Maureen Johnson was recently crowned the 2012 Queen of Teen in the UK-but, as it turns out, she is American. She was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during a massive snowstorm. After a little dalliance with astronomy (she had a glow in the dark star chart) and archaeology (she had a little shovel), Maureen declared her intention to become a writer at the age of eight or nine or so.
She is a New York Times bestselling author of ten YA novels (including SUITE SCARLETT, SCARLETT FEVER, 13 LITTLE BLUE ENVELOPES, THE NAME OF THE STAR, and THE MADNESS UNDERNEATH). She has also written many collaborative works, such as LET IT SNOW (with John Green and Lauren Myracle), and THE BANE CHRONICLES (with Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan). She writes frequently on the subject of Young Adult literature for many publications, and is well-known for her online presence on Twitter (@maureenjohnson). Maureen lives in New York, and online on Twitter (or at maureenjohnsonbooks.com). She's not giving that crown back.

If all the world's a stage, New York City has the best scenery.

But for Scarlett Martin, stuck in her family's shabby Manhattan art deco hotel, the stifling summer stretches ahead like an unwritten play. Her friends are off adventuring, her younger sister hates her, her older brother and sister are out all the time working, and her parents have just announced - on her fifteenth birthday - that they are flat broke.

So when an intriguing (and more importantly, rich) new guest checks into the Hopewell, taking care of her comes Scarlett's responsibility. The Martins have never met anyone quite like Mrs Anderson, and her plans to put on a daring new production of Hamlet set the scene for a most dramatic New York summer after all.