Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)
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Suite Scarlett (Scarlett #1)

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3.73 of 5 stars 3.73  ·  rating details  ·  4,609 ratings  ·  651 reviews
From top-selling author Maureen Johnson comes a fresh, funny novel about a girl, her hotel, and an unforgettable summer - now in paperback!Her new summer job comes with baggageScarlett 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 Ma...more
Paperback, 353 pages
Published May 1st 2009 by Scholastic Inc. (first published May 1st 2008)
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Lucy
Suite Scarlett is about a girl who has just turned fifteen. Scarlett lives with her mother, father, two sisters, and her older brother in a hotel in Manhattan. The hotel is more or less just scrapping by. This is emphasized in the opening scene where her parents prepare her birthday breakfast, having let a very capable cook go due to budget cutbacks.

The gifts Scarlett receives from her family are meant to give us indicators of their personality or, if they are lacking a personality,...more
Rosianna
A brilliant book; I found myself drawn in by the witty, intelligent Scarlett who even possessed shades of English sarcasm, a quality I love in protagonists! The setting, the progressively deteriorating Hopewell Hotel in the centre of New York City was the perfect location for this funny, endearing and generally wonderful story which didn't put a damper on my lifelong dream of living in a hotel. The best aspect of this story wasn't the humour or setting, however, but the fantastic characterisatio...more
rhea
rhea rated it 3 of 5 stars
Recommended to rhea by: walker

This book was cute and I in no way mean that condescendingly. If I was in high school this series may have been my favorite and I would pass it around to friends, do I know any teens of the right age now? Scarlett is the least annoying 15 year old I've ever read in a book, that I can remember. She was real, I would've been friends with her or maybe I would've been her. Her emotions, thoughts, worries, etc. were realistic and not just her, her 3 siblings were very real too. There's a rom...more
Kelly
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Rebecca
Suite Scarlett is the first book I have ever read by Maureen Johnson and I really liked it. I liked it so much that I believe I will definitely be reading more books by Maureen Johnson.

Before reading Suite Scarlett I knew it was a book about a girl who lives in a hotel and that she had a cool brother called Spencer. This kind of made me think of the television programme The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. After reading Suite Scarlett I can now say that no, this is not like The Suite Life ...more
Angelc
Scarlett Martin's large family runs and lives in the Hopewell Hotel in Manhattan. The Hopewell has seen better days and the family will do what it takes to keep the business afoot. Scarlett feels like the only one of her friends who actually stayed in Manhattan for the summer. But she won't be bored long, thanks to a new guest, the glamorous Mrs. Amberson, checking in.

I loved Scarlett's relationship with her family, especially the tight bond with her older brother, Spencer. The chara...more
JoLee
Scarlett's family lives in and operates a run-down hotel in New York City. The Martin family is in some financial trouble. The hotel isn't doing so well. It's an absolute money drain. Meanwhile, Spencer, the oldest child and only boy, is given an ultimatum from his parents--find a paying acting job in one week or take a scholarship at a culinary school. Scarlett gets to work helping her favorite sibling while juggling the antics of a very strange guest, Amy Amberson, who eventually gets inv...more
Angie
Somewhere in between the release of Girl at Sea and Suite Scarlett, I'm embarrassed to admit that I think I may actually have forgotten, for just a second, how funny Maureen Johnson is. I mean the hunching your shoulders, tongue caught between your teeth, giggling kind of funny. I read her blog regularly, so I shouldn't be a bit surprised. But Suite Scarlett was even funnier than her previous books. It was like concentrated Essence of Johnson: charmingly and unrepentantly hilarious. They really ...more
Steph (Reviewer X)
Steph (Reviewer X) rated it 5 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: ANYONE.
Recommended to Steph by: Amee Enders
Reposted from my original blog post, here.

Y’all, I think there’s something inherently wrong with me, because I had never, ever read a page upon which MJ bestowed her glorious talent prior to this made of awesome 300+-page collection of MJ scribe.

I know.

As I have said many, many, many times before here and everywhere else where I am present and books are discussed (or I turn the conversation over to books), there’s no better way to enamor me than a great, well ...more
Lynn
Maureen Johnson rocks! I have enjoyed all her books and this one was a total delight. Imagine growing up in an historic art deco hotel in the heart of New York City. Scarlett Martin's family has run the Hopewell Hotel for generations but the hotel is definitely showing its age and guests are getting scarce. The whole family has to pitch in so Scarlett is looking at a summer of changing sheets, convincing the tempermental toilets to run and sitting at the front desk. Then the alarming Mrs. ...more
Redvines
Fuhhh. I need book two now.

