The Name of the Star

Gr 7 Up—Rory Deveaux is from Louisiana and is excited to attend Wexford School in London while her parents teach on sabbatical in Bristol. After nearly choking to death on a piece of food, Rory discovers that she has the ability to see ghosts. She arrives in London in the midst of a series of Jack the Ripper copycat murders and becomes the only person who has seen the prime suspect in the case—but it takes her a while to realize that some of the people she has witnessed near the crime scenes are shades or ghosts. Before long, Rory becomes the murderer's target. She meets others with similar abilities, and together they work to solve the crime spree. Rory finds friendship, romance, and a home away from home in London while coming to terms with her special ability. Maureen Johnson's chilling, entertaining story (Putnam, 2011) is read at an appropriately suspenseful pace by Nicola Barber who does a fine job with the various Southern and British accents and gives each character a unique voice. Listeners will look forward to the other titles in the trilogy.—Cynthia Ortiz, Hackensack High School, NJ