The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

*****



I came to this book having no idea what to expect. I had never heard of Johnson and I had not sought out this book, it was free from the Queen of Teen awards. Yes I was there, little me, having nominated Joanna Nadin (who obviously should have won) and I witnessed Johnson be crowned Queen. And deservedly so. The Name of the Star left me speechless and begging for more.

Rory is a Louisiana teenager who has come to London to study at a private school whilst her parents work in Bristol. However she joins just as a Jack the Ripper copycat killer begins his invisible rampage- there is no trace of the murderer and the CCTV doesn’t pick up anyone despite the killings being in full view of London security. The Police are stumped and Rory is their only witness, she saw someone, a man her best friend Jazza didn’t see, despite the fact that he was standing right in front of her.  She thinks she’s going crazy, she notices things others don’t, she sees people who aren’t there. Or are they?

As the murders continue and the evidence points to no one the disturbing and morbid truth comes to light, and Rory is in the middle of it all. She holds the key to catching the killer, though could this also get her and her friends killed as well?

Rory is typical teenager; nervous, friendly, funny, a tiny bit clumsy, and smitten. Although this book is primarily about The Ripper’s rampage it is also about growing up and I think this is what makes it so accessible to YA readers. She deals with all the normal emotions as well as the drama in the outside world. I think Jerome, Rory’s ‘close’ friend is one of my favourite characters. For some of the book he is only in the background, but his fascination with all things Jack the Ripper and his relationship with Rory really keeps him in the for-front of the readers mind.

Although this books is a horror story it is also a story about romance and friendship which ultimately has the power to make you laugh and cry. I would whole heartedly recommend this book to anyone, whatever their age (but maybe not for young kiddies…). You don’t need to be a teen to appreciate Johnson’s effortless narration as a teen girl. This is truthfully one of the best books I have read in ages and right now I am writing this to stop myself from picking it straight back up and reading it again! Thankfully the sequel The Madness Underneath the second novel in the Shades of London series will be released January 2013…I will be left to fangirl until then!

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

****

If I Stay is the heart rendering story of Mia, a 17 year old cellist who’s seemingly perfect life is turned upside down. In one life shattering flash the world she knew is gone forever and all she can do is stand by and watch helplessly as medics try and piece her life back together. However ultimately Mia holds the key and she must make the choice.

We follow Mia over 24 hours seeing through her spirits eyes feeling what she feels and willing for her to live on. The reader is thrown into the deep end from the off with the gory details not being spared.

The book starts of wonderfully joyful and innocent; a blanket of pure, fresh, white snow allows Mia and her family a free day. However this turns into a day of sorrow as her mother and father are killed in a car accident leaving her mind and soul to watch events unfold around her. Mia is unaware of her young brother Teddy’s condition until later in the story pragmatic hints are given to her and the reader to decipher his fate.

Mia is plunged into a bottomless coma by the accident and desperate attempts by friends and family members are made to relieve her from her invisible existence. The most frantic of all made by her boyfriend Adam. He, like her is a musician and as Mia struggles to make her choice she remembers all the things they have done together, their first date, their first kiss. She also goes through other pinnacle moments in her life such as Teddy’s birth, her application to Juilliard, music camp and family gatherings. Mia does this in a way that makes the audience feel as though she is trying to hide from her decision, yet also gather reasons to stay.  

However Mia comes across small reasons not to stay. When she was awake she was already battling to decide if she should go to Juilliard to read music or stay to be with her boyfriend Adam. Mia and Adams relationship is not the typical short lived whimsical teen romance but profound and meaningful, Mia remembers how she realised this when her parents shared a knowing look as Adam blew on her hands to warm them up. This battle reflects the one she is now fighting and once again Adam is willing her to stay. I felt passionately for Adam who’s attempts to wake Mia show how love conquers all and how far someone is willing to go and how much someone is willing to sacrifice just to see the one thing that really matters to them.

This story is an emotional roller coaster that will have you in tears of joy, and more than often tears of sadness and despair. On more than one occasion I found impossible to read through the floods of tears staining my eyes. Like every human I put myself in Mia’s position and willed with all my might to awaken her. It is so cruel that the author has the God like power to decide her fate while the reader and the character aimlessly try and take over. 

Towards the end of the book I started to convince myself that the worst will happen preparing myself for overwhelming grief at the loss of a person who I had come so close to. Forman has the incredible skill of letting the reader actually become the character by letting them enter Mia’s mind, and unlike other stories that allow this we, as the reader and the character, are not entirely alive which makes Mia’s ghost like existence personal to the audience as none of the other characters know that we have the ability to watch their every move.

Of course I am not going to divulge the ending to you but it is wonderfully ambiguous and all most certainty tear jerking.

Introductions

Firstly I am going to start by saying hello, so hello! I'm me and I love books, and as there is an overly long summer stretching ahead of me before uni starts (English Literature and Creative writing, no surprises there) I have decided to start this blog. Hopefully it will encourage you lot out there to read some of the awesome books out there on offer. I plan to review a book maybe every couple of weeks depending. I would love it if you could suggest some books for me to review, I'll read anything romance, crime, non-fiction, young adult, either gender, I'm up for it so just leave a comment on any of my posts with your suggestions!

Thank you!