June Gervais

Gina's older brother, Dominic, is giving her an ultimatum: once she turns 18 (next week), she has to figure out what she's going to do, and that doesn't include continuing to hang around his tattoo shop making herself useful. The problem is that Gina doesn't want to go anywhere else. Abanonded by their father, and faced with a mentally unstable mother, Gina and Dominic rely on each other, and Gina doesn't want to do anywhere or do anything but apprentice with Dominc and become a tattooist in his shop. But this is the 1980s and a small town on Long Island, so women tattoo artists aren't really a thing. But Gina is determined, and eventually Dominic agrees to train her, thinking that she'll inevitably give up. What follows is Gina's story of learning how to stick to it and find support in unexpected places.

Gina is an engaging character who readers will root for. Many of the supporting characters are also well-drawn I struggled with Dominic, though. At the beginning of the book he seemed like a very strong character, who always had Gina's back and was pushing her out of a concern for her best interests. As the book went on, he came to seem kind of like a weak-willed jerk who really just couldn't be bothered with his little sister anymore. Since the book is told through Gina's eyes, that may have been the point, as she matures and comes to see Dominic more clearly, and I, like Gina just became somewhat disappointed in him. If so, I applaud Gervais for her subtle but effective rendering of a realistic brother-sister relationship.

FTC Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for this review.… (altro)