Stalking Jack the Ripper
(Goodreads) 
Hold onto your butts, this book is one heck of a wild ride. Please keep all hands and belongings in the vehicle while we are on this ride.
All jokes aside, this book is a bit of a rollercoaster when it comes to the plot, but I loved every second. If you are a fan of strong female main characters that fight against the social system, this book is for you.
Enter in Audrey Rose, a 17-year-old spitfire. Born into Lord's home filled with wealth and comfort, Audrey Rose is forced to live a life of lace and proper tea parties. Gross! If she had her way, she would spend her days in her uncle's laboratory learning the tricks of the trade, forensic science that is. Audrey Rose has a deep passion for science and learning about the human body, much to her family's horror. Weighed on by the death of her mother and the following breakdown of her family, Audrey Rose tries to be the picture-perfect daughter. Behind the back of her pompous, broken father, Audrey continues her studies with her Uncle Jonathan. Jonathan Wadsworth is one of the foremost forensic scientists of the time and, though withdrawn from those around him, he deeply loves his family. With that in mind, he can't bear to keep Audrey Rose from studying what intrigues her.
Everything would have gone swimmingly, but Uncle Jonathan takes on a rakish young man to be his student. Upon first meeting Thomas Cresswell, it is clear to most readers (well anyone who loves YA like I do.) that this pair will play out the popular enemies-to-lovers trope over the course of this book. Thomas seems less than interested in Audrey Rose and ignores her for the most part. What do you get when a headstrong young girl is ignored by a self-important young man? Sexual tension. Nothing about their relationship over the course of the book is untoward. It is all very 1888 and ankles would make a man pass straight away.
Jack the Ripper has taken to the streets of London. Audrey thinks this is the perfect case for her to cut her teeth in the field while showing her family that girls are better for many things OTHER than marriage and baby-raising. Due to the relationship that Jonathan Wadsworth has with the local constabulary, Audrey Rose gets her wish and is thrown headlong into one of the most prolific serial murder cases in history. The question isn't if she knows what she is doing, but if she has a strong enough heart for what will happen as a result.
Suggested student age: 14 and up
Warnings: Body Horror and Violence (Obviously, there are murders.)
******SPOILERS*****
Now that the basic synopsis is out of the way...
This book was a bit of a wild ride for me. I love a strong female character as much as the next feminist teacher, but Audrey Rose fell a bit flat. I know that having the book set in a particular time period limits the ability of the writer to take too many creative liberties with her radical behavior/ ideas. However, Audrey Rose felt weak and like a shadow. There was so little that defined her as a person outside of defying family expectations, science, and her budding romance for Thomas. I was hoping for a bit more from her. Why didn't she have any female friends? That was something that bothered me more than anything. In all of London high society, there wasn't a single girl who even felt slightly like Audrey did? NONE? It made her less believable. Girls, regardless of age and mental focus, have friends. In all my time as a teacher, I have never met a single girl that didn't try to have friends.
SUPER SPOILERS
The whole thing at the end with her brother, Nathaniel, being the killer was a bit off. It became very steampunk with Nathaniel trying to bring their long-dead mother back from the grave through harvested body parts and "science." I thought that was just too much. The madness was believable, but the "logic" was so farfetched that I struggled to finish the book. Thank goodness that it was at the VERY end.
Now you may ask why I am giving this book such a high rating when I struggled with the ending. My simple answer is my students. They love this book and it was able to get even my most reluctant readers to actually pick up a book. I guess nothing interests a teen more than murder. (Yes, I am concerned about their TV habits when they can tell me about how stupid the murderer was.) However, they reacted to the book and thought critically about it. Many of my timid girls found a little bit of strength in Audrey that they have been trying to muster themselves. I think this book, despite its flaws, offers so much to you people.
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