Hilarious, fun and mysterious read that I recommend everyone read!

As seen on The ReadventurerThe Name of the Star is a novel with a great premise but bogged down by a very mediocre writing.American teen Aurora (Rory) Deveaux is spending her senior year in London. Her parents work in nearby Bristol and Rory is all set to live and study at a boarding school. On the day of her arrival to London she learns that there is a brutal murderer on the loose. This murderer appears to be mimicking Jack the Ripper - his first victim was sliced and diced in exactly the same

Find the enhanced version of this and other reviews at: http://flashlightcommentary.blogspot....The only thought in my head for much of the reading was that of Alexis Bledel as Rory Gilmore. It doesn’t do much credit to a story when the reader is perpetually distracted by a pop culture reference. You don’t see Heathcliff or Rochester being thrown around the literary world for a reason. The goal is to hook your reader, not set them in mind of other amusements. Perhaps I am too judgmental but I fe...

There are several things I love about Maureen Johnson’s writing. Her ability to describe a setting in such a way that causes vivid imagery to accompany her words, and her incredibly intellectual wit that makes me laugh out loud while reading. When I read that Johnson was publishing a paranormal YA book I knew I had to read it.Rory is a Southern girl going to school in London, I adore the way Rory sees the city and the brilliant deductions she makes about all things British. She is having an okay...

Audio book narrated by Nicola Barber(9h 50 min) Goodreads has a great synopsis so I will not rehash the details here. Quite simply, "The Name of the Star" is a contemporary YA mystery with a mixture of romance and the supernatural set in London with a Jack the Ripper copycat. But like other reviewers, I felt there were so many chapters that served as "fillers" Pages of Rory's crazy family from Louisiana and endless details on the life of a British boarding school. A decent book, but it left me f...

Amazing!! listened to the audiobook while driving back and forth on tour stops. I HATE driving long hours but I was honestly excited about getting back in the car so I could hit play and dive back into the world. plus, the woman who does the audio does TONS of accents and it was incredible! this story is creepy, unique, and has a touch of Gothic feel that I just adore. ordered book 2 the second I finished :)

This is actually the first book I’ve read that’s by Maureen Johnson, so I didn’t know what to expect. Normally, I would shy from these types of things; I mean come on it IS Jack the Ripper. Are you kidding me? I’m not a big fan of horror movies, or horror books ,for that matter. A few weeks ago before reading the book, I (foolishly) thought that this was a historical paranormal. So imagine my surprise when I started reading and found out that this was set in present day, not in the 1880’s with t...

This book had been on my shelf for years, seriously, before I actually picked it up to read it. I'm not even sure why, because the plot was always intriguing to me.I ended up having a great time with this story, and give it a solid 4. I thought the Jack The Ripper was stuff was interesting albeit a little on the fantastical side (the way London and the general media was reacting to these murders) but it didn't ruin the story for me. I enjoyed the main character, I enjoyed reading about the Londo...

#2) The Madness Underneath ★★☆☆☆#3) The Shadow Cabinet ★★★★☆➸ Trigger warnings for (view spoiler)[ableist language, panic attacks mentioned, depression, graphic attempted suicide by hanging recounted, suicide by train mentioned, alcohol consumption, minor blood & gore depiction, physical injuries, emesis, death from an asthma attack mentioned, forced hospitalisation recounted, human medical experimentation mentioned, attempted murder by insulin overdose, death of a sister recounted, murder & att...

I was really intrigued and quite pleased with The Name of the Star. I read it after seeing many dazzling reviews, so my expectations were quite high and though it wasn't perfect, I was very satisfied with it.Jack the Ripper! That is all it took to entice me. Unless you have been born and raised under a rock, you have already heard about Jack the Ripper. His case is fascinating and very mysterious. I was really curious to find out how Maureen was going to use an extremely known story and make it

DNF. Not bothering with an actual review. What a disappointing and dull book. You would expect a book about Jack the ripper to be an enjoyable and entertaining read. Though it was an absolute fail for a Jack the ripper story. I can't stop remembering this particular scene...It’s when Rory and her love interest are kissing, and they pull apart and a string of their saliva hangs in-between them or something. Who the fuck puts that kind of description in a kissing scene? What a turn off. What was t...

