Review: “The Name of the Star” by Maureen Johnson

lovemegananne:

The eyes of London are supposed to see it all, but, to some things, even the eyes are blind.

When Louisiana teen Rory starts attending a boarding school in London, she is already expecting something completely different from what she’s used to back home. However, she doesn’t realize just how different it will be. One of the first things she hears upon landing in London is that some guy went and “pulled a Ripper.” At first, she thinks it’s some sort of slang that she just doesn’t understand, but, no, it turns out someone has decided to start recreating the Jack the Ripper murders. Oh, and Rory’s school is right in the middle of Ripper territory. Nothing says, “Welcome to London” quite like that.

Rory’s life just gets crazier from this point on. As if having to juggle school things and an overenthusiastic field hockey coach weren’t enough, she becomes the only person to have seen the supposed murderer; a man that is quickly becoming one of the most feared people in London. Even worse? Her roommate was right next to Rory when she claims to have seen him, but her roommate doesn’t remember him at all.

Then the secret police show up.

They tell Rory that, like them, she’s able to see ghosts, and they need her help. The man creating the panic across London isn’t a man at all, but a ghost. They’re the only ones who can stop him, and they need her help. After all, no one else has any idea as to what he looks like.

The suspense only goes up from there.

“The Name of the Star” has both an original and interesting take on ghosts. It has characters that you will fall in love with and is ridiculously difficult to put down even for a second. You never know what to expect next.

“The Name of the Star” is the first of four books in the “Shades of London” series by Maureen Johnson. Book two, “The Madness Underneath”, will hit shelves on February 26th, 2013.