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A review by rallythereaders
The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
5.0
Also posted on Rally the Readers.
I’d had my eye on The Name of the Star for a while, and I was not disappointed. This is a very clever take on the story of Jack the Ripper, with a paranormal twist to boot. Part of me feverishly turned the pages to see what would happen next, while another part of me dreaded what I’d find. Reading this in the middle of the night was sometimes creepy, to say the least.
I loved how this book shifted in tone so suddenly, yet without seeming abrupt. One minute, Rory is relating anecdotes about her Uncle Bick and Cousin Diane back home in Louisiana and warming up a jar of Cheese Whiz that she had shipped from America. The next minute, a serial killer who has eluded even surveillance cameras but has been seen by Rory is threatening to take out her eyes. On the surface, this novel seems like an odd combination of humor and horror, but believe me, it completely works here. Never have I laughed so much while reading a book about a psychopathic murderer. Look, I know how weird, and even macabre, that sounds. But Rory has this fantastic sense of humor, and if you met “Call Me” Claudia, the housemistress of Rory’s dorm with the rabid field hockey obsession, you’d be chuckling, too.
Maureen Johnson did a brilliant job plotting out this story. I love that aha moment when the small details that appeared insignificant at first coalesce into a complete picture that leaves me astonished. As I read, I wasn’t sure how the title, or even the name of the series, fit into the story, but once I found out, I marveled at how both tied into the novel. This was the sort of book that I enjoyed reading because it was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle; the tension-filled story built piece by piece, and the fun was in trying to put the correct pieces together.
I liked Rory a lot, but the character who most intrigued me was Stephen Dene, the police officer who takes a special interest in the Ripper case. Actually, there’s much more to Stephen’s job description than that, but going into too much detail would give away a key part of the plot. Stephen possessed a quiet intensity that I found incredibly cool. Whatever the situation is, he’s the type of person who instinctively knows how to handle it. He’s reserved when it comes to revealing information about himself, but the part of his backstory that he opens up to Rory about is quite sad. I definitely hope to learn more about Stephen as the series goes on.
The one tiny thing about this book that I wasn’t keen on was the tepid romance. I’m not even sure that “romance” is the right word to describe Rory and her classmate Jerome locking lips then acting all awkward around each other. The whole scenario just felt awkward in an otherwise stellar novel, so that’s probably why it stuck out in my mind. Fortunately, though, it’s a minor plot point, and it’s not like it broke the book for me. Plus, I think (well, hope, more like) that future events on the romance front may take a turn that I would be very happy with.
Overall, The Name of the Star was an exciting thriller that managed to both make me laugh and send chills down my spine. I always love a good dichotomy, and this book featured one of the best I’ve encountered so far. I’m looking forward to what’s next for Rory (and Stephen!) in [b:The Madness Underneath|15721638|The Madness Underneath (Shades of London, #2)|Maureen Johnson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345810446s/15721638.jpg|18093620].
I’d had my eye on The Name of the Star for a while, and I was not disappointed. This is a very clever take on the story of Jack the Ripper, with a paranormal twist to boot. Part of me feverishly turned the pages to see what would happen next, while another part of me dreaded what I’d find. Reading this in the middle of the night was sometimes creepy, to say the least.
I loved how this book shifted in tone so suddenly, yet without seeming abrupt. One minute, Rory is relating anecdotes about her Uncle Bick and Cousin Diane back home in Louisiana and warming up a jar of Cheese Whiz that she had shipped from America. The next minute, a serial killer who has eluded even surveillance cameras but has been seen by Rory is threatening to take out her eyes. On the surface, this novel seems like an odd combination of humor and horror, but believe me, it completely works here. Never have I laughed so much while reading a book about a psychopathic murderer. Look, I know how weird, and even macabre, that sounds. But Rory has this fantastic sense of humor, and if you met “Call Me” Claudia, the housemistress of Rory’s dorm with the rabid field hockey obsession, you’d be chuckling, too.
Maureen Johnson did a brilliant job plotting out this story. I love that aha moment when the small details that appeared insignificant at first coalesce into a complete picture that leaves me astonished. As I read, I wasn’t sure how the title, or even the name of the series, fit into the story, but once I found out, I marveled at how both tied into the novel. This was the sort of book that I enjoyed reading because it was like assembling a jigsaw puzzle; the tension-filled story built piece by piece, and the fun was in trying to put the correct pieces together.
I liked Rory a lot, but the character who most intrigued me was Stephen Dene, the police officer who takes a special interest in the Ripper case. Actually, there’s much more to Stephen’s job description than that, but going into too much detail would give away a key part of the plot. Stephen possessed a quiet intensity that I found incredibly cool. Whatever the situation is, he’s the type of person who instinctively knows how to handle it. He’s reserved when it comes to revealing information about himself, but the part of his backstory that he opens up to Rory about is quite sad. I definitely hope to learn more about Stephen as the series goes on.
The one tiny thing about this book that I wasn’t keen on was the tepid romance. I’m not even sure that “romance” is the right word to describe Rory and her classmate Jerome locking lips then acting all awkward around each other. The whole scenario just felt awkward in an otherwise stellar novel, so that’s probably why it stuck out in my mind. Fortunately, though, it’s a minor plot point, and it’s not like it broke the book for me. Plus, I think (well, hope, more like) that future events on the romance front may take a turn that I would be very happy with.
Overall, The Name of the Star was an exciting thriller that managed to both make me laugh and send chills down my spine. I always love a good dichotomy, and this book featured one of the best I’ve encountered so far. I’m looking forward to what’s next for Rory (and Stephen!) in [b:The Madness Underneath|15721638|The Madness Underneath (Shades of London, #2)|Maureen Johnson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345810446s/15721638.jpg|18093620].