Suite Scarlett by Maureen JohnsonBook 59 of 100 for the 100+ Reading Challenge
Book 7 of 50 for the New Author Challenge
Award: YALSA's Best Books for Young Adults
rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is my first Maureen Johnson book and I thought it was adorable. Scarlett Martin lives with her family in an Art Deco hotel in New York City. Times are tough and Scarlett and her three siblings have to do a lot of work to keep the family business afloat. Scarlett's older sister, Lola, also works at Henri Bendel and dates a rich Manhattanite. Scarlett's older brother, Spencer, wants to be an actor but his parents want him to go to culinary school on scholarship. They have a younger sister, Marlene, who is a cancer survivor and tends to think the world revolves around her.
Scarlett has just turned 15 and she's anticipating the most boring summer of her life working in the hotel. But, things get crazy when an interesting guest comes to stay and Spencer starts working on an off-Broadway show. Scarlett ends up spending quite a bit of time with the cast, including an 18 year old boy named Eric, fresh from Winston-Salem.
I loved immersing myself in Scarlett's world. Although there is a cute romance element to the book, I really loved the interactions she had with each of her siblings. I do wish the parents had better developed characters. But everyone's flaws were so real, I laughed and cringed right along with them. Even though the story has some unbelievable moments, the ending was so down-to-earth and just right, I can't complain at all. I did just read that this is the first in a trilogy. The next one, Scarlett Fever, will be out in January 2010.
I really enjoyed this one and look forward to reading more by the same author.
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Which Maureen Johnson should I read next?
4 comments:
I have this book on my wish list! I love the title of the next book in the series.
I'm glad you liked this one. I've read several other Maureen Johnsons, and this one's still my favorite. :)
Thanks! Just catching up and adding to my library queue from your list.
This looks so good.
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