So... this is a hard one to review. Giving it a 'C' was even more difficult, but let's keep in mind that a 'C' means average. We were really excited about reading this one, and hoped to get to it before the end of the school year. Perhaps if we had, we would have been able to chat with the small number of you who had read it, and then been a bit more generous with the final grade.
The plot line revolves around 14 year-old Carver Young who is adopted by a Pinkerton Agency detective. Having grown up in the orphanage reading mysteries, it's a dream come true for Carver to be assisting the famous Detective Hawking. That is until he realizes that the reason for his adoption, is to draw out Jack the Ripper, now rumored to be in New York City. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the Ripper could be Carvers' biological father who has returned to find his abandoned son.
There's plenty of action, very little romance, and some serious historical research. Carver is likable and brave, but is slow on the up-take of clues. It takes a bit of the fun out of the story if you start yelling at the pages, "I know who the killer is!" We really enjoyed the historical events and figures that provide the setting and some major plot points, but we felt like the author didn't really do a very good job of incorporating the history into the fiction. And we have serious difficulty with YA books whose chapters are between 2 - 4 pages in length. It becomes such a distraction! We think it has a YA ranking because the main character is a teen and the plot revolves around a serial killer, but if you're looking for edgy, Ripper isn't it. If, however, you are interested in a quick, historical fiction mystery, that would have a PG rating at the box office- you've found it.
Next Up: Child of the Mountains- June 15th
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