I've been turned off by a lot of the YA I've read as an adult, which is fine because I realize I'm not really the target audience. Too much emphasis on angsty hallway romances. But I've been wanting to read something full-length by Maureen Johnson for awhile now, having only read her contribution to "Let it Snow" (holiday novel) and her hilarious tweets in the past.

This book was great - I'm going to pick up the second book in the series at the library today. It follows a Louisiana teen as she starts a year of boarding school in London while her parents spend a year in near-but-not-TOO-near Bristol. She arrives just as a copycat Jack the Ripper begins his reign of terror in the neighborhood immediately surrounding the Wexford campus.

Sure, there's the usual teenage relationship stuff. Friendships, rivalries, boys. But Maureen handles it with humor and lightness that doesn't make me want to stab my eyes out. Plus, it all quickly takes backseat to this crime thriller/ghost story/London lure.

I never once felt like the teens in the story were acting far older or younger than they should be, adult figures seemed to also act as you would expect and be present as they ought to be, especially with a killer on the loose. Those are two of my biggest gripes in YA books - kids that act beyond their years and disappearing adults that allow teens to run the universe like adults in bizarre situations.

Very good book and very excited for the next one! I really want to give it 4.5 stars but since that's not an option, I'm going to give it 5.