Analyzing other people’s emotions and motivations is Scarlet Ellis’s greatest talent. At school, she’s close to few but a confidante to all. Her quiet home life consists mostly of taking pictures and involving herself in her neighbors’ business. Since childhood she’s idolized her older sister, Juliet, who comes home pregnant and married after years of working as a singer. Scarlet forms a strong bond with Juliet’s husband, Hayden, and becomes convinced that Juliet is cheating on him with her high-school boyfriend. At the same time, Scarlet finds herself falling for Hayden. Narrator Scarlet is content to tell everyone’s story but her own, and as a result, no plot ever really develops beyond her thoughts. Though Scarlet is thoughtful and well read in psychology, many of her observations about other people’s relationships come off as melodramatic rather than enlightening. The most interesting story line involves Scarlet’s matchmaking of two oddball classmates, a feat that shows off her interpersonal skills. Overall, because of her lack of focus and sense of self, readers may have a hard time sympathizing with her. (Fiction. YA)
