Rating: 
Summary: sad
Review: I loved GWTW as a child. I read the book over 20 times by the time I was a teenager. When I heard that a sequel was being written, I was thrilled. The thrill lasted as long as the first chapter. I was very disappointed in this book. Scarlett behaves nothing like Margaret Mitchell would write her. The only redeeming factor in this book is the descriptions of country life in England, and even those aren't great. Read Gone with the Wind again and write your own sequel. It would be much better than this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Oh, not this again....
Review: In my opinion, Scarlett's quality exceeded that of Gone with the Wind. (ok gotta stop talking like that) Gone with the Wind was awesome, and sure, it made me cry, but Scarlett made me rejoice. The end of GWTW was so ironic and pathetic, and the ending of Scarlett was...what word fits here...beautiful. Alexandra Ripley is an extremely talented writer. It's difficult to even attempt to copy the style of another writer, so that's pretty freakin good. Actually, if I could, I'd rate this a 6, but that's not allowed. So...to everyone who hates this book...let me see you write something better than Scarlett.
Rating: 
Summary: God's nightgown!
Review: I'm shocked at Mitchell's estate managers having commissioned this book. In itself, it's standard romance trash, maybe a cut above; Ripley imagines her worlds well and "Scarlett"'s life takes some interesting turns. I put her name in quotations because Ripley's Scarlett has absolutely nothing to do with the original. No one should write a sequel or prequel to anyone else's creation, especially not Gone With the Wind, and especially not if they have such a miserable understanding of the characters... Nearly all the dialog sounds forced, fake, ridiculous; Ripley in no way recreates the original characters. This is a story about completely different people which would long ago have fallen into obscurity if it didn't have Margaret Mitchell's name on the cover. As a person who has read Gone With the Wind more times than she would care to admit, I can say with confidence that it seems Ripley barely skimmed it, and got way too many of the details wrong that made Gone With the Wind so rich. This is a terrible, terrible book. The ending of Gone With the Wind was perfect and whole in itself, and Scarlett is little short of sacrilege.
Rating:
Summary: Extraordinary
Review: I have always had a love for the pre and post-Civil war era, but this book has brought it to a new level. I was so facinated by 'Gone With the Wind' and how the characters seem to become apart of my life. 'Scarlett' was a wonderful book, i read it twice. Both times I read it I couldn't put it down. I laughed and cried with Scarlett and became to feel as if I loved her; as if I had known her in the flesh. This book takes you on journeys to old and new places; Tara, Savannah, Charleston, and Ireland. The bes part of the book is the end. Scarlett discovers herself...cant tell the rest. The end will leave and almost permenent smile on your face. Read it! It EXCEPTIONAL!
Rating:
Summary: This book is a laugh!
Review: I'am sorry but I just finished "Gone with the Wind" a minute ago and LOVED it! I look up the sequel,read a excert and after only one page I nearly died of laughter! Is it me or is it that Mrs. Ripley wrote a list of things for Scarlett to say like "No! No!"
or "Not Melly!" and some more "No! No's!" and made a chapter or more? I would think she would go out of her way to give us some details like good ol' Margaret Mitchell did. Please lady! I've read better soup directions than this!
Rating:
Summary: Ow!!!
Review: I read all the other reviews about this book, and though I agree with the ones that are saying this book is horrible, they did not exactly furnish reasons for it.
The first aspect of Gone With the Wind that makes it a classic is the character analysis. Mitchell blatantly, in Scarlett's case, and more subtly in other cases, analyses the different characters in her novel: Rhett, the state of Georgia, the city of Atlanta, the Confederate cause, Melanie, Gerald O'Hara... This is completely and totally missing from Scarlett. Instead there is only a constant monologue in her head. Besides the fact that Ripley contradicts every single characterization in GWTW on Scarlett (she's a shrinking little idiot who alternates between obsequiousness and fright), she also removes every bit of analysis that made GWTW great. Scarlett and the other characters just simply are not interesting without the analysis.
Secondly, GWTW was wonderful because of Mitchell's portrayal of the historic attitude. This appeal never once appears in Scarlett because it is completely contradicted. Somehow, I do not think that it would be considered proper in the rigidly structured Southern society to have a casual conversation with a married woman about how you used to look up her skirts.
