Scarlett's family runs the once illustrious and now dilapidated Hopewell Hotel in New York City. On her fifteenth birthday, in the Martin family tradition, Scarlett is given a room in the hotel that will be her responsibility to manage and take care of the guests that stay there. That same day her parents also drop the bomb that the hotel isn't doing well, Scarlett won't be able to get a summer job, instead she will have to help out around the hotel. They have had to fire their last employee, the cook, so even Scarlett's birthday breakfast is a letdown. Her parents also give the ultimatum that Spencer, Scarlett's beloved older brother, will have to either find a paying acting gig or go to culinary school. Can Scarlett help herself and her brother, and could the eccentric Mrs. Amberson, staying in Scarlett's Empire Suite, be the answer to their problems?

Like all of Maureen Johnson's books, Suite Scarlett is written in such an approachable way, that any reader is sure to enjoy it. Scarlett is a lovable character, especially in her relationship with her older brother who is a bit of a goof ball. Scarlett has a lot of firsts that summer, first real crush, first kind-of relationship, first time being accused of shoplifting, first time telling a lie to her brother, first time sneaking an entire troupe of actors into her home... – Kate Pickett

YA FICTION Johnson Maureen