Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

I gobbled up Suite Scarlett!

This is the first Maureen Johnson book I've read and I hope it won't be the last. She is an amazingly witty writer. Her characters were wonderful, from Scarlett (who is adorable), to her brother Spencer (who is hilarious and nuts), to Mrs. Amberson (who is the embodiment of eccentricity), to Eric (who is more complicated than he seems at first).

I enjoyed them all -- their crazy lives and their foibles. Maureen Johnson kept me on my toes with a nice, twisty plot. But overall, this was simply a fun read.
 

Here's the jacket copy to whet your appetite:

Scarlett Martin has grown up in a most unusual way. Her family owns the Hopewell, a small hotel in the heart of New York City. Her nineteen-year-old brother, Spencer, is an out of work actor facing a family deadline to get his career in order. Eighteen-year-old Lola has the delicate looks of a model, the practical nature of a nurse, and a wealthy society boyfriend. Eleven-year-old Marlene is the family terror with a tragic past.

When the Martins turn fifteen, they are each expected to take over the care of a suite in the once elegant, now shabby Art Deco hotel. For Scarlett’s fifteenth birthday, she gets both a room called the Empire Suite, and a permanent guest named Mrs. Amberson. Scarlett doesn’t quite know what to make of this C-list starlet, world traveler, and aspiring autobiographer who wants to take over her life. And when she meets Eric, an astonishingly gorgeous actor who has just moved to the city, her summer takes a second unexpected turn.

With Mrs. Amberson calling the shots, Spencer’s career to save, Lola’s love life to navigate around, and Marlene’s prying eyes everywhere, things won’t be easy. Before the summer is over, Scarlett will have to survive a whirlwind of thievery, Broadway glamour, romantic missteps, and theatrical deception.

The show, as they say, must always go on . . . .

I had to return 13 Little Blue Envelopes, also by Maureen Johnson, to the library before I could read it (somebody else wanted it - garrrh!), but I'm going to get back in line to check it out again. Have you read any Maureen Johnson books? Which are your favorites?