Book Review: The Name of the Star

The Name of the Star, written  by immensely talented young adult author Maureen Johnson, is marred by a misleading cover. It depicts a translucent Victorian gentleman hovering over a comely sleeping teen.  The art  is reminiscent of a typical teen paranormal romance novel, complete with an ethereal alpha male love interest.  Thankfully, it’s nothing of the sort; while the main character does have a romantic relationship with another character, said relationship is not central to the plot.  Instead, we get a spunky heroine and an engrossing detective story that becomes a paranormal thriller later on.

Rory, our protagonist, is a Louisiana native spending her senior year in a British boarding school.  She’s a well-developed character who reacts in a realistic manner to the trials and tribulations that come her way.  She’s fairly sensible and keeps her cool in several tense situations, something that cannot be said for a lot of popular teen fiction heroines.  Her friends at her British boarding school and a group of policemen who become more prominent in the second half of the book make up the rest of the characters.  Most of them are interesting, but some (like Rory’s roommate Jazza) become a little worn-out and grating as the book goes on.  The villain is very well-written, a sinister enigma whose escapades are very well thought out.

The way the author gradually weaves paranormal elements into her story is easily the best part of the novel.  Most young adult urban fantasy works tend to bludgeon the reader with its supernatural elements early on and use them as an excuse to generate conflict and a plot.  The Name of the Star is completely free of the supernatural for the first half of the novel, and reads like a well-written modern crime story.  However, the paranormal elements that are introduced set up a new dimension to the protagonist’s life without massive, boring information overloads, and ultimately add to the story.

All in all, there really isn’t a reason not to pick up The Name of the Star.  It has action, suspense, mystery, fantasy, and a bit of romance—something for everyone, though at 400 pages, it could be considered a little long despite its excellent pacing.