Book Review :: The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
Series: Shades of London #1
Published by HarperCollins
on September 29th 2011
Genres: Fantasy, Mystery, Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 374
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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

Last updated on 22 February 2022

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What is The Name of the Star about?

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson is about Rory and her adventures in London when a Jack the Ripper copycat runs rampant.

Rory arrives in London and moves into her new life at an English boarding school. Her roommate, Jazza, is a great friend straight away, and Charlotte the head girl, is the mean girl. There’s the cute boy, Jerome, with his floppy hair, and the weirdo who lies on the library floor singing songs by The Smiths, while sporting an 80s emo look.

Not long after Rory arrives, there is a murder…and then another…and then suddenly, as the description says, there is Rippermania. A Jack the Ripper copycat is murdering people in London, and as the story goes on, Rory becomes more and more involved. Who was that mysterious man that only she saw? Why is their new roommate, Boo, so clingy? And what’s the deal with the love interest of the story?

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My thoughts on The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star was a great book! I loved it from beginning to end and everything in between. I first saw The Name of the Star when a friend finished reading it on Goodreads and had given it a 5-star rating. This sparked my interest and I looked into it.  Immediately I was intrigued by the description and hit the ‘want to read’ button. I don’t normally go for ghost stories, but this one seemed like it wouldn’t be too hard out. And it wasn’t, but it was definitely ghostly, gory, and girly all at once.

When Rory arrives at her new boarding school in the first few pages, I already loved her as a character. Perhaps it’s because it’s written in first person from Rory’s perspective (there’s an odd chapter here and there which is written by a random person witnessing something important to the story), and we get all the really funny things that Rory says and thinks, or perhaps it’s just because I haven’t read a book with a leading character that I’ve really liked in a while. Rory is an American moving to a new country, so I could relate straight away as I’m a New Zealander in England. There are so many things she says and comments on that I thought ‘Yup! That’s exactly what I thought too!’ and ‘Yes. I agree’.

It was a really easy read too. Not only is it only 372 pages long, but as soon as I started reading, I couldn’t stop. I had to force myself to put the book down and go to sleep. But I read probably four-fifths of the book in one sitting because it was that good. Sleep got the better of me, but that’s the only reason it took two days.

This is turning out to be longer than I thought. So I’ll wrap it up. Basically, Rory comes to England, London is being ripped apart (literally) by a Jack the Ripper copycat, some characters are great, some characters are horrible, there’s music, there’s blood and guts, there’s romance, there’s a lot of news coverage, there are deadly cellphones, there’s a secret group of people who see…well. I don’t want to give everything away! You’ll just have to read it for yourself! There are two more books after this one.

The second book is called The Madness Underneath, and the third is The Shadow Cabinet, which will come out next year.  I’m excited already!

Have you read The Name of the Star? What did you think?