Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

Shop Indie BookstoresThe Lowdown:
Scarlett Martin lives in a hotel in New York City.  How cool is that?  It's great, but not as perfect as it might seem.  On her fifteenth birthday, Scarlett expects to have the fabulous waffle breakfast that is the tradition in her family, only to find out that their amazing cook has been let go - the Hopewell Hotel is in a tight spot...money is tight, and Scarlett's parents need her to stay around and work there for the summer.  When the kids in her family turn fifteen, they are given a room to manage in the Hotel.  Scarlett has the Empire Suite and all of her summer plans right there in front of her - hotel work. While her friends are all in faraway places learning languages, partying, and helping others, Scarlett is where she always is - home.  It seems like her summer will be pretty dull until a guest arrives to stay in Scarlett's Empire Suite - all summer!  Mrs. Amberson is a "star" of sorts who is back in the city after being gone for thirt..."some years."  She has lots of energy, dreams, goals, and Scarlett is there beside her to help her with anything she desires.  Mrs. Amberson puts Scarlett to work immediately, and what began as a slow summer quickly pics up.  Scarlett has her siblings to save, revenge plots to assist with, and boys to fall for!  Pick this book up to head to NYC for some summer fun!

What I Liked:
I loved being able to spend a summer in New York City most of all.  It was so wonderful following Scarlett and friends around the city.  I felt like I was right there.  Scarlett is a great character and very real.  I loved reading and observing the different sibling relationships between Scarlett, Spencer, Lola, and Marlene.  The hotel that Johnson has created is fantastic as well...the descriptions of the rooms were vivid and beautiful...this was the perfect setting for the book.  This book has tons that I love:  love, kissing, acting, theater, Broadway...it's just a fabulously fun ride.  I just now read this (been meaning to for a year) and I found out that Scarlett Fever - the second book in the series - is coming out at the end of this month...I can't wait!

***Oh, and Hamlet is in this book!  I've been amazed at how many YA books mention Hamlet...I saw some references in The Monstrumologist, too!  Yay for Hamlet in YA!

Read This If...
You want to hang out in NYC for the summer.
You like acting.
You have ever dealt with brothers and sisters.
You know what it's like to fall for some one.
You are a theater kid.
You dream of making it big.
You want to experience a big city adventure.
You love to save the day!

The Luxe by Anna Godberson

So, honestly, as a grown-up, I felt a little guilty for picking up The Luxe at the bookstore, but I really loved that dress on the cover!  I was hoping for some turn of the century, gossip-girl-like drama, and that is exactly what I got with this book.

The Luxe takes place in 1899 in Manhattan, and it was really fun to be taken back to the times when people "called" upon one another and attended fabulous parties.   Not that people don't attend parties now, but back then the parties were different.

The main characters are Elizabeth and Diana Holland, two New York sisters who are very much at the center of the social scene in Manhattan.  Elizabeth has been away in Europe, and her return starts the action of the story.  She and her sister have to appear to have lots of money, when the  truth is that  they have none.  Their father died and since then their mother has had to pay off his large debts, leaving the girls with nothing but their reputations....kind of reminds me of Rose and her mother in the movie Titanic.  With this knowledge weighing on her, Elizabeth has to play her part well and try to find a good match.  The wonderful and rich Henry Schoonmaker is single and a great catch that girls would die for. The only problem is that she sort of loves someone else...

Of course there must be a bad girl to add to this mix, and that's where Elizabeth's friend Penelope comes in.  Penelope is the wild girl (reminds me of Blair on Gossip Girl) and she always makes sure things are stirred up.

So against this backdrop, the girls, the guys, and the parents all try to match each other up.

I like the writing style of this book.  It was easy to read, but unique, too, because Godberson starts each chapter off with a little "real life snippet" of something:  a letter, a newspaper article, a line from the gossip column of the paper...and then the chapter starts from there.  Each chapter is focused on one of the girls, too, so you get to see things from each girls point of view.

I really enjoyed the book.  I did sort of figure out how things would unfold before they did, but it was ok, and still a fun book to read.  I did get the sequel, Rumors, and plan to read it soon.  All in all a fun book with old school girl drama, which, really, isn't that different from the girl drama of today.  I recommend this book to readers who are interested in drama, relationships, and love.

Grade:  B