Scarlett Fever

January 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-Fifteen-year-old Scarlett Martin and her unconventional hotel-dwelling family are back. Following the success of her brother's theater troupe's staging of "Hamlet" at a run-down Manhattan hotel in "Suite Scarlett" (Scholastic, 2008), Scarlett continues her work with socialite cum talent agent Mrs. Amberson to find her brother work as an actor and to secure the agency's second client. As Scarlett and Mrs. Amberson woo Chelsea, the teenaged star of a bad Broadway musical, Scarlett attempts to get over a failed romance; reluctantly befriends Chelsea's brother; and handles family crises involving her brother's sudden semi-stardom and her sister's return to her former (and very wealthy) flame. While the novel may be enjoyed for the light if slightly madcap romance that it is, it is notable for its attention to social class and to the Martins' struggles with money. As the proprietors of a fading art-deco hotel they can neither afford to keep nor sell, all of them must make sacrifices, and Johnson's sympathetic portrayals of their financial woes save the novel from its own cuteness. The story ends not only by resolving Scarlett's brother's dilemma but also by introducing a troubling resolution to Scarlett's sister's romantic predicament, nearly ensuring a third volume of Martin family madness."Amy S. Pattee, Simmons College, Boston"

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