Review: Scarlett Fever - Maureen Johnson

Title: Scarlett Fever (Book 2)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Released: February 1st 2010
Published by: Point
Pages: 336

Where to purchase:
US: IndieBound   B&N   Borders   Books A Million
Canada: Chapters
International: Book Depository

Summary from Maureen’s site: (Warning: Since this is book 2, there may be spoilers.)

Faced with her family’s financial woes, Scarlett has taken on the job of assistant/indentured servant to a newly minted theatrical agent, professional eccentric Mrs. Amy Amberson. Scarlett ends up at the beck and call of a Broadway star (her own age!), dealing with territorial doormen, and walking a small dog with insecurity issues – all while starting her sophomore year at one of New York’s most rigorous high schools.

Meanwhile, her older brother Spencer has become New York City’s most controversial TV villain, her ever-reliable older sister Lola is sliding off the rails, and her younger sister Marlene, most worryingly, has suddenly become… nice. But somehow Scarlett will prevail… right?

(For more info, click here.)

Review:
Scarlett Fever gives us an even more in depth look at the relationships of the Martin siblings. My favorite of characters are back as engaging as before, not to mention a few new characters who add to the insanity that is Scarlett’s life. Scarlett might be telling the story, but Spencer, yet again, steals the show.
There isn't a lot of down time, keeping it pretty fast paced. As things keep piling up on Scarlett, I kept wondering what else could go wrong that would leave a mess that Scarlett would have to clean up.
I am always impressed with how Scarlett handles no matter what life throws at her.

Oh, and be sure to watch out for that pesky cliff hanger.

Teaser Tuesday (3)

I know, its late, but its still Tuesday here!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:


Grab your current read

Open to a random page

Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers.

Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

"Did you just . . . did you just kill Sonny Lavinski?" Scarlett asked.

"Kind of," He admitted.

Review: Suite Scarlett - Maureen Johnson

From Maureen's site:

The Hopewell Hotel is small Art Deco “jewelbox” in New York City. The hotel has a grand past, but a somewhat dusty and broken present, with pigeons breaking into the rooms, chandeliers with more cobweb than glass, and constantly exploding toilets. Guests are rare, but it does have one constant set of inhabitants... the Martin family.

Scarlett Marin is the third of the four Martins. Scarlett is fifteen, blonde, and broke. Her friends are gone for the summer. And she’s got this one curl that exists just to stab her in the eye and blind her. Welcome to her life... (For more click here.)

Summary from B&N:

Her new summer job comes with baggage.


Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City, and Scarlett lives there with her four siblings - Spencer, Lola, and Marlene.

When each of the Martins turns fifteen, they are expected to take over the care of a suite in the once elegant, now shabby Art Deco hotel. For Scarlett's fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite, and a permanent guest called Mrs. Amberson.

Scarlett doesn't quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler, and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps, and theatrical deceptions. But in the city where anything can happen, she just might be able to pull it off.

My Thoughts:
I loved this book. From the realistic portrayal of family interaction to the crazy antics of Mrs. Amberson, I was hooked. I kept reading to see what was going to go wrong next, or what Scarlett would be doing for Mrs. Amberson next. I loved Eric, with his southern charm & manners. I'm still mad at him though. You'll have to read the book if you want to find out why. If I were to pick one boy out of this story for me, I'd have to go with Scarlett's brother, Spencer. He's one of those charismatic characters that make you want to be there while he's practicing so you can have a good laugh. He seems like an all round sweet guy. I thought the characters were very well written. This is a story that is very character driven.

The sequel came out Feb 1st & I'm dying to read it!