quicker. The classmate involved isn't a bully or evil, though; she's the daughter of Ethan's dad's publisher, whose business is struggling as their lead creator hasn't produced new works in two years, to the point where she fears they'll lose their home. After all, if Ethan can cheat by having Inkling do all his work for him, why can't her dad use Inkling to do the work that Ethan's dad won't do and save the publishing company? As Ethan works to reclaim his friend, his family must finally confront the grief that has been slowly smothering the life out of them all.
The story moves briskly and is fun, with some deep and emotional moments along with the humor and lightness, as well as a clear appreciation for comic books and human creativity. It also serves as a warning about soulless, derivative AI works pumped out for profit that short-circuit the whole process and completely misunderstand what it is that people enjoy about art and stories, and why people feel the inherent need to create at all. I thought a couple subplots needed a little more fleshing out or resolution, and part of it feels like it wanted to be part one of a longer series, but on the whole it was quite satisfying.

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