The Name of the Star, by Maureen Johnson

The Name of the Star
by Maureen Johnson
New York: Putnam Juvenile
ARC reviewed; publishing date 9/29/11 

Rory Deveaux is spending her senior year at a posh London boarding school in this supernatural series from Maureen Johnson.  If adapting to a new boarding school and country isn’t hard enough, someone is precisely reinacting all the Jack the Ripper murders, down to the date, time, and method, and modern-day London is hooked.  Sneaking out with her roommate to another dorm, Rory becomes the only witness to have seen and talked to the prime suspect, despite not having been alone at the time.  With a romantic prospect and new friendships on the horizon, the last thing Rory needs is to be seeing people that aren’t there.  Is Rory going crazy?  Who is the modern-day Ripper? And more importantly, is he coming for her next?   Fans of Johnson will not be disappointed.  While there is some drinking in this book (legal in the UK), it is filled with great historical details about the original crimes.  More importantly, it serves as a thoughtful look at modern media sensationalism.  This is an imaginative and fun thriller, best suited for high school aged teens. 

Book Talk Hook:  Read the original facts of the case “On the X of September, 18XX, so and so was brutally murdered etc. On the X of October,  ditto, etc. etc.  The most famous unsolved crime ever was committed and the legend of Jack the Ripper was born.  On the X of September, 2011 , so and so was brutally murdered etc.”  Then give a tiny summary of the book.  The facts of the case really do the selling for you.  Methinks you won’t have to do too much convincing, especially for Johnson fans.

I'd Tell You I Love You, but Then I'd Have to Kill You, by Ally Carter: Alias awesome

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You. Ally Carter(2006).

NY: Hyperion. ISBN: 1423100034

Cammie Morgan, is just your average 16 year old girl who attends Gallagher Academy, an all-girls boarding school where her mom is the headmistress. Or is she? And is the Gallagher Academy just your average boarding school? As it turns out, no! Cammie, alias "the Chameleon," like all her classmates, is actually a super-genius attending a top secret boarding school for future mistresses of espionage. Here, the girls speak 14 different languages, hack the NSA, take notes on paper that evaporates to destroy the evidence, and take a class called Covert Operations. It is a Cov-Ops field trip into town that leads trouble for Cammie, when she bumps into and attracts the attention of a cute boy named Josh. But the townies have some preconceived notions about Gallagher girls, chiefly that they are little rich bitches who can be filed under the not to like category…So Cammie tells Josh she's a home schooler who has spent time in many foreign lands. Soon, she's sneaking out using the secret tunnels to rendezvous with Josh, and her roommates Becca, Liz and new bad girl transfer Macy are spying on him for extra credit. But can the spy games last? Will the teachers catch on? Would Josh still like Cammie if he knew the truth about where she went to school? Or what her school really is? And will she pass her Cov-Ops midterm?!?

I enjoy Alias, so it's no big shocker I found this book to be a super fun YA chick-lit romantic read about girl spies (I am a run-on champ). If only Francie had been as smart as Becca or Liz…le sigh. I found the spy gadgets cool, the plot well fleshed out and compelling, and the characters vibrant. Cammie and co may have spy skills and genius IQ's, but they still have adolescent problems like homework, self-confidence problems, compelling family drama, and trouble figuring boys out. I also really enjoyed that the ending isn't entirely foreseeable, and the action keeps the plot pace quick. I highly recommend this book, especially because it is the first in a series (the second one is even better!), and it gives a new twist to a tried and true YA romance genre staple.

Best for: Due to the girl heavy cast of characters and elements of romance, this is a book which will most likely only titillate girls ages 12 to 16. Sorry, gentlemen. Stick to Alex Rider, equal gender employer/hero to the younger YA masses.

Book Talk Hook: Do a lead-in asking questions about the things you can learn in spy school (i.e. "Who here can speak 14 languages?" "Who here knows how to kill a man using only spaghetti?" etc.), and then give a brief summary of the plot.