Thrills and Chills: A Review of The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

I love mysteries.  I am an unapologetic mystery fiend.  Since my first Nancy Drew in fourth grade, I have been a bit addicted to mystery stories. But I usually find my mystery reading from outside my preferred shelves of the young adult section.  So when I heard that one of my favorite YA authors, the brilliant Maureen Johnson, was publishing a murder mystery with a supernatural twist, I pretty much threw a party in excitement.  One of my favorite writers writing in one of my favorite genres? A dream come true! 


It is always a highly anticipated event for a bookworm when an author writes a book that seems very different that previous novels.  It's sort of a gamble: will it be brilliant or will it flop?  While I was at ALA this June I was lucky enough to be at the YALSA Young Adult Authors' Coffee Klatch.  So I got the opportunity to hear Maureen answer the question that she has likely already grown sick of hearing: why write a murder mystery about Jack the Ripper and a secret London police force? She said that she had always wanted to write a mystery.  Well, I for one am very glad that she has finally been able to pursue that interest! 


Maureen's other novels (which include The Bermudez Triangle, Suite Scarlett, 13 Little Blue Envelopes) usually fit very clearly into the sub-category of young adult realistic fiction; the delightfully supernatural Devilish is an exception to this statement.  The Name of the Star seems, initially, quite different from these other novels. It begins like many of the best mysteries: with an intriguing murder.  Then we meet Rory Deveaux, a native of Louisana whose arrival in London coincides with a brutal murder that appears to mimic  the first of Jack the Ripper's famous crimes.  Starting senior year of high school in a foreign country is already pretty terrifying and confusing but soon it appears that Rory is going to have to worry about something much scarier than British slang and unfamiliar classes as the murders continue and she finds herself caught up right in the middle.  


Rory is what I like to think of as a classic Maureen Johnson heroine: smart and spunky with a solid sense of humor.  She is likable, admirable, and realistic.  As usual, I completely adore her.  She is a great narrator, interspersing her narration with sharp and often self-deprecating observations about the world and stories about her kooky but beloved Southern family.  The novel is spot on in its descriptions of the wonders and confusions that come with studying abroad (especially in England) as well as the more universal experiences of being a teen (kissing, high school politics).  But amidst her signature elements, Maureen Johnson slowly sneaks in not only a compelling mystery but also a great supernatural twist.  By the last page, I was simultaneously thrilled and furious to remember that this book is the first in a series; it left me eager for more but frustrated that I now need to wait to get it! 


So definitely be watching the shelves of your local libraries and bookstores this September for the release of Maureen Johnson's newest, The Name of the Star!


5/5 STARS


* The copy of The Name of the Star I read and based this review on was a free (and signed!) ARC I received from the publisher at ALA Annual 2011.  
  

The Romance of a Good Love Story: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

When I first looked a little dubiously at this shiny cover picture of the coy girl and the Eiffel Tower, I would never have predicted that about a month later I would be standing eagerly in line at a conference center in New Orleans, awaiting my chance to snatch up Stephanie Perkins' next novel.  I picked Anna and the French Kiss off the library shelf while browsing earlier this summer because I remembered that John Green had mentioned it with high praise in a Vlogbrothers video a few months before.  I flipped the book over and saw more excited praise from E. Lockhart and Maureen Johnson.  Well, I thought, I guess I really have to give it a try.  But I remained a little doubtful.  The blurb inside the cover sounded  like a classic romance cliche: girl likes boy but boy is taken.  


Then I started to read.  And, wow, was I wrong!  

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

13 Little Blue Envelopes
Maureen Johnson


Only a few months after her mysterious but beloved Aunt Peg dies, Ginny suddenly receives a package. Inside the package are thirteen letters from her aunt containing explicit instructions to send Ginny out on the European adventure of a lifetime-a final gift from Peg.  


This book has been on my 'to-read' list for months now and at last I grabbed a chance to pick it up! It turns out that my timing was actually pretty ideal since the long awaited sequel, The Last Little Blue Envelope comes out TODAY!  And after finishing this book, I'm definitely eager to read more about Ginny and her adventures.


13 Little Blue Envelopes is, like all of Maureen Johnson's books, witty, fun, romantic, and heartfelt.  Ginny is a solid lead in a cast of quirky and appealing characters.  The hook (those mysterious little blue envelopes)creates a non-stop adventure that manages to be both an epic love song to European travel and a gentle coming-of-age story for the quiet but spunky Ginny.  As Ginny travels from city to city and country to country, she slowly learns more about the woman her aunt became while discovering the young woman she wants to become.  


Following Ginny across the Continent, I immediately longed to return to my own year abroad in Europe; this novel will not only appeal to fans of Johnson's other works but also to teenage travelers or want-to-be travelers.  Overall, a great read! The novel could pair well with nonfiction about travel and different countries or a other novels featuring globe-trotting girls such as Stephanie Perkins' Anna and the French Kiss, Johnson's Girl at Sea, or Ann Brashares' Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.  


4.5/5 STARS