Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: Putnam Juvenile; First Edition (September 29, 2011)
I think it's time to write a review on this book. On my goodreads account it says that I've started reading this book at least a month ago, but personally I don't see anything special about it. I'm on page 176 and there 's not much that keeps me going. The characters are mundane and the setting is the main focus of the novel. Even though that's awesome, I love character driven novels. NOT ohh let's put this person in this situation and see how they react. That to me is some what equal to animal testing if you understand where I'm coming form.
The main character Rori or Aurora is only interesting from where she comes from and why she moves to London and there's a new ripper in the city. She's very mundane to other characters I've read. Although mundane is good for supernatural and fantasy stories telling the world, as for historical fiction you want the leading protagonist to be strong and independent or lost and finding themselves. I felt that Rori was in the middle. She was just riding along on this roller coaster her parents put her on. Only positive thing I can say about her is that I love her name. It's the name of one of the Gilmore Girls and that was my favorite show growing up.
Sort of tangent: I hate the cover. The cover has nothing to do with the story, that I know so far and I've read half of it. Rori is not a red head and she does not sleep on the ground from what I conjure up, since she goes to a boarding school in London.
This is my first Maureen Johnson novel, and truthfully I had very high hopes for this novel. Mostly because she's a friend of John Green and he recommended her books. I had extremely high expectations, since I've read The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. He set the standard of my reading to this day. Maureen Johnson's writing was well done, but her story dragged on and on. I kept reading because I learned a lot about the schooling over the pond and I love the setting of a boarding school. Also anything that has to do with Jack the Ripper entices me. I did love how she incorporate news articles and third person point of view at key points and it smoothed easily.
Partly my fault for setting so high of expectations I give Maureen Johnson's The Name of the Star a head shake, thumbs down, and a shoulder shrug. (2 out of 5)
No comments:
Post a Comment