Books
39 Literary Tattoos That Prove YA Fans Are The Best
How else do you commemorate your faves? Sometimes owning a book and reading it until it's weathered just isn't enough. Sometimes you want to carry the words on your skin. Book-inspired tattoos aren't new, but they have become more popular over the years. You can't walk very far at book conventions and festivals without coming across someone with a Harry Potter tattoo. Sharing a symbol with thousands of other people can be pretty cool, after all, book nerds are part of a big community.
When it comes to kidlit and YA books, no one reps their faves like YA fans. We are the loudest, the most excited, the most dedicated, and when we love a series, we love it forever. Even some authors like Tess Sharpe and Julie Murphy, to name a few, are on this list with their badass ink. This is just a sampling of what's out there, and some of thought and detail that goes into these works of art is astonishing. From well-loved pictures books, to the phenomenon that is Harry Potter, to the streets of Ketterdam — these tats will have you inspired to get your own ink.
"One was a book thief," it reads. "The other stole the sky."
This teal blue Kirin was inspired by Laini Taylor's The Daughter of Smoke and Bone series.
This quote is from The Dream Thieves.
Megan has these stars on both wrists, a small tribute for a big love.
As Ron Weasley would say: "Mail's here!"
We all know who she is — the brightest witch of her age!
Our favorite bookworm from the original cover art.
This beautiful tattoo is inspired by son of Hades, Nico DiAngelo, from Rick Riordan's Heroes of Olympus series.
This gorgeous tattoo is a tribute to Blue.
"And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."
Elizabeth says, "My magnifying glass is for Harriet the Spy, my favorite YA heroine since I was ten years old."
Sabaa Tahir (on the left) translated this quote herself! It's Sadhese, the native language of the novel's protagonist Elias, and it means "spark and burn."
Life goal achieved.
Sophia Elaine Hanson proves that sometimes the best words to live by are your own.
These two best friends are going to Hogwarts together! They have each other's innitials on their seals.
Love for this cover — and Finch.
This is a beautiful piece for an equally beautiful quote: "To the stars who listen and the dreams that we answered."
Harry Potter was, after all, part of the resistance.
This is the cutest dragon of all the dragons.
So you can take the magic of Narnia with you, wherever you go.
The bottom symbol is inspired by Scott Westerfeld's The Secret Hour.
This owl is ready to work some magic. What charm would an owl use?
This breathtaking rendition of Daine is inked on Sam Maggs, author of The Fangirl’s Guide to the Galaxy.
These words are written in author Cassandra Clare's own handwriting! "Words have the power to change us."
A tattoo inspired by Maas's fairy world.
Strike a pose with Babar.
This Grisha fan inked a Heartrender symbol with a quote from Nina Zenik on themself.
Here we have a bell from The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg and the Lumos charm from the Harry Potter series. Double fandom!
A tattoo Syd would be proud of.
A touching tribute to those boys we love.
This tiny tattoo is a subtle homage to the wizarding world.
For the fan who justcan't get enough of this inspirational girl and her many, many books.
You can't be a Professional Book Nerd without some awesome bookish tattoos.
This tattoo shows off Lila's mask from A Darker Shade Of Magic and a quote from A Gathering Of Shadows.
Author and illustrator Colleen AF Venable commemorates some of her favorite titles with a half sleeve. She says: "It's 6 books: The Westing Game, Monster At The End of this Book, Feed by MT Anderson, Go Dog Go, a poem from In The Garden of Bad Things... and a red bunny to honor Gilda Radner's autobio It's Always Something."
For more angles of the tattoo visit her Instagram.
Author of Ramona Blue, Julie Murphy, has a wild side.
Dera Luca is a lifelong fan of Shel Silverstein's visual poem "The Thinker of Tender Thoughts."
In the Shades of Magic series by V.E. Schwab, "as travars" means "to travel."
Here we go back to Ketterdam with the symbol of The Dregs. The NMNF stands for "no mourners, no funerals."
