Katie, her cousin Collin, and his friend Toby are spending the afternoon at the Jack the Ripper exhibit at Madame Tussauds. While viewing the gory exhibit, Katie recognizes the face of Jack's last victim as that of one of her ancestors. But, really, Katie's come to the exhibit to see a famous stone, one rumored to grant wishes. Her parents died in a car accident, her sister is living across the ocean from her, and her grandmother and sister don't get a long. Katie's going to wish to change all that.

The stone grants her wishes, but in the way of all wish-granting things, you get what you wish for but not in the way you expected. You see, Katie had also been thinking about Jack the Ripper and his last victim. Katie finds herself in Victorian England, with Victorian-era Collin and Toby by her side. She convinces them she's clairvoyant and that together they can stop the Ripper.

The author began the book with an explanation of Cockney rhyming slang, which was helpful since she used so much of it throughout the book. Almost to the point of overuse.

I have to admit, I was not expecting the mystery of the Ripper to be solved the way it was. I was surprised by it and by certain aspects of the ending. Pleasantly surprised.

(Provided by publisher) ( )

Thank you to netgalley.com and New Book Partners for allowing me access to this title.

I enjoyed this as a gruesome horror with the added bonus of time-travel. The setting and history were well researched, although the Cockney slang got old after a while. I did have an issue with what seemed to me a slight love triangle between on boy and his great-great grandfather. A bit of an yuck factor for me. And then she saved her relative, but there didn't seem to be anything that came of it. Where are the modern day repercussions?

Overall, a great read for someone who likes the genre. ( )

DNF at 22%, the start of Chapter 14.

The first thing that I have to say is that I really, honestly, thought I'd love this book. I wanted to. I love historical fictions and I know A LOT about Jack the Ripper.

But I know far too much about British history and the Ripper case to fully appreciate this book. I was left a little confused, and the massacre of the Ripper story just didn't sit well for me - I'm all for being inspired by historical events but it felt a little disrespectful to the victims that their story was messed around with so much. I felt it would have been better with Ripper-inspired murders rather than the author inventing whole new victims.

It was a good idea, but my goodness, it wasn't executed well. For me anyway. Some people might love it. If you don't know much about British history and the Ripper cases, and you don't mind countless (and often with patronising explanations thrown in) Cockney rhyming slang in the text, then you'll probably enjoy it.

The thing that annoyed me the most was the horrific characterisations of the British characters. It honestly felt as though the author had stumbled upon a wiki-page of Cockney rhyming slang and thought "I know, I'll write a book and cram as many of these sayings into it as possible!" It made for dated speech with the English characters. There was a "glossary" of sorts at the front of the book with the meanings of a lot of the phrases, but despite this the reader was treated like an idiot and every time a phrase was used within the story, the character would define it in what felt like a rather patronising way. Especially when it happened again and AGAIN with the same phrase. And it's over used.

Georgie flushed scarlet thinking about Cecilia's long, shapely bacon and eggs, and her beautiful dark mince pies.

Katie is quite the little Mary Sue. She lived in Boston for practically her WHOLE life, but can easily affect an English accent. And her parents are dead, but hey, her sister's a famous rock star!

One of the first quotes I picked out was: She'd read so many Victorian novels that she was starting to feel she'd have been better off in that time period. It was safer and much more romantic.
And I just stared at the page. Safer? SAFER? Even the most basic of history lessons would teach you that this was not the case, and most certainly not in London where this book is set. If you didn't die of cholera or some other disease, then you'd probably starve to death or be murdered or mutilated in some horrific accident. And then the stench. The stench of the industrial age, smoggy skies, millions of unwashed bodies and poor sanitation. There's no way that's romantic.

And that wasn't the end of the inaccuracies - historical or cultural. Heck, the author claims that Hogwarts is an English boarding school. ENGLISH! And then there's Oscar Wilde (oh yes, just one of the famous writers our Mary Sue meets) who was laughable. And so unbelievable. And poor Mary Kelly (actual Ripper victim) is described as a Marilyn Monroe lookalike. And the English apparently like to say things like "ass over teakettle". Ass? I've never heard anyone say ass. It's a very American term.

I was provided with a copy via NetGalley for the purpose of review. ( )

After her parents are killed in a car accident, Katie moves to London to live with her Grandmother. Along with her cousin Collin and his friend Toby, she goes to Madam Tussauds museum to see the Jack the Ripper exhibit. After walking through its grisly scenes, she visits the London stone, where she travels back in time to 1888. Determined to thwart Jack the Ripper, she tries desperately to discover who the murderer is and protect the woman who become his victims.

I couldn't put this book down. It was just fascinating. Katie was an interesting character and it was fun to see her twenty-first century thoughts and ideas in the past. I think teenagers will absolutely love this book. I can't wait to read more from this author. Highly recommended. ( )

~Originally posted at my blog SmartFolksRead~
Title: Ripped
Author: Shelly Dickson Carr
Published: December 15,2012
Available formats: Paperback & ebook
Genre: Historical/Time Travel, Mystery
Pages: 509
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
Goodreads Summary:
Katie Lennox wishes her parents were still alive. Having to leave Boston to live with Grandma Cleaves in London was hard, but she's making new friends, working on her British accent and even learning some Cockney rhyming slang. London's cool and actually feels like home in some ways, like she's been here before, belongs here. When a museum visit with her cousin and his cute friend turns funky, Katie finds herself in a long, uncomfortable dress, wearing a ridiculous hat, wondering what happened to her jeans and high-top sneakers? And where's her iPhone?... It's London, 1888. Smart and gutsy, Katie knows she's here to stop Jack the Ripper. The serial killer didn't just slash his victims' throats; he butchered the women. Katie has read about the Ripper, knows the names of his victims and where and when they were killed. She's watched her fair share of CSI. Can Katie save their lives?
• Story-line: I really enjoyed this take on the Jack Ripper story. Katie’s adventures in England were entertaining and fun although the story lacked that bang that would hook me to the point of not putting it down and giving it 5 stars. The first part of the story was a bit hard to get into, but it was worth pushing through for the rest of the tale (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows anyone?)
• Characters: If I had to list my top three favorite characters in this novel I would have to admit that Katie would not find herself on it. She was an okay character, but I found the modern Katie a bit trying. However, Toby would locate himself solidly at number one with his cockney accent and quick thinking. My other favorites would have to be the guest appearances of Mr. Oscar Wilde and Bram Stoker.
• Originality: The hunt for Jack the Ripper ran the risk of being a bit boring, but the author’s fun take on it and the way she wrote the mystery made the story both original and read-worthy.
• Ending: The ending was a bit disappointing as there were a few things that I wanted tied up that were not, but it was overall satisfactory.
• Recommended for fans of: Jack the Ripper, books based on historical events, YA mystery novels
• Extra Notes: I found the author’s writing style to be a bit trying at times. She had a way of writing things so that a simple scene would take an unnecessary amount of time, while there were scenes that I wanted more explanation for and background that I found lacking. ( )