The Name of the Star (The Shades of London) [Hardcover]

Maureen Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 29, 2011 | Series: The Shades of London (Book 1)

New York Times bestseller Maureen Johnson takes on Jack the Ripper in this captivating paranormal thriller!

The day that Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London to start a new life at boarding school is also the day a series of brutal murders breaks out over the city, killings mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper spree 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--the only one who can see him. And now Rory has 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.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Johnson fearlessly takes readers from . . . a cool innocent-abroad-with-iPod story to supernatural thriller. The tension ramps up exquisitely among cups of tea, library visits and the London Underground. The explosive ending is genuinely terrifying but never loses the wit, verve and humor that Rory carries with her throughout." - Kirkus

"There's a Doctor Who-ish quality to the book - in both its technology and tone - that feels completely intentional and appealingly fresh to the YA genre, but Johnson's biggest achievement is in having written a book that will appeal to fans of her earlier work, but also please SF/F readers." - Locus Magazine

"Johnson uses a deft hand, applying the right amount of romance and teen snarkiness to relieve the story's building tension. Departing from her previous works, she turns paranormal on its head, mocking vampires and werewolves while creating ghosts that are both realistic and creepy. A real page-turner." - School Library Journal

"Readers looking for nonstop fun, action, and a little gore have come to the right place." - Publishers Weekly

"A gorgeously written, chilling, atmospheric thriller. The streets of London have never been so sinister or so romantic."- Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Infernal Devices and The Mortal Instruments series

About the Author

Maureen Johnson (maureenjohnsonbooks.com) is the author of ten young adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Let It Snow. She lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 384 pages
• Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition edition (September 29, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0399256601
• ISBN-13: 978-0399256608
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (181 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #146,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Maureen Johnson was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Like a lot of people who end up writing books, she was always reading. This paid off in the end, but also resulted in her not playing any sports, so she is spectacularly uncoordinated, and is easily injured by harmless household objects, like endtables.

She studied writing and theatrical dramaturgy at Columbia University. Before she could spend all her days writing, Maureen served up hamburgers in the company of mad scientists and talking skeletons in New York, tended bar in Piccadilly Circus, nervously worked alongside live tigers in Las Vegas, and once got mixed up with the entire cast of a major West End musical.

Maureen lives in New York City, and when she is not writing, spends her time in a relentless pursuit of the perfect cup of coffee. If you know where it is, get in touch with her at once.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 31 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 100% fun with a creepy edge! September 29, 2011

By Jessica Dennis

Format:Hardcover

What a fun book to read! The main character, Rory's parents move to England for business and she decides to attend a private boarding school- to get the whole "English" experience. Shortly after moving in, bonding with her roommate, crushing on a guy, and secretly despising the resident "perfect" girl- tragedy hits London. Someone is murdering people in the same fashion and on the same days that Jack the Ripper struck years ago. Unfortunately, Rory is an eye witness to one of the murders and becomes part of the investigation. I can't say anything more about the subject because I don't want to give anything away. I can tell you, however that Rory is a character. She has a crazy family that she talks about unabashedly, sharp wit that made me laugh out loud, and loyalty to her friends. This is a great book for young adults and for the young at heart- just be prepared to read it from cover to cover. I can't wait for the next book in this series.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A creepy mystery with an awesome setting and excellent humor! September 29, 2011

By The Compulsive Reader VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

When her parents move to England her senior year, Rory Devereaux agrees to go with them, as long as she can attend boarding school in London. The school and the people in it are a far cry from her tiny southern hometown, not far from New Orleans, but Rory likes her new roommate and is enjoying her school (well, except for maybe the field hockey part). Then, a murder is committed near the school, an exact replica of the first of the Jack the Ripper murders. And none of the security cameras in the area ever caught a glimpse of the killer. It doesn't take long for everyone in London to realize that there is a Ripper copycat on the loose, throwing the entire city into mayhem. Rory thinks that she's safe from it all, despite her proximity to the murder scenes, but when she is questioned by a secret branch of the London police, Rory finds that she is a lot closer to the real killer than she thought.

Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star is a fascinating and unique book! It is a bit different from her earlier, humor-driven work, but the writing is just as good as ever, and while the book isn't necessary serious, the mystery of the brutal deaths and the threat to Rory does have a bit of a sobering effect. That being said, there is still a lot of great humor in The Name of the Star, and some fantastic, quirky characters that entertain to no end. Rory is an excellent narrator--she's hardworking, funny, loyal, and when the going gets tough, she's a pretty noble person, even if the circumstances terrify her. The boarding school setting is a great one, with lots of fun and drama, and it's the perfect location for the Rippermania to take place. You'll learn a lot about London and the history of the Jack the Ripper murders throughout this book, and the combination of real facts and places with the special, secret police force Rory becomes involved in (which is a bit reminiscent of the early episodes of the TV show Torchwood) makes this book hard to put down. The Name of the Star is an intriguing, creepy mystery with an awesome setting and a great cast of characters. If the only complaint about it is the cruel cliffhanger of an ending, then you definitely need to pick this one up!

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars If you're looking for a thriller, you might want to look somewhere else November 5, 2011

By Loves to Read

Format:Hardcover

First off... I liked this book. The first half was a slow, there were a lot of details about eating, school uniforms, homework, and so on, but the characters were likable, the romance was cute, and the Jack the Ripper history was well done. If I had bought this book hoping for a light-hearted, slightly funny book with ghosts in it I might have given it four stars. However, I bought this book thinking it was a thrilling paranormal ghost story, which it definitely was not :(

The ending of the book was pretty good, the last 50 pages had some decent tension, Johnson made some bold choices that kept me guessing and left me satisfied. There wasn't a cliff hanger -which was also very nice. And I actually think I might pick up the next in this series. I would say it's the kind of book you could read in a day, but the pacing was a little too slow for that. Other than that it was an easy read. It just wasn't the kind of book that I had expected. I read mainly paranormal, sci-fi, fantasy, and I had thought this book would fall into one of those categories, and while technically it does, it read much more like a younger contemporary read -which I am sure is great for some people! If you like books like Heist Society then this book might be up your ally, but if you pick up this book expecting something with a little more of a paranormal/urban fantasy vibe -like Cassandra Clare's City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) then you will probably be disappointed... but at the same time, you still might enjoy it, which I did, I just wasn't crazy about it, and I felt rather deceived by the quotes on the back :(