What does it mean when you're reading a YA book in first person and then you have non-YA thoughts about first person's bro. Is that like some sort of mental incest.

BALLS. BALLS! I just realized this is the first book, but what I read was the second book. I read these out of order. Balls! I'm so upset and I just reviewed the second one under the first one's title. My head is all wack with poo brain.

I just checked, and the problem is that th...more
Ying
This was another great book from Maureen Johnson with dynamic parts and suspenseful chapters. Scarlett was one of the richest, most developed characters in the story and I liked how Spencer was written. However, sometimes I felt the actions were too fast paced and that there weren't enough developing details. Overall, this was a good read and had me wishing for more at the last page.
Diana
Maureen Johnson is a wonderful writer. Her characters are always so real one would not be surprised to run into one of them walking out of a cafe in New York City. Suite Scarlett tells of fifteen-year-old Scarlett Martin's summer when Mrs. Amberson, a larger than life actress moves into her family's struggling historic hotel. Scarlett who is in charge of maintaining Mrs. Amberson's room is soon swept into her plots to write a book, to wreak revenge on another actress, and to help Scarlett's brot...more
Mandy
Liked it a lot :)
Marian Krick
Short Introduction: The story begins with a depiction of the hotel that Scarlett's family owns. Scarlett is a teenage girl who lives with her parents and 3 siblings. When a child in the Martin family turns 15, they are given a room to be in charge of. Scarlett already has trouble keeping up with everyone in her family, so when the actress Mrs. Amberson moves into the hotel, things become a whole lot crazier.

Plot: Maureen Johnson has created a really interesting plot. Some of the factor...more
Amy
This is my first Maureen Johnson book, and let me say it won’t be the last. I simply adore her writing style. She could write a novel about sea slugs and I would read it.
As the story goes, Scarlett lives in a family-run hotel in New York city. Her family is getting a bit behind on money, for a reason none of them like to articulate. Then Mrs. Amberson comes and infiltrates Scarlett’s summer. Suddenly she’s making money, helping with her brother’s play and meeting a cute actor.

...more
Vivian
From the book's blurb, you would have never guessed that there was going to be so much about the entertainment and movie industry. I thought this book was going to be about growing up and falling it love, since it did say that each of the kids get their own suite at the age of 15 and that there was this guy, Eric, who i assumed she was going to like. However i did not want to read this book to see characters trying to get themselves into the entertainment industry. If i knew that the boo...more
Newport YA Librarians Ya
Take a boutique Manhattan hotel with 1930s charm, run by the happy but down-at-the-heels Martin family. Add a dose of Scarlett, a fifteen-year-old with unruly curls, a cuter-than-cute black designer dress borrowed from her older sister, and a first crush on a great-looking guy new to the Big Apple. Shake in one mysterious but well-paying guest who smokes like a fiend and wants to call the shots for the whole hotel. And top with an adored older brother who is scheduled to go to culinary school an...more
Jaimie
‘Suite Scarlett’ by Maureen Johnson is an enjoyable and easy to read YA book. However, I had many problems and issues with the circumstances the lead character Scarlett found herself in. Firstly, the plot was unique in that Scarlett’s family owned and lived in a hotel and the NY setting was fun to read about.

However, I thought most of the situations Scarlett found herself in were extremely unrealistic and I found her relationship with her brother Spencer extremely awkward and almost in...more
Grace
Grace rated it 3 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: Anyone
In general, it was a pretty good book, especially if you like theater and play-acting. Scarlett Martin is a teen who lives in a family owned hotel called the Hopewell. On her fifteenth birthday, she discovers two things: her parents have fired the head cook, who is amazing at cooking, and that she is in charge of the Empire Suite, a tradition in which all the Martin kids receive a suite on their fifteenth birthday. Scarlettt soon realizes that her family is struggling with financial issues and t...more
Cheryl Clark
Since Scarlett's younger sister's bout with cancer, the family has suffered financially. The owners of a historic hotel in New York City, they've had to slowly let workers go over the years. Now, Scarlett's parents are relying more and more on their children to carry the weight of keeping the hotel running. So for Scarlett and her brother and sisters, being the owners of a hotel in NYC is far from glamorous. When they reach the age of 15, their parents give them charge of a suite to take car...more
Mandy
Mandy rated it 5 of 5 stars
For the full review go to WellReadWife.com.

