Review: Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson

Scarlett Fever-Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Point
Publication Date: Februrary, 2010
Source: Library
Author Website

Ever since Mrs. Amberson entered Scarlett Martin's life, nothing has been the same. Now in the sequel to "Suite Scarlett," Scarlett is Mrs. Amberson's assistant, running around town for her star client, Chelsea, a Broadway star Scarlett's age with a knack for making her feel insignificant.
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I read Suite Scarlett a few months back and I enjoyed it, but I had a few issues with it. I enjoyed Scarlett Fever even more, mainly for two reasons. The first was the lesser focus on a Scarlett/Eric storyline for the most part, because the relationship felt odd to me, mainly because Eric felt like a creeper who should date girls his own age. Secondly, the story seemed more cohesive and slightly less madcap, while still reading like a Maureen Johnson book.

I really enjoyed the addition of Scarlett's friends, most notably Dakota. She's a grounding force for Scarlett, who can occasionally get caught up in the whimsy of everyone around her. In this book, Scarlett still has to deal with Mrs. Amberson, and dealing with one of her two clients, a young starlet named Chelsea and her strange family. There's also drama with the rest of the Martin siblings, Spencer's gotten a job as the villain on a popular television series, Marlene is acting nice for a change, and Lola is experiencing her quarter-life crisis a few years early. Of the four siblings, Scarlett is the most 'normal', but her nerves are fraying and she begins to show a feisty side to her personality, and I loved reading those bits the best.

The end of the book is not really a cliffhanger, but does leave the reader wanting more. I'm assuming there's at least one more book in the series, and I'll definitely be reading it!