The Name of the Star
by Maureen Johnson
So, in the book, there's this girl and her name is Rory. She's from Louisiana, but she's moving to London to go to boarding school there and also because studies show that the masses love English boarding schools (did you not read Harry Potter?). And, like, when she gets there she finds that a series of murders have occurred across the country, much the same way they did in 1888, when Jack the Ripper was around. Soon everyone is seized with fear and no answers and Rory finds herself in the spotlight when she is the only one that seems to have seen the person who police believe was the culprit. Oh, and there are ghosts.
As good as this book looked in the bookstore, I didn't actually find myself loving its innards. I don't want to cast Maureen Johnson off as one of those writers whose books I will never pick up again, but I tend to feel indifferent after reading her stuff.
It's not that there's anything wrong with The Name of the Star. The plot was good. The boarding school was good. The characters were good. I never feel particularly attached to Maureen Johnson's characters, and I don't feel like she really develops them to their fullest, but they were fine. I didn't like Jerome, who was set up to be such a cool guy and then ended up just being obsessed with the Ripper the whole time. But good is one of those throw away adjectives that means nothing.
The book was not scary. I don't read a ton of paranormal young adult books*, so I don't know if they're usually scary or not, but this wasn't at all.
I think that it's often really easy to only focus on the things I didn't like about the book, but there were things I loved about it, too. I don't want to make it sound like I thought this book was terrible, which it wasn't. For example, I love the way Maureen Johnson can set up a scene. When Rory first arrives to the boarding school and is taking in everything, I could really see the things that she described. I also love the little details she injects into her writing, like how Rory notices how her friend Jazza uses "who" and "whom" correctly. I also enjoyed Maureen's take on the ghost, twisting it beyond a Casper and into something that was realistic.
I liked the book, didn't love it, probably wouldn't be the first thing I'd recommend to you. I feel like this was a terribly generic review. Oh well.
✶ ✶ ✶ - 3/5
*Let me tell you, my local Barnes and Noble has an entire two shelves devoted to "Teen Paranormal Romance." Why, when there are only eight shelves of young adult in general, are two of them consumed with "Teen Paranormal Romance"? It aggravates me.
As good as this book looked in the bookstore, I didn't actually find myself loving its innards. I don't want to cast Maureen Johnson off as one of those writers whose books I will never pick up again, but I tend to feel indifferent after reading her stuff.
It's not that there's anything wrong with The Name of the Star. The plot was good. The boarding school was good. The characters were good. I never feel particularly attached to Maureen Johnson's characters, and I don't feel like she really develops them to their fullest, but they were fine. I didn't like Jerome, who was set up to be such a cool guy and then ended up just being obsessed with the Ripper the whole time. But good is one of those throw away adjectives that means nothing.
The book was not scary. I don't read a ton of paranormal young adult books*, so I don't know if they're usually scary or not, but this wasn't at all.
I think that it's often really easy to only focus on the things I didn't like about the book, but there were things I loved about it, too. I don't want to make it sound like I thought this book was terrible, which it wasn't. For example, I love the way Maureen Johnson can set up a scene. When Rory first arrives to the boarding school and is taking in everything, I could really see the things that she described. I also love the little details she injects into her writing, like how Rory notices how her friend Jazza uses "who" and "whom" correctly. I also enjoyed Maureen's take on the ghost, twisting it beyond a Casper and into something that was realistic.
I liked the book, didn't love it, probably wouldn't be the first thing I'd recommend to you. I feel like this was a terribly generic review. Oh well.
✶ ✶ ✶ - 3/5
*Let me tell you, my local Barnes and Noble has an entire two shelves devoted to "Teen Paranormal Romance." Why, when there are only eight shelves of young adult in general, are two of them consumed with "Teen Paranormal Romance"? It aggravates me.
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