A Review of 'The Name of the Star' by Maureen Johnson

"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 work of 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 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, what is he planning to do about her?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Roray will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities."

I was really excited to know that Maureen Johnson had written another book!  I've only read "The Bermudez Triangle," but I really liked it, so I had high hopes for this book.

This book started off very well and I was really impressed with what I was reading.  The reading was intriguing as I was learning things about Jack the Ripper that I had never sought out to learn before (for example, the setting where each murder took place as well as how each murder was committed... you've just learned about a darker side of Jude Rosenberg).  In the late beginning of the book, this was still going on and a number of murders had been committed mysteriously.  But by this point in time, I felt that something new should have happened as far as the murders.  Luckily something did happen, but not before this aspect of the book became repetitive.

When I found out how Rory knew who was killing everyone and how most of London had no idea who was committing the murders, I was mostly relieved to know what was going on with Rory.  On the other hand, I was also a little disappointed when I found out just how because this part of the book (sorry for being so vague, I'm trying not to give away this really huge part) feels as though it has been overused in other books even though it is a really fascinating science.

As far as characters, I thought the characters were well-developed.  I would have liked to see more from Charlotte because right now, she's the "bully" character; she's someone who's there to make everything worse, even if that means ruining someone's day.

My understanding is that this book is part of a series, though I don't know how long of a series.  Three books keep coming to mind, but please don't quote me on this, as I'm not certain.  Any way, the point that I was trying to bring up was that I think as this story continues, everything about this story will become better and those things that bothered me in this book will become alleviated.  Fingers crossed!

Overall, a very enjoyable read for fans of the paranormal, history, and young adult fiction.  I give 'The Name of the Star':

Thanks for Reading!

--Jude