Maureen Johnson is an American author of young adult fiction and is recognized for the Shades of London series, including The Name of the Star. Johnson’s style is easily characterized by long, complex sentences, extensive use of allusion, and a modern story-telling ability. Mediocre metaphors aside, The Name of the Star is a well-developed novel through Johnson’s use of beautiful descriptions and believable dialogue. The novel is a part contemporary, part paranormal thriller, marked by two different tones throughout. Johnson’s novel, The Name of the Star, demonstrates her contemporary and stylistic approach while also dealing with the theme of adapting to drastically different changes in life, by allowing Aurora, the protagonist, to undergo
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By adding a few ghosts, Johnson appeals to younger ages and also gives room for adding to the theme. Johnson gives an ability to Aurora, which is being able to see the dead and interact with them. When Aurora is finally told this, she doesn’t handle it very well, but is able to become comfortable with the idea as the book comes to an end. “Most people who claim to be able to see ghosts can’t. Most of the people who claim they have seen ghosts simply have very overreactive imaginations or are easily suggestible. But some people can, and we are those some people. ‘I don’t want to see ghosts,’ I said. I had never experienced this feeling before. My heart had been going fast all through this discussion, but now it slowed and I was almost sleepy. My system could take no more” (Johnson 179). By using exaggerative language and believable dialogue in a situation like this, Johnson is able to make Aurora appear relatable, thus allowing the reader to understand her state of mind even more. With all of this change (moving to a different country, attaining a new ghost-seeing ability, and meeting many new people), Aurora is having a difficult time adapting and gives insight on how it’s affecting her …show more content…
They are also allowed to dive deeper into the theme and understand her emotions, state of mind, and thoughts given from the first-person point of view advantage. Overall, The Name of the Star beautifully demonstrates the author’s ability to develop intricate storylines and characters. The theme of adapting to drastically different changes in life is well represented by a typical character, like Aurora and is able to be found very relatable to any modern reader by showing the inevitable, drastic changes that any person will go through at some point in their
By adding a few ghosts, Johnson appeals to younger ages and also gives room for adding to the theme. Johnson gives an ability to Aurora, which is being able to see the dead and interact with them. When Aurora is finally told this, she doesn’t handle it very well, but is able to become comfortable with the idea as the book comes to an end. “Most people who claim to be able to see ghosts can’t. Most of the people who claim they have seen ghosts simply have very overreactive imaginations or are easily suggestible. But some people can, and we are those some people. ‘I don’t want to see ghosts,’ I said. I had never experienced this feeling before. My heart had been going fast all through this discussion, but now it slowed and I was almost sleepy. My system could take no more” (Johnson 179). By using exaggerative language and believable dialogue in a situation like this, Johnson is able to make Aurora appear relatable, thus allowing the reader to understand her state of mind even more. With all of this change (moving to a different country, attaining a new ghost-seeing ability, and meeting many new people), Aurora is having a difficult time adapting and gives insight on how it’s affecting her …show more content…
They are also allowed to dive deeper into the theme and understand her emotions, state of mind, and thoughts given from the first-person point of view advantage. Overall, The Name of the Star beautifully demonstrates the author’s ability to develop intricate storylines and characters. The theme of adapting to drastically different changes in life is well represented by a typical character, like Aurora and is able to be found very relatable to any modern reader by showing the inevitable, drastic changes that any person will go through at some point in their