This was the first book I read in the middle school library, and I have lked it ever since. It’s not too groundbreaking, it has the rather generic coming of age story of a teenage girl. Only hers is that she and the rest of their family are trying to save their dying hotel. It was glitz and glamour back in its heyday of the 1920s, but nowadays, the art deco style is its only appeal. The guests are few in between and they are desperately trying to appeal to the nostalgia crowd.

So Scarlett’s summers seems to be pretty down in the dumps. While her friends are vacationing, she’s cleaning the Empire suite (each member of the family takes charge of a suite as a sort-of 15 year birthday present. Scarlett would have preferred an actual present than more work and responsibilty) and acting as a companion to the eccentric Ms. Amberson. An old-age actor who still lives like her life is a Hollywood filled drama.

Which soon brings drama to Scarlett’s life when she falls in love for the first time with a burgeoning actor, Eric.

But it’s not all Shakespeare in the park. There’s family drama too as she attempts to help her struggling actor brother, Spencer get his big break in ann alley-way Hamlet production. His last attempt at a success or else he’ll have to change careers according to their parents. There’s her older sister, Lola whom Scarlett loves but is distant as Lola drifts away from the family, hand in hand with her rich boyfriend, Chip. And there’s babysitting her little sister. A defiant little girl recovering from lekumia who makes it well-known she’d rather have the other two siblings rather than Scarlett.

So yeah, lots of things happening in the book which is what makes it entertaining. I love the family dynamics here as it acknowledges they all have their favorite siblings and that favoritism can lead to personal conflicts with the other ones. Ms. Amberson is absolute hoot especially as she still gets into her grudge with her ex-friend that took Amberson’s audition spot to stardom. And the romance is sweet too I guess. I don’t really remember much of it.

But it just goes to show, even though it’s the same ocming of age story, it’s how you style the dressing that makes it interesting.