Rory is off to boarding school in London. She's excited, but apprehensive about fitting in, since she is from Louisiana, and all her classmates will be from England. The school, and really all of London, is on high alert, since there seems to be a copy-cat murderer who is killing woman on the dates and using the methods of the original Jack the Ripper.
Strange things begins to happen. First of all, a video of one of the murders shows the victim, but not the perpetrator. Rory, who sneaked out of her room one night, speaks to a strange man who later is believed to be the murder, but no one else saw this man.
It's a ghost story, and the murderer is apparently a ghost. Not only can Rory see these ghosts, but she meets some other characters who can see them, and are actually helping to solve the murders.
Rory is an interesting character. Her life gets turned upside down, between the boarding school and her new ability. She handles it as well as any teen would, making some bad decisions, as you would expect. The side characters, her roommate Jazza, and her love interest Jerome, are important players too.
The ending was exciting! There were several heart-pounding moments, although the actual apprehension of the murderer was kind of disappointing to me. It was a bit too easy, but that really didn't ruin my enjoyment of The Name of the Star.
The Name of the Star is a great teen mystery, of which there aren't very many. Just be sure that teens know there's a paranormal element, or die-hard mystery fans may be disappointed. The Name of the Star is part of the Shades of London series, and I'm looking forward to seeing what Rory, and hopefully some other familiar characters, are up to next.
Published by G. P. Putnam's Sons, 2011
Copy obtained from the library
372 pages
Rating: 4/5
I liked The Name of the Star... I was hoping for a little more tension and real danger, but overall I think it was a good read. I didn't know it was part of a series, but now I'll be on the lookout for more. Great review btw,
ReplyDelete-P.E.
I haven't read this one yet, but I've heard great things. I think the combination of a ghost story with historical roots as you said sounds incredibly interesting and unique. I'll have to check this one out.
ReplyDeleteI agree, there are not enough YA mysteries out there! I really enjoyed this one and am excited to read the rest of the series.
ReplyDeleteAnother great book! I feel asleep while reading this and woke up because I had a dream the killer got me. I'm very excited about the next book!
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