November 23, 2011

Review: The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson

The Name Of The Star (Shades of London #1)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: G. P. Putnam's Sons (Putnam Juvenile)
Publication Date: September 29, 2011
Pages: 372
Source: Hardcover from Library

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.

Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

Review: I honestly wasn't sure about reading this with the whole Ripper thing about it. I'm glad I read it though. I really enjoyed it and the details of some of the murders didn't freak me out like I thought they would. I wanna start off with Rory. I felt like she was a fairly strong main character! I really enjoyed being in her head, learning about her family and all of that stuff. I really loved being in her head when she was playing hockey. I'm just like her, I'm not big on sports so I felt her pain of having to play one everyday. I also really enjoyed being in her head around Jerome, especially when she couldn't figure out exactly what they were to each other or how they felt.

Now on to being able to see ghosts. If I was Rory, I would have freaked out over the news and the reality of being able to see ghosts. Especially when she was able to see the Ripper!!!!! I'd freak out over that as well. I found the ghost police interesting though. I mean come on, there was an actual squad specifically for hunting ghosts. Who wouldn't find that interesting?!? Also, I found how you came into having the sight fairly interesting as well, and how it didn't happen to everyone. To the Ripper! I was completely understood why Rory flipped out so much about it. She saw The Ripper! And because of that he set his sights on her as a target. I'd be worried if she wasn't flipping out. I'd be scared if I was the target of a killer! What Rory and the rest of the squad with the sight found out about the Ripper. Wow! I totally didn't see what we found out about the ripper coming.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who wants a good modern day ripper story and who wants a good suspenseful story!

5 Stars!