Scarlett Fever

by Maureen Johnson

So, this will be less of a review and more of a reaction, because I just put the book down and AUGH!

Don't get me wrong. It's great. I love Scarlett and her kooky family (remember my thing about families?). I adore Spencer (especially the scene at the party where he attempts to eat an entire bottle of maraschino cherries).

BUT...how long until the next book comes out? I'm not sure I can make it. I'm really not.

Like Leila, I'm totally Team Max, which surprised me quite a bit. Usually I stick like crazy to the original guy, the one that has misunderstandings but gets the girl in the end. Not in this case. Max all the way! (Because, let's face it, Max was a jerk, but Eric was more of a jerk and for less even semi-commendable reasons.)

So, Maureen Johnson! Because we share a first name, and because you're a Nerdfighter Secret Sister and for these two reasons you are awesome, please. Write fast. Write Max. ( )

by Maureen Johnson

So, this will be less of a review and more of a reaction, because I just put the book down and AUGH!

Don't get me wrong. It's great. I love Scarlett and her kooky family (remember my thing about families?). I adore Spencer (especially the scene at the party where he attempts to eat an entire bottle of maraschino cherries).

BUT...how long until the next book comes out? I'm not sure I can make it. I'm really not.

Like Leila, I'm totally Team Max, which surprised me quite a bit. Usually I stick like crazy to the original guy, the one that has misunderstandings but gets the girl in the end. Not in this case. Max all the way! (Because, let's face it, Max was a jerk, but Eric was more of a jerk and for less even semi-commendable reasons.)

So, Maureen Johnson! Because we share a first name, and because you're a Nerdfighter Secret Sister and for these two reasons you are awesome, please. Write fast. Write Max. ( )

by Maureen Johnson

So, this will be less of a review and more of a reaction, because I just put the book down and AUGH!

Don't get me wrong. It's great. I love Scarlett and her kooky family (remember my thing about families?). I adore Spencer (especially the scene at the party where he attempts to eat an entire bottle of maraschino cherries).

BUT...how long until the next book comes out? I'm not sure I can make it. I'm really not.

Like Leila, I'm totally Team Max, which surprised me quite a bit. Usually I stick like crazy to the original guy, the one that has misunderstandings but gets the girl in the end. Not in this case. Max all the way! (Because, let's face it, Max was a jerk, but Eric was more of a jerk and for less even semi-commendable reasons.)

So, Maureen Johnson! Because we share a first name, and because you're a Nerdfighter Secret Sister and for these two reasons you are awesome, please. Write fast. Write Max. ( )

by Maureen Johnson

So, this will be less of a review and more of a reaction, because I just put the book down and AUGH!

Don't get me wrong. It's great. I love Scarlett and her kooky family (remember my thing about families?). I adore Spencer (especially the scene at the party where he attempts to eat an entire bottle of maraschino cherries).

BUT...how long until the next book comes out? I'm not sure I can make it. I'm really not.

Like Leila, I'm totally Team Max, which surprised me quite a bit. Usually I stick like crazy to the original guy, the one that has misunderstandings but gets the girl in the end. Not in this case. Max all the way! (Because, let's face it, Max was a jerk, but Eric was more of a jerk and for less even semi-commendable reasons.)

So, Maureen Johnson! Because we share a first name, and because you're a Nerdfighter Secret Sister and for these two reasons you are awesome, please. Write fast. Write Max. ( )

This started off really strong, but fell flat about thirty pages before the ending. I don’t know if Maureen Johnson’s planning on a third book, but as a follow-up to Suite Scarlett, this fails.

There are some good things. I liked that even though Scarlett’s trying to get over Eric, she’s stuck in a position where she can’t help but run into him all the time and that they have to deal with their lingering feelings for each other. I liked that the messiness of the brief romance got addressed and that it’s hard for both parties to move on. I really liked Chelsea—she made for a good foil to Scarlett, and liked that they both bonded very quickly without being set-up as frenemies for no good reason. Also, we finally get to see Scarlett’s other friends properly in this book. Mostly, it’s her friend Dakota, but I liked that they do show up and play some role.

The strongest plot in the book is Lola’s. It’s an expansion of her romance with Chip, and I liked that a big part of her questioning this is Lola’s financial motives and if she’s really in love. It’s fairly ambiguous to both the reader and Scarlett, and it’s a nice touch. Also, by the end of the book, not everything’s magically patched up and okay, which is another thing that I liked.

Spencer’s storyline started off strong, but my major problem is that it doesn’t feel resolved. I liked that it starts with his sudden thrust to fame, and dealing with being not only the most hated man in New York for reasons he can’t control while trying to get new roles. And I liked that he has to deal with the implications and what it means for his family. (I loved the scene with the obsessive Crime and Punishment fan who realizes that she’s staying at the same hotel where Spencer is.) And it all gets resolved by….him getting fake-punched for his sins. It feels very much like Spencer and his line of thought, but nothing gets resolved from that. And also, if people are that obsessed with a TV show that they’re blaming the actor playing the villain…really. (This is coming from a hardcore Lost fan.)

I do not like Max. I’m really not a fan of the “Jerk with a Heart of Gold” love interest, especially when he’s being a complete douchebag for no good reason. And aside from one drunken makeout, he and Scarlett don’t end up together, so what is his purpose? I get why he dislikes his mother and doesn’t want his sister to end up down the same path, but it never really gets resolved.

And Marlene. I thought that this book would really highlight the major change of her realizing that she can’t just get anything by playing the cancer card, and Marlene tries to be nicer but is hilarious inept at it. And then you find out that, no, she’s still a manipulative little witch who just scored a spokesperson deal. Does it make me feel bad that I want to punch a cancer survivor? Because I shouldn’t.

My big issue overall is that the book just ENDS with absolutely nothing resolved. What I loved about the first book is that while there was still uncertainity about Scarlett’s feelings for Eric and Spencer’s career, it still felt like progress had been made and there was development from the first chapter. Here, it’s like “And Spencer gets a happy ending! And Lola gets a happy ending! Happy endings for everyone!” There’s no reflection on what this all means for the Martins. I was disappointed when I turned the last page and landed on the acknowledgments. There feels like there should be more, and we never get it.

Unlike The Last Little Blue Envelope, this feels like an unnecessary sequel. There’s a lot of potential for a really good story, but ultimately, the quick ending lacks what I loved about the first book and doesn’t really look at the overall effect of the events on the characters.
( )