Even though Melon stayed with Chick’s family for a while after Maria’s death, Chick became distant. One thing I would’ve liked to be a little clearer was why Melon’s best friend, Chick, withdrew from her. Both Melon and Paul were well-built characters and it made sense that even though they weren’t related, he would become a father-figure in her life. No matter how much Melon turned away from people, Paul’s own grief was very evident throughout the pages.
Their relationship was delicate but also had the familiarity of two people living together. Paul, her late mother’s boyfriend, took over custody of her and took care of her in the aftermath. It was also refreshing that an adult figure featured prominently in Melon’s life. Even day-to-day life doesn’t seem to occur in order anymore. When someone grieves, time fails to pass in chronological order. However, I think that this was a good reflection on the state of Melon’s mind. The chapters in this book jumped back and forth in time, revolving around the day Melon’s mother, Maria, died. I too lost someone dear to me recently, so I related well on that level. She discovers things she didn’t know and in the process also alters the way that she views herself. As she pieces the story together again for herself, her path of discovery leads her back to Crete and through the streets of London. It is her knowledge of it that allows her to live day by day after her mother’s death. Her whole identity and existence has depended on that story. She knows that even though she was born and raised in London, her original roots lie in Crete. With no family contact left behind, all Melon has is her mother’s story. Where do I start? With the tears that I shed or the smiles I cracked? To some degree, my own recent experiences influenced the way I read Red Ink.
RED INK is a powerful coming-of-age tale about superstition, denial and family myth. 'The Story' is the Fourakis family fairytale.
The indomitable Auntie Aphrodite, meanwhile, is hundreds of miles away on a farm in Crete, and is unlikely to be jumping on a plane and coming to East Finchley anytime soon. Her mother, Maria, never did introduce Melon to a 'living, breathing' father. When her mother is knocked down and killed by a London bus, fifteen-year-old Melon Fouraki is left with no family worth mentioning. classified as Contemporary, Young Adult.
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