The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson
Sep. 28th, 2013 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Jack the Ripper returns …
Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux flies to London for the start of a new life at boarding school. But her arrival is overshadowed by a sudden outbreak of brutal murders, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific work of Jack the Ripper.
‘Rippermania’ grabs hold of London, and the police are stumped with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory has seen their prime suspect on the school grounds. But her friend Jazza didn’t see anyone.
So why could only Rory see him? And what is he planning to do next?
In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense and romance, Rory discovers the secrets of London and the truth about her own shocking abilities, as Jack the Ripper returns …
Rory Deveaux’s spent her whole life in small town Louisiana but when her law professor parents get a chance to teach at Bristol University, she decides to study at Wexford, a sixth form boarding college in Whitechapel, London. While Rory gets to grips with the English education system, the horror of hockey and almost choking to death on school dinners, she also becomes friends with roommate Jazza, 80s nostalgia fiend Alistair and something more with cute prefect Jerome.
But Rory’s arrival coincides with a murder spree by a madman recreating the murders of Jack the Ripper. The police are baffled – there are no witnesses and the CCTV of the crimes has been manipulated to remove all trace of the killer. When the killer dumps one of his victims at Wexford, Rory’s sure that she’s seen him but Jazza was with her at the time and claims not to have seen anyone.
Rory discovers that her near-death experience has left her with an extraordinary gift – one that brings her to the attention of a secret police unit and the killer himself …
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal thriller, the first in a trilogy is an entertaining read with some great one-liners, a great first person voice and a believable reaction to the revelation of paranormal activity. However, it’s written very much for an American audience so Brits may get annoyed at the stream of explanations and some Brit facts are wrong (which a simple Google search could have resolved). Also, the uneven pacing means that it doesn’t work as a thriller and there are things in the story that just don’t make sense (e.g. why Rory chose to study at a British school rather than a US school in London, why she chose to study in London rather than a school closer to Bristol). Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages and notwithstanding my frustrations I’ll read the sequel.
Rory’s the main reason to read this. She’s a lot of fun and I loved her way of looking at things and her family stories. I believed in her reaction to the discovery that she can see ghosts but I didn’t see the point of her relationship with Jerome and the Shade squad is underdeveloped, relying on an information dump in the final third. Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages though and I’ll read the sequel.
The Verdict:
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal thriller, the first in a trilogy is an entertaining read with some great one-liners, a great first person voice and a believable reaction to the revelation of paranormal activity. However, it’s written very much for an American audience so Brits may get annoyed at the stream of explanations and some Brit facts are wrong (which a simple Google search could have resolved). Also, the uneven pacing means that it doesn’t work as a thriller and there are things in the story that just don’t make sense (e.g. why Rory chose to study at a British school rather than a US school in London, why she chose to study in London rather than a school closer to Bristol). Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages and notwithstanding my frustrations I’ll read the sequel.
Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux flies to London for the start of a new life at boarding school. But her arrival is overshadowed by a sudden outbreak of brutal murders, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific work of Jack the Ripper.
‘Rippermania’ grabs hold of London, and the police are stumped with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory has seen their prime suspect on the school grounds. But her friend Jazza didn’t see anyone.
So why could only Rory see him? And what is he planning to do next?
In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense and romance, Rory discovers the secrets of London and the truth about her own shocking abilities, as Jack the Ripper returns …
Rory Deveaux’s spent her whole life in small town Louisiana but when her law professor parents get a chance to teach at Bristol University, she decides to study at Wexford, a sixth form boarding college in Whitechapel, London. While Rory gets to grips with the English education system, the horror of hockey and almost choking to death on school dinners, she also becomes friends with roommate Jazza, 80s nostalgia fiend Alistair and something more with cute prefect Jerome.
But Rory’s arrival coincides with a murder spree by a madman recreating the murders of Jack the Ripper. The police are baffled – there are no witnesses and the CCTV of the crimes has been manipulated to remove all trace of the killer. When the killer dumps one of his victims at Wexford, Rory’s sure that she’s seen him but Jazza was with her at the time and claims not to have seen anyone.
Rory discovers that her near-death experience has left her with an extraordinary gift – one that brings her to the attention of a secret police unit and the killer himself …
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal thriller, the first in a trilogy is an entertaining read with some great one-liners, a great first person voice and a believable reaction to the revelation of paranormal activity. However, it’s written very much for an American audience so Brits may get annoyed at the stream of explanations and some Brit facts are wrong (which a simple Google search could have resolved). Also, the uneven pacing means that it doesn’t work as a thriller and there are things in the story that just don’t make sense (e.g. why Rory chose to study at a British school rather than a US school in London, why she chose to study in London rather than a school closer to Bristol). Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages and notwithstanding my frustrations I’ll read the sequel.
Rory’s the main reason to read this. She’s a lot of fun and I loved her way of looking at things and her family stories. I believed in her reaction to the discovery that she can see ghosts but I didn’t see the point of her relationship with Jerome and the Shade squad is underdeveloped, relying on an information dump in the final third. Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages though and I’ll read the sequel.
The Verdict:
Maureen Johnson’s YA paranormal thriller, the first in a trilogy is an entertaining read with some great one-liners, a great first person voice and a believable reaction to the revelation of paranormal activity. However, it’s written very much for an American audience so Brits may get annoyed at the stream of explanations and some Brit facts are wrong (which a simple Google search could have resolved). Also, the uneven pacing means that it doesn’t work as a thriller and there are things in the story that just don’t make sense (e.g. why Rory chose to study at a British school rather than a US school in London, why she chose to study in London rather than a school closer to Bristol). Ultimately, it’s fun enough to keep turning the pages and notwithstanding my frustrations I’ll read the sequel.
