The Black Tattoo by Sam Enthoven... Hmm. I honestly don't know where to start with this book. I have pondered for over a month whether I should even dignify it with a blog entry for fear some unsuspecting browser might see the cover on my page and assume I was endorsing it. I am not! I hated this book! One reader's review of this title at Amazon.com said the only positive comments he could make about it were that the words on the page were printed from left to right, and from top to bottom. Ouch! That's harsh! After reading it myself, I heartily agree. I seriously considered throwing it in the trash where it belongs, or suing the publishers for the time I wasted reading it that I will never get back. In the end I decided to keep it only because it is a finalist for the Texas Library Association's 2007-08 Lone Star Reading List of (alleged) "best books" for middle-schoolers. I'll be scrutinizing that list much more carefully in the future! I'd sure like to find out who the idiot was that nominated this stinker so I could give them a piece of my mind. Thank goodness I didn't spend any money for it--it was part of our spring book fair incentives.The blurb on the back of the dust jacket about a young man's tattoo that takes on a life of its own and starts moving around, controlling his thoughts and actions was an intriguing premise. And the book's opening sequences led me to believe the plot would continue to build and develop along the same lines. Well, that's not exactly what happens. It's as if the writer had this great story idea, but then he couldn't figure out what to do with it. He couldn't make up his mind if it was going to be a horror story, a humorous fantasy tale, a coming-of-age morality play, a bit of chick lit, or what. The cover graphics are great (there, I said something positive!), but the fact that the dust jacket converts into a poster should have been my first clue that something was wrong with this picture. (When they give away a freebie with purchase, it's usually because their product doesn't stand a chance on its own.) This book was truly a disappointment. It was dark, depressing, poorly written, and not appropriate for the age group in which it is being marketed. (I personally don't think ANYONE should bother with this over-long mess, but the youngest person I would even think about letting read it to would be in 9th grade or above.
Here's the plot in a nutshell: a rogue demon who thinks all humans are idiots decides to possess a young boy and take his body back to hell (yes, that hell) to offer him as a blood sacrifice to the supreme being in charge down there. (BTW...He is never identified as Satan, the devil, etc.) If all goes according to plans, his actions will annihilate every living thing in the universe. Sort of like the Big Bang theory in reverse...with all creation as we know it going back to square zero. A guy named god (in lower case) is mentioned a couple of times, but only as a minor character who is basically a clerk for the ultimate ruler of the underworld. Apparently he was demoted after he got bored one day and tried an "experiment" to see what would happen if he created the Earth and everything on it. The results went against his plans due to the gift of free will. Seems those pesky humans are always doing what they want and messing everything up. There's an assortment of weird demons in residence down below, most used for comic relief and action sequences. There's a big showdown at the end, and as usual, good triumphs over evil. (Oops, spoiler alert!) I shudder to think that Enthoven left the ending open on purpose for a planned sequel. Eeuwwww!
During several passages, I couldn't help but notice the writer's weak attempts to mimic the style and descriptive wit of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Trust me when I say this book is not anywhere near the same league as that fantasy masterpiece. And remember that old computer science mantra "garbage in--garbage out?" Well, I can't wait until enough time has passed that I get this chunk of garbage out of my head. If I were assigning stars, I'd have to give it negative 4 for wasting paper, ink, and time, not to mention insulting any reader's intelligence. I can assure you there is something in here to offend everyone.
Now I am not a proponent of censorship, but I do feel there is such a thing as age-appropriate content when dealing with children, especially in a school setting. Parents have the right to determine what their child--and ONLY their child--may have access to from a library. For this reason, I am not prohibiting anyone from checking out this book, however, I DO point out that it comes with a Young Adult warning label for content, and I also inform them of my opinion about it after I read it. So far, all who have picked it up off the shelf have either changed their minds about borrowing it, or brought it back the next day after reading only a few pages. There's some satisfaction to the fact that I am helping them discern between quality writing and worthless junk. At least I hope so...
One final important note: If you are a parent, you need to be aware what your children are interested in. This includes music they listen to, movies and TV shows they watch, video games they play, websites they visit, friends they hang out with, and even books they read. The powers-that-be in society are pushing the envelope on what passes for entertainment these days. Sadly, today's crop of Young Adult writers seem to be jumping on that bandwagon, intent on making their material unsuitable for anyone in middle school or lower grades. I am up for a great story and a great read, but The Black Tattoo was most certainly not one of them.
