"The Name of the Star" by Maureen Johnson (Q2)

Relief

The Name of the Star

By Maureen Johnson

The Shades of London Series, Book 1

# Pgs: 384

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Overview:

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 in the autumn of 1888.

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 now believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was 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.

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Review:

Do you have any idea how much of a relief it is to read a good book?

Lately, it just seems like I've been in a slump. Book after book has just left me feeling so disappointed. I've taken a pause from reading beause of it.

Suddenly, one day, I'm in study hall and I randomly pick this book off of the shelf. I get to reading it, and I can barely put it down for the moment that it takes to check it out of the library.

Looking at the cover, I guess that I was expecting this super crazy, gory, creepy, haunting, horror ghost story. I don't have a problem with that kind of stuff, but lately all of the ghost stories that I read are just a downer. It took a chapter, but suddenly I got completely hooked into this book. It's just so ridiculous--the main character, I mean. She's just a riot.

That's a good thing.

Seriously, from the first page of the book the main character, Rory, was just so endearing to me. She's brash, loud, witty, and it's just so funny sometimes to read her narrative. She's not really like any character that I've ever read before. Most characters try to stress the fact that they're oh so Holy, or kind, or smart, or hot, or generally someone's idea of perfect. This book kind of embrasses the idea that she's not. She's a real go-getter, responcible, yet fun and admits to not being a genius.

I'm going to spoil a small part of the book for you; there was this one point in the book where the main character starts choking on chicken just as she's about to show off. I had to put the book down because I was embaressed for her, and because it was just so funny. I mean, I've never really read a book before where the main character gets her strange, mysterious and oh so very permanent ghost powers from choking on food in front of a billion other people before.

I thought it was kinda funny.

I love Rory, especially at the beginning of the book. Towards the end, it seems like she becomes just the tiniest bit whiny. It's understandable though, 'cause there's a Jack the Ripper ghost out to get her, and she's in London when she was originally from Lousiana, and she has powers she never knew she could even get until she choked on food.

The plotline is also interesting. I've heard of Jack the Ripper before, but it wasn't until I started to read this book that I actually learned exactly who and what he is. I'm not saying that I think ol' Jack's a ghost, I'm saying that I knew that he was a murderer, but I never knew just what it was he did or why. I guess some parts of it are still a little foggy, but I still learned from it. And this plot was still interesting.

I mentioned earlier that I thought this book was going to be a gory, haunted, horror ghost book. If anything, it was more a mystery (which I just learned is what it was meant to be). It was a pretty darn good mystery too. This book definitely kept me guessing and curious. I can't wait to read the next book in the series. Maureen Johnson wrote this book in a way that's completely refreshing--to me, at least, if not you, but I've just been reading terrible books lately--that's young and funny and addictive. While some points of the book seem just a little weak in the way they're supported, overall the book is still pretty believeable. After all, the main character doesn't have to nearly die in some overly dramatic car crash or robbery or something. She could nearly die from choking on food. That's normal.

A lot of authors forget to make things normal at parts, to make it relateable and believeable.

I don't know, maybe it's just me, but Johnson's writing style was pretty good. The plot was pretty good. The historical facts that were woven into the tale were good. The characters were great, and funny, yet still serious when they need to be. This book was loose, and put together very well. I enjoyed it.

I'd definitely recommend this book to people, especially in supernatural, historical, mystery lovers. Oh, and by the way, there's even a touch of romance in this. It's just not overwhelmingly obnoxious. It's gentle and easy and there. In a good way, sort of.

I give this book a four or three and a half out of five.

It was fun to read, and a relief.

Read it.