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson has one of the most unique settings that I’ve encountered in a while. Much of the book takes place in the Hopewell. The Hopewell is a hotel that dates back to the 1920’s and is decorated in the Art Deco style. Johnson describes the decor of the hotel in such detail that at times I felt like I was an inhabitant of the grand old building. Johnson has created an intricate legend/back story to go along with the h...more
MaryBookSwarm
This is an older book, released in May 2009, but it's well worth the read. Scarlett was a fantastic character. She was bright, caring and a sane voice in an otherwise nutty family. I'm not overly-familiar with New York, having only been there once in my life, but this book just felt like I think New York should "feel" like. Scarlett was a true New Yorker, navigating the city that never sleeps with an ease only someone who lives there could have.

The characters who surround h...more
Grace
Grace rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition
Recommends it for: Girls 7th grade and up
Scarlett Martin’s life is perfect; until she turns 15. In Scarlett’s family, when they turn 15 they get a room in the family hotel to take care of. But for Scarlett, she also gets a permanent guest to take care of: Mrs. Amberson. How will Scarlett manage the hotel going out of business, Mrs. Amberson, Spencer’s career to save, Lola’s love life to fix, and Marlene spying on her from every corner?

It all starts on Scarlett’s 15th birthday. She gets the key to The Empire Suite. Which mean...more
Additeenlibrarian
Scarlett is 15 - well, she turns 15 at the beginning of the book - and lives in a hotel in NYC with her family. (They live in a hotel because they own the hotel.) Upon turning 15, each Marvin young adult receives a room in the hotel for which he or she is responsible - and Scarlett's comes with an interesting new guest who is definitely going to test her patience. She also meets a very attractive guy, lies to her older brother for the first time ever, and realizes that it is going to be a long,...more
Sophie
I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. I liked some aspects of it, like the characterization and the overall madcap quality, but I think the plot could have been more cohesive. At first, the book seems to be about the hotel and Scarlett inheriting the care of a suite on her fifteenth birthday. Then it seems to be about the suite's occupant, Mrs. Amberson, and how she draws Scarlett into her bohemian life. But then the story's focus shifts to Scarlett's brother, his acting career, and a pr...more
Johnathon Shell
Every once in awhile you come across a book so good when you finish reading it you find your best friend, put duck tape over their mouth, and lock them in a closet until they finish reading it. This is not one of those books.

But Maureen Johnson has this way of writing that keeps you delightfully entertained the whole way through. The Characters are well developed, except for the main character, and fun.

I'm not a book reviewer so I'm not going to enter the wonderful worl...more
Andrea
Could you imagine living in a hotel? Who cares if you have to take care of rooms and guests! To me, Scarlett's life was unique and fun! I was so immersed in the story that I couldn't stop reading. I loved Scarlett's family and the supporting cast so much that I couldn't stop smiling as I read about them and their crazy adventures.

Seriously, I loved this book. Maureen Johnson included all of the perfect elements: eccentric characters, an offbeat hotel, theatre, stolen kisses, betrayal...more
Nina
When I saw Suite Scarlett at the library I just had to pick it up! I heard so many positive things that I really wanted to read it. Also I never read any books written by Maureen Johnson before, I already can hear you say, do you live under a rock? Well apparently.

The minute I started to read the book I was hooked. The beginning starts with the “birthday party” for Scarlett. The family tradition is that when you turn fifteen you get the key to a room, in this case the Empire Suite. S...more
Qian
Scarlett Martin’s family owns the Hopewell Hotel in New York. The hotel had once being the symbol of New York, but now the hotel is falling apart because it has gotten so old. Because the business had gotten so bad that they have to fire the chef, so Scarlett’s parents asked her to work at the hotel during her summer and she is in charge of her own suit.
Mrs. Amberson a former actress came to stay in the hotel and she lives in the Empire Suit and that’s the suit Scarlett is in charge of.Mr...more
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Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)
Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)
Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)
Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)
Suite Scarlett (Scarlett, #1)

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Maureen knew from an early age she wanted to be a writer. She went to high school at an all-girls' Catholic school and graduated from University of Delaware with a degree in writing. She now lives and writes in New York City.

Many of the adventures Maureen's characters face in her books are based on real-life stories. Maureen has traveled all over Europe, and is a Secret Sister to vlog ...more
More about Maureen Johnson...
13 Little Blue Envelopes (Little Blue Envelope, #1) The Name of the Star (Shades of London, #1) The Last Little Blue Envelope (Little Blue Envelope, #2) Girl at Sea The Bermudez Triangle

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