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A review by snarkywench
Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson
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.
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.