The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star
Maureen Johnson
372 pages
Publisher: Putnam
Source: library
★★★★☆

You can read the Goodreads summary here.

Rory and her family moves from their native Louisiana to England for her senior year.  Just as Rory arrives at the school, "Rippermania" grips the small town as murders start occurring that mimic those of Jack the Ripper.  Rory is soon sucked into the drama as the murders occur near her school and she becomes a target of the new Ripper.

This is written by the same author who wrote 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but this book was nothing like that.  It had it's whimsical, humorous moments like in 13 Little Blue Envelopes, but the plot line was paranormal rather than contemporary and it had a much darker element.  I loved it!  I blew through the short chapters, sucking up Rory's experiences moving across the ocean, starting a new school and meeting new friends.

This book was scary.  Of course, my only chance to read it was at night before I went to sleep.  I'm not going to say it gave me nightmares, but every night after I read it I did have unrelated nightmares.  While I was reading, I kept thinking this would make for one gruesome movie.  There's definitely that element of suspense that could really be played up on the big screen.

Four stars - I highly recommend, especially if weird historic events like those of Jack the Ripper interest you.  According to Goodreads it's the first in the series though I definitely think you could read it as a standalone if you wish.  It will be interesting to see how Rory's story continues if there is a second book.