More like 3.5, but I haven't decided if I'm on the higher or lower side of it... If you know me at all, you know I love serial killers. I don't love them in a way that'd make me want to be one or anything, don't worry, but I think their mentality and motives are absolutely fascinating. And there is no serial killer as famous as Jack the Ripper. People have been fascinated with the Ripper since he first started killing. There were no definitive eyewitnesses, he stopped at five women, and investig...

2022 reread:This was as fun as I remember it being! I think there’s a lot of open spoilers for this book I’d keep hidden as I think it would ruin the vibe a bit, but I really enjoyed this. It’s fun, it’s unique, and the main character is great. I’m excited to finally after all these years make my way to the sequel. Just a fun fact about me: I don't read book blurbs. Whether I've been anticipating the book for a long time, or it's a book I've never heard of, I don't read blurbs. I find they give

The Name of the Star was a hit with me. Maureen Johnson got my attention as an author with her short story, "The Law of Suspects." It was utterly chilling and fantastic suspense. I appreciated how she writes with a respect for the intelligence of her readership, even though they are the YA audience. Like CS Lewis, I believe the best children's book is one that an adult can enjoy. I knew I was going to follow her after reading this brilliant short story. So when I saw this book was coming out, I

February 2020 rereadYep! Just as brilliant as I remembered!January 2018 A great YA paranormal urban fantasy story and the good news is this is a series. This is my first read of this author and I was impressed with the gentle humour and genuine insight into the mind of late teens in general and Rory, the main character's, personality. The supporting characters are likeable too and the fact that the focus of this book was not teenaged angst and romance was a big plus. Call-me-Claudia, the hockey-...

Okay, I love Maureen Johnson. She is a lovely and intelligent and hilarious person. So far, I've enjoyed all the books she's written. (I'm pretty sure I've read all of them...)That said, I found The Name of the Star somewhat disappointing. I don't know, maybe I had unrealistically high expectations, and I also thought the book would be about something completely different. But, don't get me wrong. I did enjoy this book. But, I suppose it just wasn't quite as good as I had hoped it would be.First...

The first book in The Shades of London series, The Name of the Star sucked me right in and held tightly. I have never been so thrilled to have the next book-in-the-series- already on hand. One book with these dynamic, compelling and wickedly funny characters was simply not enough.Because Ms. Johnson could write an entertaining cereal box, I'll share a few of my favorite quotes from this book rather than give a detailed review in an effort to lure you in. “Something about her suggested that her

2020 reread - I’m not going to change my original rating but it didn’t quite hit 5 star status for me in reread. I think mostly because in a shocking twist I actually remembered most of this story so I knew things this time around that I didn’t on the first read which made it less compelling but I still really enjoyed it and definitely put this as one of my top trilogies. After thinking about this for a couple of days I'm changing my rating to 5 stars. Series like this is why I read YA and it de...

It's unfortunate to be on a YA Mystery binge and reach for a book marketed as YA Mystery, labeled as YA Mystery, dressed as YA Mystery...... and which decidedly isn't YA Mystery.But, hey, boarding school shenanigans!

Another example of really enjoyable YA literature. It reminded me of Paul Cornell’s London Falling (although it is not nearly so dark) what with the Jack the Ripper references and ghostly presences. But the main character, Rory Deveraux, made me think of Karen Marie Moning’s MacKayla Lane (the Fever series)—both are Southern girls with professional parents who go to school in the U.K. Both girls are capable of seeing things that ordinary people can’t—MacKayla sees the Fae, Rory sees dead people....