weekend read: The Name of the Star

Because I’m a giant baby, I don’t like to read scary stories. Scary stories make me unable to go into the basement to do laundry; they also make it impossible for me to get out of bed in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.

For the most part, I avoid creepy mystery novels because I am a thirty-four-year-old adult with an overactive imagination. I feel no shame in this admission.

So reading The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was a stretch for me. Not because it wasn’t a good book–it’s actually a great book–but because I could feel myself getting all anxious and nervous as the book went on and when the ghosts finally appeared.

Rory Deveaux is a Louisianian resident attending her senior year of high school in a boarding school in London. The excitement she feels for her new adventure is quickly squelched when a Jack the Ripper copycat appears in the city and makes himself known to Rory. And it quickly becomes apparent that the Ripper’s next victim is going to be Rory.

This creepy book was fun to read even though I did think I was going to be murdered in my sleep on more than one occasion. There’s a paranormal element that I don’t normally enjoy but it didn’t feel too fake or cheesy, and it worked with the story.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson was engaging and thrilling. This book is actually the first one in a series, and I liked it enough to work up the nerve to read the next one. I’ll let you know if I survive.

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