Saturday, 18 February 2012

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I accept and apologise that this post is late but I literally just finished reading this book,  and I can confirm, it is a drastic improvement from the last book I reviewed.

I read The Name of the Star in a matter of hours, because I simply could not put it down. I think I put it down five times, each time brief, and during those breaks (toilet, food, socializing with parents etc, the necessary stuff) the book and its contents barely left my brain. Needless to say, this is an astonishingly good read. It is entrancing, mortifying, funny, all the things a good book should be. I can't find one criticism on it. Not one, although I'm discounting 'it scared the living daylight out of me' as a negative point, because it just adds to the effect.

Blurb: "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..."

It has every potential to be full of clichés, bad puns and tragic characters, but it has none of these. It's well and truly gripping, and at no point while reading it did I feel the need to groan and/or roll my eyes. The characters are new and interesting yet completely relatable, even if in unconventional ways. I found the viewpoint of an American teenager submerged in British culture to be hilarious in the most subtle aspects, and it is instantly obvious that a LOT of research went into this novel, seeing as the author is American herself.

The idea of Jack the Ripper is instantly chilling to anyone who has even heard of him, although I instantly relate the Ripper and this book to the Yorkshire Ripper, a figure I am much more familiar with. This also opened my eyes a little to the fact that terrible things can and do happens at completely unpredicted points in time and space, because there are maniacs out there. However this is not just about the Ripper. It's far more interesting than that. But I don't want to ruin it for you...

Look for The Name of the Star in Waterstones around World Book Day, and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. That is, unless you follow Maureen Johnson on Twitter, in which case you'll just be pleasant. I do advise that you follow MJ on Twitter, she's not that hard to find, but she's brilliant, in that she's completely insane and yet genius. I am not ashamed to admit that I stalk her a little on Twitter. I CAN'T HELP IT! She Tweets constantly and they never fail to be entertaining. Plus I don't think she minds... DFTBA.

Oh, and I rate this book as 9/10. I took off a mark because it scared me shitless.

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