Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Series: Shades of London #1
Publication Date: September 29th 2011
Publisher: Putnam
Genre: YA, Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Romance... EVERYTHING
Amazon ~ Goodreads ~ B&N

Synopsis: 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.

My Rating: 5/5 stars

My Review: The Name of the Star is the conqueror of all Genre. I cannot tell you how much I enjoyed this book because it feels like it has every aspect to it. There's Mystery, Romance, Fantasy, Historical Fiction and Horror. This book can make you go from feeling all happy because of the romance scenes to hiding under your covers because of the Mystery and Horror. And the amazing thing is that even with all these different genres, the book doesn't feel too busy, its perfect.

Rory arrives in London the same day a mysterious killing occurs. But this isn't just some random killing on the street, this individual was murdered, on the same day, time and in the same way as the first victim of Jack the Ripper. Soon the mysterious killings start happening frequently over London, right beside Rory's school. 

I honestly can't tell you how much I love this book. First of all, its set in London. For those of you who know me, you know that I have my secret obsession with London and would do anything to go visit there. Secondly, the author is just brilliant! Being born in Europe and coming to Canada, I have noticed huge differences between the two school systems, and the author managed to do a perfect job with explaining how much harder school is in Europe and how much people actually study. I was so impressed with this that I almost cried.

The world-building in this story is fantastic. Not only do we get to see how Rory's school in London looks like, but its described in such a way that you almost feel like you're there. Not to mention any other place that Rory went to, as well her place back in America, were all described so well, I felt like I was looking at pictures or something.

Rory's character is so likable, I would be surprised if someone didn't like her. She's funny, smart, and kindhearted. She quickly makes friends at the new school, and knows how to follow her heart to do the right thing. Not to mention her stories of all the crazy aunts and uncles are hilarious!! Throughout the story, I feel like Rory didn't develop too much, but since she's such a perfect character, it makes sense.

The plot of this story was super well written. Like I said before, it takes you on a crazy emotional ride. Yet it has all the perfect elements of plot happening at the perfect times.

I honestly love this book to the moon and back and I totally wish I read it much much sooner. I definitely recommend this to everyone, especially all you London and Horror fans!!

Happy Reading,
-Aneta

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