SCARLETT FEVER

The sequel measures well above its predecessor in this hilarious follow-up to Suite Scarlett (2008), which first introduced the eccentric, New York–dwelling Martin family. Picking up just a few weeks later, Scarlett is still convincingly nursing a broken heart and being run ragged by her employer, Mrs. Amberson, who has ambitions of becoming an agent. She helps the eldest Martin sibling, Spencer, land a role on a popular TV show and sets about courting another prospective client, whose disagreeable brother, Max, just happens to be starting at Scarlett’s high school. While there is much that is predictable in this comedic romance, the characterizations are a dream. Older sister Lola is allowed to show her achingly real insecurities. Spencer and Mrs. Amberson’s antics (and in addition, the lap dog acquired by the latter and described at one point as “my hairless little anxiety attack”) are uproariously funny. Readers will have to read the first to understand this one, and the decidedly cliffhanger conclusion will ensure they are left in fevered anticipation of the next. (Comedy. 12 & up)