Reading Rainbow: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

 I'm joining in the spOOky recs this week with a book I devoured over the weekend, The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. NotS is the story of Rory Deveaux, a teenager from Louisiana who moves to London to attend a boarding school for her senior year. There she meets an assortment of people, some friendly, some not, some of the hot boy variety, some of the not-alive-anymore variety. You know, the usual. (You can see where the spOOky part of the rec comes in.)

 

Upon Rory's arrival, a series of murders begins plaguing London, closely copying the infamous Jack the Ripper murders from over 100 years before. When Rory becomes the only witness, and subsequently a target, things get complicated. (DUN DUN DUN.)

Sometimes you read a book and you think "This author must've snuck into my head and picked out EVERY SINGLE THING I LOVE when putting this together, because it's PERFECT." It doesn't happen often, but when it does it's like a chorus of angels singing on the page. That's how I felt about The Name of the Star.  Johnson writes the well-known fish-out-of-water scenario believably. I could see the London Rory was seeing, and embraced it right along with her. I cared when Rory felt lonely and swooned when she felt the tingles of romance. But most of all, I was peeking out from behind my fingers to read when Rory realized that things were not right and that some of the people she'd seen were not alive.

The Name of the Star has ghosts, mystery, suspense, teenage hormonal angst, hot British boys, and ghosts who are hot British boys. Any way you look at it, this book is WIN, and it comes with an ending that will leave you wanting more without feeling like you were left hanging.

Like I said, the perfect book. So, don't be scared, pick up a copy.

Reading Rainbow: Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

I hope I'm not one of the last people to read Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson, because I really want to share this great book with you all! After I read it (and quickly followed it with The Last Little Blue Envelope), I couldn't help but wonder how I had missed out on reading these books earlier. Thank goodness Leigh read them and forced me to do the same.

From Goodreads:

When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.

I hate to admit this, but I definitely judged this book by its cover. I thought it would be too cutesy for me. You all know I like books about shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves and the like, but I also enjoy real-life books as long as they have some depth to them. Well, I was completely wrong about this book (and the sequel). Granted, they are cute, in a way that makes them fun to read and made me laugh out loud at times, but there is plenty of real-life depth here too. Maureen Johnson doesn't let her characters off easy, and she doesn't wrap everything up in a pretty, Happily-Ever-After bow, and I loved her for that.

So, if you're looking for some real-life, get past the cute covers and get ready for an eventful, fun, and sometimes heartbreaking journey. Seriously, you are missing out if you haven't read these books!