Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1) in What's the Name of That Book???

Apr 23, 2008 Jessica rated it it was amazing

Shelves: youngadult

Maureen Johnson does it again! This book was fabulous in so many ways that I've been raving about it to everyone I know. I don't even want to describe it, lest I spoil any of the wonderful surprises. But I will say this: my favorite line was, "Only because I'm afraid of you and your panty sandwich." ...more

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Dec 31, 2008 Emma rated it it was amazing

Maureen Johnson's novel Suite Scarlett (2008) focuses on Scarlett Martin and her family who live in the Hopewell Hotel in the heart of New York City. That might sound like a dream come true but just ask Scarlett about her fifteenth birthday and it's easy to see the sometimes harsh realities that owning and running a hotel can really entail.

The Hopewell hotel has been around since 1929 and has belonged to the Hopewell family for just as long. While the hotel can't compete with some of its ritzier Maureen Johnson's novel Suite Scarlett (2008) focuses on Scarlett Martin and her family who live in the Hopewell Hotel in the heart of New York City. That might sound like a dream come true but just ask Scarlett about her fifteenth birthday and it's easy to see the sometimes harsh realities that owning and running a hotel can really entail.

The Hopewell hotel has been around since 1929 and has belonged to the Hopewell family for just as long. While the hotel can't compete with some of its ritzier neighbors in terms of luxuries on offer, the Hopewell does have some unique benefits including custom furnishings by a prestigious (fictional) Jazz Age designer, connections to the history of the city and its ever-glamorous theater life. In order to lower maintenance costs for the hotel, the Martins have come up with a unique tradition. On their fifteenth birthday every child receives a hotel suite thereby also inheriting the housekeeping duties and guest services connected to said suite.

Scarlett is pretty sure such duties will not do much to alleviate the dullness of her summer vacation since the Hopewell is always chronically under-booked. Unlike Scarlett, her siblings have a lot to manage this summer: Eighteen-year-old Lola is busy juggling family obligations, a job she loves, and a high maintenance boyfriend with an equally high balance in his bank account; eleven-year-old Marlene, the youngest Martin, does not share Scarlett's summer doldrums since her survivor's club keep her social calendar plenty full (have you been on a morning TV show yet?); meanwhile nineteen-year-old Spencer, a talented actor with a fondness for physical comedy is face with an ultimatum that could end his acting career before its even started.

Everything changes when the larger-than-life Mrs. Amberson checks into the Empire Suite (Scarlett's suite) and takes her on an assistant in everything from running errands to getting reacquainted with the City and writing the biography of her life. Already swept up in Mrs. Amberson's whirlwind, Scarlett also finds herself swept off her feet when she meets Eric the gorgeous fellow actor in a production of Hamlet that might just save Spencer's career--if the show ever opens.

Suite Scarlett holds a lot of appeal for a variety of readers. Being a book by Maureen Johnson it is, of course, very funny. It also has many tidbits about New York that will interest anyone who has a special place for that big apple in their hearts. Most of all, this book has a lot of appeal for theater lovers. Before becoming a published novelist Johnson worked as a dramaturg in the theater world (a dramaturg basically being the person who makes sure every single aspect of a show runs smoothly while directors and other theater types focus less on the big picture). Johnson brings all of that knowledge to this book to really bring the theatrical world that Spencer and, by extension, Scarlett come to inhabit as the plot progresses.

While this story has a bit of romance and humor and excitement, it is really a novel about family, specifically siblings. Each of the Martin children are vibrantly described on the page. Spencer in particular is a character that readers will love to love. In fact, the only problem with Suite Scarlett is that with such an awesome brother as Spencer, Scarlett's love interest Eric pales by comparison. All the same, this book has something for everyone and is sure to leave readers with a smile on their face. ...more

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Aug 25, 2010 Kate rated it really liked it

Shelves: teen-book-club, age-ya, chicklit, 2010

Scarlett Martin lives in a hotel. Her family owns the Hopewell, a run-down hotel in New York City, and she and her brother Spencer and sisters Lola and Marlene help run it... not that they have many guests. All that changes on Scarlett's birthday, when she gets the key to the Empire Suite as "her" room and also receives a guest for the summer - former actress Mrs. Amberson. While Mrs. Amberson has Scarlett running errands, Spencer has landed a role in an off-off Broadway production of Hamlet. It ...more

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Jan 16, 2008 Chelsea rated it liked it

Shelves: 2008, youngadult, own, advance

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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May 24, 2008 Jess rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult

This was a four stars because it's light and fun and full of great lines that had me cracking up kind of book. Nothing profound or amazing, just good entertainment. I wish I'd marked some of the lines that had me laughing, but it's full of them. Plus the characters felt just solid and three-dimensional enough to carry the story, even though it got a bit over-the-top at times. I'd recommend it to teen girls looking for a fun, snappy, contemporary story. ...more

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Nov 07, 2010 Debbie is on Storygraph rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary-fiction, young-adult, 2010

A fun YA book. It suffers, though, from having all the characters be fleshed out -- except the narrator. Throughout the story, I had no clue about her motivations (other than she liked Eric), or her personality other than going along with everyone else's mad schemes. It was still enjoyable but I wished that after 380 pages, I knew Scarlett better. ...more

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Feb 16, 2021 Kate H rated it really liked it

Shelves: goodreads-yajuvenile

I love just about everything Maureen Johnson has written her characters are great and I love her stories. Her series tend to be quite different from each other but they are all good in their own right. Maureen Johnson is not only a great writer but she is also amazing on Twitter I highly recommend following her.

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Nov 13, 2011 Rachel Piper rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, contemporary-teen

A pretty improbable story, and the fun aspects weren't totally enough to make up for the improbability. Plus Scarlett is such a bland character. I want to read about Lola. ...more

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