Rory Deveaux, teenager from Louisiana, travels to London to spend her senior year while her parents teach Law classes for a year. As she arrives at her new school, Wexford Academy, a series of brutal murders occur that mirror the Jack the Ripper killing spree that took place a century ago in the area of London surrounding her school. The police have no leads and no witnesses. Except for one, Rory. On the eve of the next expected murder (each murder was on the exact day and time as each of the original Ripper killings) Rory encounters a strange, ghostly man- minutes before another murder occurs on her school grounds. Rory tells the police about the strange man, but she is the only one that saw him- and possible the only one who can see him. Rory seems to have tapped into an ability to see the supernatural, but will following this ability and attempting to help solve the murders make her the next target?
The author, Maureen Johnson, is one of my favorite YA authors. The Name of the Star is the first in the Shades of London series which is a book that deals with the supernatural, which is far from the usual content of Johnson’s stories. The writing in this story was also a slight break from her normal style: the narration is a bit choppy (although this could have something to do with the odd humor of Rory as a protagonist), and the stereotypical roles that her British classmates fall into are a little bit too familiar. However, the story moves past this quickly and delves into an action packed page turner of a spooky mystery. The setting alone- a traditional British boarding school with historical buildings and uniforms complete with pleated skirts- makes for a wonderful story.
This book is only first in the series and I can’t wait to read the next two. Johnson is a terrific author and I would recommend this book to anyone!