Reviews

Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson

merkyr's review against another edition

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4.0

Light, fun, and addictive, this was a quick read with a fun plot and some great character development. I thought this has one of the best brother/sister relationships I have seen in a while, and I really liked how Scarlett and Spencer were believable as friends, as well as siblings. Throw in some good descriptions of what it is like to mount an indie Shakespeare performance in nyc and the neverending quest for rehearsal space, and I solidly enjoyed this book.

vreadsalot's review against another edition

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4.0

3.7/5 sterren.
Wat me het meeste irriteerde aan dit boek, was Johnsons schrijfstijl. De ene keer had ik het idee dat ik een kinderboek aan het lezen was en de volgende keer had ik het gevoel dat ik óf een boek uit de jaren 80 aan het lezen was óf een boek dat was geschreven voor hele oude mensen. En door alle "ze"s en "hij"s begreep ik soms ook niet goed over wie het ging.

Verder was het wel een leuk boek, alleen wat ik ook vervelend vond was dat het niet echt spannend was. Ik ben van de boeken waar het op het einde ineens heel spannend wordt, maar dat werd het hier niet. En de echte actie kwam pas heel laat.

Het was wel even een soort verademing om tussen alle jeugdthrillers door te lezen. Eindelijk weer eens een beetje aardig zijn voor elkaar;).

De romantiek in het boek zat ook heel leuk in elkaar, al snap ik nog steeds niet goed hoe het nou tussen Eric en Scarlett zit, dus als iemand het wel weet: laat het me weten!

En last but not least, de opdrachten die Scarlett krijgt van mevrouw Amberson zijn weer geniaal bizar! Hoe verzint Johnson dat steeds?

Hele recensie: https://secretsofthetales.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/recensie-kamer-16-een-zomer-vol-verrassingen-van-maureen-johnson/

appifanie's review

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4.0

I read descriptions of Maureen's books and I always think "meh, sounds okay" but I always really enjoy them.

choco_ice_cream's review against another edition

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3.0

The novel itself was pretty meh. I still liked Amy tho. 2.5

beatniksafari's review

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3.0

Scarlett, one of four children, lives with her family in an Art Deco hotel in New York City. Heaven, right? Well, no. Though she would love to spend the summer traveling or at camp like her friends, she's needed to help run the decaying hotel. An eccentric guest, a theatrical adventure, and a realistic romance (as in non fairy-tale) add more drama to Scarlett's summer than she had planned.

melindahigbee's review

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4.0

Loved it. What fun. I'm on a YA kick right now and this is one of the best I've read so far. Thank you, Luisa, for lending it to me.

nssutton's review

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3.0

Liked it, but didn't love it with the fevor I felt for her other books. Like the concept of the old NYC hotel but was really slow to warm up to the characters. Still looking forward to the rest of the trioligy because really no one can do mildly self depricqting humor like MJ can.

bookishlifetime's review

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4.0

Amazing

snarkywench's review

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3.0

It's a truth universally acknowledged that Adele prefers Maureen Johnson's secondary characters over her protagonists. Suite Scarlett was a cute read - it was fun, frothy and focused on the apple of every YA blogger's eye, Spencer. It has a nice heart, some nice introspection but it failed to rock my world.

First of all, Spencer is great in that he's the male focus of this novel, being the big brother rather than the love interest. He's funny, he's charming, he's flawed. Like 13 Little Blue Envelopes, I found the protagonist (Scarlett) to be a little blah. Johnson tends to overwhelm her leading ladies with swirling events and larger than life secondary characters. Ultimately, it is these characters that you remember, the kooky Spencer, the dramatic Mrs Amberson and the tantrum-throwing Marlene.

While I have been critical, I did enjoy Suite Scarlett. The protagonist learns that her brother is fallible, her older sister isn't an icicle and her little sister has a heart. The love interest Eric is blandly tolerable, which is kinda the point with the events that occur. I couldn't help but wish the novel was from Spencer's or Lola's point of view, which could be a reflection of my age. Regardless, it was a fun, light read.

cjyu's review

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4.0

3.5 stars

A good light hearted summer quick read.