The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Release Date: 29th September, 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins

Pages: 372pgs

The Story

The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occassion. 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.

The Review

A big thanks to HarperCollins for sending me a review copy of this book!

THE NAME OF THE STAR is a fun, mysterious and an entertaining read, and as an introduction to a new YA urban fantasy series, I think Maureen Johnson fans - those fans of her previous contemporary novels - will be pleasantly happy with this book. Though for those who love the paranormal genre . . . some may believe you've seen this all before. Except it's about Jack the Ripper. Who doesn't love him?

Our main heroine is an all-round American teenager, a girl named Rory, and the very last thing she expected from her parents was to move to the foggy streets of London and start at her new all-round English boarding school where strange events start to occur before her known arrival. With ghosts, murders, cute boys and new unlikely friends, pretty much every element is covered for paranormal freaks like me. But what makes this book even stronger is the fantastic historical aspect of Jack the Ripper and Maureen Johnson easily taps into the spooky facts about him. You could tell she went detective on us and did a lot of research which you as a reader can tell when it comes to this book.

This is the second book I've read of Maureen Johnson's and when I finished Suite Scarlett I was pretty disappointed in all the hype that her writing was getting - especially when it came to that book. However, she really surprised me with this new book of hers. While the first hundred or so pages were incredibly slow for me - to a point where I found myself skimming some paragraphs with not so much happening - and with a story that wasn't so entertaining as I first assumed, but once Jack the Ripper entered and everything changed in a paranormalistic-turn, I couldn't wait to find out more and what awaits Rory's fate.

Without giving too much away, all I can say is on the fantasy side Maureen Johnson did a great job in writing about Ripper and putting the little pieces together of the gruesome murders that happens throughout the book. It was pretty interesting and intense too. Now on the honest side of things, I thought this story relied too much on Jack's legend - which I know is the point of this story - but I felt like something was lacking from it. I don't what it is exactly . . . but something was missing. Sure, I didn't mind Rory's character and I connected to her on a certain level, and I even found the whole paranormal police agency interesting too, but while I was totally engrossed with Jack the Ripper's history, I desperately wanted a better ending because Johnson was building up to something great and this greatness never showed up.

However despite some minor things I wished could've been developed more, on a whole I really enjoyed THE NAME OF THE STAR and I'm still looking forward to reading the sequel. The story needed more meat for me but for fans who don't know what to expect from a story like this one, than I'm sure you will overlook these dissatisfying feelings I'm left with. Still . . . everyone will LOVE Jack the Ripper which is way I'm giving this four stars rather than 3 1/2 stars because real or not we love him.

The Rating

4/5 stars

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Point

Pages: 353pgs

The Story

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusal way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a smart Art Deco hotel in the heart of New York City. When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet and world traveler.

And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn. Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery and romantic missteps. But in the city where anything can happen, she might just be able to pull it off.

The Review

I've heard a lot of great reviews for Maureen Johnson's books and when I came across this one at my local library, I immediately picked it up and read it. Now comes the tricky part of the review. Readers should know this book reviewing process: you're either going to get a great story with everything you could possibly like in a book and then there's those other books that will fall flat. For this being my very first Maureen Johnson book, I have to say - sadly - that I wasn't entirely impressed with SUITE SCARLETT. With the book having a feel of Gossip Girl to it, I thought perhaps I could like it . . . but I didn't. I don't know whether it's the storyline that bothered me or the characters themselves.

It's hard giving a review when you weren't entirely invested in the book you're reviewing and that's how I feel for this one. The main problem of the book was the development of the characters. Sure, I liked Scarlett as the main character. She was nice girl but sometimes niceness doesn't cut it, not even to make you like the entire novel. Aside from some character issues of mine, who I did like was the little romance of Eric. Sure he wasn't exactly the 'perfect' love interest that was flawless to the bone, but he definitely added some quality to the book.

Overall I liked the New York setting and I mean who doesn't like New York City for what it is? It's the perfect setting for a book like this one but clearly - a lot like Scarlett's nice character - it wasn't enough to pull me through and enjoy this book. But I did finish it though, which is a good thing I suppose. Will I read the sequel? Probably . . . but then again, probably not. Should you read it? It's entirely up to you. This book has received some mixed reviews so it seems likely that it'll be a 50/50 chance that you'll like it. But I recommend this book to anyone who loves a Gossip Girl feel or anyone who loves a quick but cute-comedy read.

The Rating

2/5 stars