The Madness Underneath Review

Photo from Goodreads

Title: The Madness Underneath

Author: Maureen Johnson

Published: February 26th, 2013 by Putnam

Plot Summary from Goodreads:

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory’s brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she’s become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city’s secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it’s too late.

Review:

Maybe because I read this one right after reading the first book in this series, but this one felt a lot shorter than the first one. In fact, I just looked at my copies of both these books and this one is a little less than 100 pages shorter than the first. Well, that explains it. I do feel like less happened in it.

I feel like this book is divided into two parts. The first half is more related to what happened in the first book and the second half felt like it was setting up for the final book (release date not until 2014 =[ ). And while I am still really upset about the ending, I also felt this book went from not much happening to everything happening at once. 

There were several new characters introduced, and not to give too much away but I was suspicious about a few of them from the start. And while I would like more of an explanation on their motives, I'm looking forward to seeing them again in the final book. 

I adored Rory in the first book, but in this one, she got on my nerves a little bit. She had been through a lot in the first book, and I think she was still recovering in this book and dealing with a lot of angst. And while angst is generally a no-no in young adult fiction, I think this a time where angst was accurately depicted. Teenage years are full of angst, especially if you're dealing with extraordinary things. Just ask Harry Potter. 

Overall, while I didn't love this book as much as I loved the first book, I did really like it and I will definitely be reading the last one when it comes out! 

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Scarlett Fever Review

As a general rule, I dislike reviewing books that are sequels or as in this case, the second book of a series. I feel that if you read the first book in a series, you'll base your opinion of whether to read the second book on whether you liked the first book or not, not on what I think.

However, I feel the need to review Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson.

Having read all of Maureen Johnson's previous books I did have some expectations when beginning to read this book.

a. That the whole Martin family would be back for more fun adventures.

b. That it would be something I"d enjoy reading.

c. That it would be hilarious in general.

I can safely say that all of these expectations were fulfilled. When we last left Scarlett, she and Eric had broken things off, leaving her heartbroken and her brother Spencer had successfully saved his career. After many more failed auditions, he is happy to finally land a job on popular television show called Crime and Punishment.

I feel that the main plot rarely focuses on Scarlett herself. It's more of a book of things that are happening around her that she can't control and her reactions to them. Which at first sounds silly, but it makes sense. She's fifteen; there isn't much you can control at fifteen. Despite never wanting to be an actress, she seems to be surrounded by actors and actresses, professionally or otherwise.

All of your favorite characters are back. Scarlett's brother Spencer, the aspirign actor, Marlene the cancer survivor, Lola the hardworking one, and Mrs. Amerson, Scarlett's crazy boss. But we are also joined with a new cast of characters. Chelsea, an aspiring actress who just moved to the city, her pageant mom Mrs. Biggs, her rebellious brother Max, and Dakota Scarlett's best friend.

I enjoy Maureen Johnson's book immensely. My one complaint is that this book ends rather suddenly in my opinion. It just sort of stops. There's a bit of a cliffhanger and a bit of resolution, but overall the ending felt rather sudden for me. I do hope that the third book in this series comes out next year, for I am excited to see how it ends with Scarlett.