First published 2008
Scarlett Martin turns fifteen in a hotel that has seen better days. Her family runs the Hopewell, a 27-room relic from the 1920s tucked into New York City, and every birthday means a new responsibility. This year, Scarlett gets the Empire Suite. Her first guest is Mrs. Amberson, a woman who had a brief moment of fame in the 1970s and has come back to the city to write her memoirs. She is loud, impulsive, and completely certain that Scarlett should help her do it. Soon Scarlett is taking dictation, running errands across Manhattan, and getting pulled into schemes that feel equal parts exciting and completely out of control. The Hopewell is struggling. Scarlett's family is stretched thin. Her brother Spencer is chasing an acting career that may not go anywhere. And Mrs. Amberson keeps expanding the definition of what an assistant is supposed to do. Scarlett wants a normal summer. What she gets instead is a crash course in ambition, loyalty, and what it actually costs to want something badly enough to chase it.
Genres: fiction, coming-of-age, contemporary, young-adult, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: character-driven, heartfelt, humorous, introspective, witty
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family, mentor-mentee
Setting: The Hopewell, New York City, Manhattan
Period: 21st century, contemporary
368 pages · Hardcover · Point