As a lover of chick-flick films, I was struck by this title
when I saw it on the shelf. I immediately brought it home with me, and I read
it in a matter of two days.
This book is about Scarlett, who resembles Vivien Leigh,
best known for playing Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind. Her mother, a film lover, gave her that name upon seeing her
dark hair and green eyes at birth. At six months, Scarlett’s mother left her
and her father, and he blamed it on her obsession for the cinema and the
unrealistic expectations films gave her.
Twenty-three and a half years later, Scarlett and her father
own a popcorn machine business, wherein they supply the machines for cinemas
around England. This fuels Scarlett’s own obsession for movies, and she is
constantly daydreaming about different romantic movies and actors, infusing
them into her otherwise boring life. Scarlett is engaged to David, a steady,
DIY-obsessed, sometimes boring, businessman whose family owns a chain of
cinemas. The two of them are set to be married in April, two months after
Scarlett’s best friend Maddie is married. Scarlett is unsure though, and just
kind of in a rut. As a way to escape this, Maddie arranges for Scarlett to
housesit for a month in a prominent neighborhood in Notting Hill, a la The Holiday. Naturally, Scarlett jumps
at this chance, and takes it as an opportunity to prove to her father, fiancé,
and best friend that she can have movie moments in real life.
Upon arriving in Notting Hill, Scarlett obsesses over all of
the places noted in the movie by the same name, and thus bumps into Oscar, a
flamboyant shop owner, who introduces her to new friends and listens to her
life story. Through Oscar, Scarlett also meets Sean, her neighbor and new
friend. Through a series of movie-worthy events, the two end up going on a
weekend away to a wedding, traveling to Paris, and embarking upon an important
search. Scarlett and Sean are very much opposites, but they joke and become
fast friends, earning the jealousy of David, and the confusion of Scarlett.
This book is about a lot of stuff. Scarlett goes in search
of her mother, tries to prove herself right about movie moments, and finds
herself in a triangle of sorts. I was surprised at multiple occasions,
impressed by her dedication, and unsure of where the story was going many
times.
Since there was so much going on in the book, some parts
suffered for lack of detail, but overall, I closed this book with a smile on my
face, and that says a lot. It was a fun, quick read, with lots of Rom-Com movie references, which I loved.
~Cailey W.
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