Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Dear Ms. Johnson,
I am now, and forever will be your devoted fan-girl. Your quirky characters and their penchant for landing into extremely hilarious 'situations' never fail to leave me with a case of the giggles. Please write more.
Thank you,
A Fan

Now that I have that out of my system...

Summer is finally over and thankfully, Scarlett's demanding boss Mrs. Amberson has moved out of the Hopewell Hotel into her own swanky NY apartment. But that doesn't necessary mean Scarlett is off the hook. No such luck. Mrs. Amberson simply can't manage anything without the talented O'Hara and has offered her an obscene amount of money to be her slave personal assistant in her newly opened talent agency, AAA (Amy Amberson Agency - not the automotive company). Thankfully the agency only has two clients: Scarlett's comedic brother Spencer who is having a bit of trouble landing any role and the newly discovered Broadway starlet and perfectionist Chelsea Biggs. Although Chelsea really should be counted as three clients as she comes along with a terrifying and controlling stage-mom and a surly brother Max who happens to attend the same school as Scarlett. But those clients are more than enough to turn Scarlett's world upside down without the added bonus of her quirky family: Lola is not acting like her normal, self-assured and elegant self, Maureen has been acting...well...nice and Scarlett is just trying to get over a certain actor who may have broken her heart. It's enough to make any teenager lose her mind.

There is nothing so fun as sitting down with a Maureen Johnson book - especially when Scarlett Martin is involved. Let me present Exhibit A:

After a few hours of fitful midmorning sleep, Scarlett made a second attack of the day and headed for the shower. It always took a moment for the Hopewell water pipes to figure out what temperature you wanted. The default setting was “death by ice or fire.” Scarlett didn’t care at the moment. She would take what came, and what came was cold. Bitter, impossible cold that almost felt good in the heat. She locked her teeth together and accepted it, letting it run down her back. As she reached for her shampoo, she got dangerously close to singing “I’m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair,” a song she learned when Spencer was doing South Pacific in high school. She stopped herself just as she opened her mouth. New start or not, there was a line to be drawn, and that line was singing musicals to yourself as serious psychological motivation.

Her dialogue is witty, her characters are sparkling and there is constant supply of mad-cap antics that would keep even the toughest critic entertained. Maureen Johnson's previous novel, Suite Scarlett, centered around the eccentric Martin who reside in the 'vintage' NY Hopewell Hotel caught my attention and Scarlett Fever did more than enough to hold it. Scarlett is like a breath of fresh-teenage air. She's got insecurities but is a take action type of gal who is creative enough to survive any situation. And under Mrs. Amberson's employ - she's gonna need that. Once again, Scarlett et al charmed the pants off me and even though Scarlett Fever ended on a somewhat horribly unresolved, cliff-hanger ending (I'll try not to hold that against you Ms. Johnson), I for one am extremely pleased to hear that more will be coming from our charming blond hero.

series reading order:
~ Suite Scarlett
~ Scarlett Fever

Because Everyone Loves a Second Opinion:
Becky's Book Reviews
Bookish Blather review
Book Smugglers review
Bookshelves of Doom review
The Compulsive Reader review

book source: my local library