The Name of the Star (Shades of London #1)
by Maureen Johnson
Expected pub: 9/29/2011 by Putnam
From Goodreads:
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.
The Bookish Brunette thought:
What can I say… I had HIGH hopes for The Name of the Star, and maybe that is why I didn’t LOVE it. Let me be specific when I say that I didn’t HATE it either. (I’m the picture of vagueness right?)
Rory Deveaux is sent to a boarding school in London for her senior year of High School. Sounds awesome right? Well, not so much when there’s a serial killer on the loose who’s seemingly a copycat of Jack the Ripper in her backyard.
Now I won’t claim to know much about the history of Jack the Ripper, but from the quick Google search I did (seriously… WHAT did we do before Google?!) Maureen Johnson did a pretty incredible job of recounting the killings!
So when Rory SEES the killer, and seems to be the ONLY one that can see him- well, NOW apparently she can see ghosts. Okay… And she’s helping the ‘ghost police’ of London search for the Jack the Ripper copycat killer. Yes. The ‘ghost police’.
Anyway, while at times Rory was so funny, clever and witty other times I wanted to reach in the book and smack her. Her parents REALLY irritated me, it’s like they didn’t even CARE that their daughter was in the midst of murder mayhem in London! Gah!
Basically, this book just didn’t do it for me. It wasn’t horrible, it wasn’t fabulous… It was ‘meh’ for me. But, I think that people who don’t have to have every single detail lined out for them and have reasons for everything will enjoy this book much more than I did. Yes, I’m one of those readers. I NEED to know WHY everything happens. Making assumptions isn’t enough for me.
Book loving, zombie freak, stiletto wearing, twitter whore, coffee addicted Brunette with a purse fetish.
Collector of flamingo paraphernalia & zombie keepsakes… Frequenter of thrift stores... cRaFtY bitch... and I match my eye-shadow to my outfit - everyday.