TBR Review: The Name Of The Star by Maureen Johnson
I’d been thinking of taking a break from YA after a couple of disappointing reads, but this book reinvigorated my love of the genre. I really loved the main character in this novel. Aurora (call me Rory) Deveaux has left her Louisiana home to enroll in London’s Wexford Academy. Rory has done a tremendous amount of research on her school and it’s environs but nothing truly prepares her for the culture shock of living in a foreign country.
Rory however takes the entire process in stride. As time passes she bonds with her roommate and even has a potential love interest. Things drastically change when a series of Jack The Ripper like murders happen a few blocks from the school. Rory has an interaction with a strange man at the scene of one of the murders and comes forward to the police. There is only one problem. Her roommate didn’t see the man. Nor does anyone see her friend Alastair at the school library. Rory discovers that she has the ability to see the dead and is possibly the only hope to stop the new string of murders.
This story unfolds at a really nice pace. I love that Rory is a very sensible, somewhat sarcastic heroine. She doesn't spend her time mooning over the two very handsome yet different young men in her life but instead values the relationships she is building with her female friends. There is enough dramatic tension to keep the reader glued to the pages of the book and some genuine scary scenes. A very solid ending. I'm looking forward to the next two books in the series.
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