The overall impression I got from this book was that it was fake. The plot was fake, the characters were fake, and it sounded like a cheap scandal bestseller. It does not deserve to steal Gone With the Wind's wonderful story and characters and pervert them.
Rating:
Summary: I Read It When I Was 12:My Favorite Book Since
Review: When I found out there was a sequel to Gone With the Wind I screamed. I had just finished reading Gone With the Wind and I had been discouraged because every book I would try to read didn't compare to it. When my friend asked to read Gone With the Wind I gasped but after the first page I barely put it down. Gone With the Wind was the most grabbing novel I had read but it left me wanting more. I read Scarlett in 9 days and the last 2 I didn't want to read because I couldn't bear the thought of not having anything to read after it. Scarlett's life would be over but I did finish it and I have read it a second time since then and I still can't believe nothing more than what I have already read will happen. Right when Scarlett figures one part of her life out another part falls apart. What she does to keep Cat hers is amazing to me and how she gets the effection of every man except the one she wants is something that I think is truly the immature,lovable,hot headed Scarlett. The love, hate, conflict,and commitment of Rhett and Scarlett in the end is unceasingly miraculous. I recommend this novel to every person who needs a book that they will admire forever.
Rating:
Summary: Why bother?
Review: Countless readers and moviegoers have wondered what happened to Scarlett and Rhett after he left her stunned at the foot of that staircase. This book takes many,many pages to tell you. By the end you probably won't care because you will be bored senseless. The lead characters are watered down, the secondary characters are dull and plot threads go everywhere and lead to very little. Some events make me wonder how well Ripley read the original. If Scarlett sacrificed so much to save Tara after the war, leaving it in Will Benteen's careful hands, why does she return to a plantation that is falling apart? Besides, does anyone really doubt if S & R ever got back together?
Rating: 
Summary: Slightly Above Mediocre
Review: I never really wanted to read or see GWTW, let alone read Scarlett. But, A co-worker persuaded me to read & later watch GWTW & I have to admit, I was a bit taken. While both books did tend to go into too much detail & drag on a bit, I have to admit that overall, I was pleasantly surprised. Scarlett is a good sequel to GWTW, but it is not without flaws. The biggest turn-off....... OVER 1/2 THE BOOK IS SET IN IRELAND. While I am glad that Scarlett finally got back to her roots so to speak & learned the true meaning of caring, sharing & family.... after a while, it got to be too much for readers to keep up with names & the Irish lingo. I also think that it was kind of shocking to fans of GWTW because it kind of betrays the love/hate relationship between Scarlett & Rhett that we love so much. Rhett wasn't in the book NEARLY as much as he should have been. :o( Readers love the little game of cat & mouse they played & there should have been more of it. He never said more than 2 sentences at a time, & I do agree that he was dumbed down a bit in this sequel. I was pleased that Scarlett finally bonded with one of her children. Once again, this was a fair book that left readers dangling (bored) until the final chapter for a mildly climax ending. Perhaps the title should have been 'The O'Hara'.
Rating:
Summary: Ghosts of Gone With The Wind.
Review: There's nothing wrong with the writing of this novel. There's nothing wrong with the story itself. It just wasn't 'Gone With The Wind.' By that I mean it wasn't a 'classic.' Alexandra Ripley is a wonderful writer and she weaves an exceptional story. A 'Gone With The Wind' sequel is just mighty big shoes to fill, but at least Ripley attempted to fill them. I'm glad someone finally did. I've wanted some sort of closure to GWTW since I first read the book and watched the movie. Yet, I suppose it was the 'cliffhanger ending' that gave GWTW its extra 'umph' and sealed its fate as one the greatest pieces of fiction ever written. Margaret Mitchell was clearly one of a kind. How sad it is that she only wrote one novel, but at least she gave us that one. Overall, 'Scarlett' is a great read. That is, if you can get the ghosts of 'Gone With The Wind' out of your mind. 'Scarlett' begins where 'Gone With The Wind' left off. It takes the reader onward to meet Mitchell's character as we thought we'd never see her...a mature, grown-up Scarlett. It has a believable plot and satisfying outcome. The characters in this novel are likeable and visual. It takes you back to that time period and is a true historical romance. I though it was very entertaining and powerful considering the tough act it followed. If we would look at 'Scarlett' as a work in its own right, I think more of us would be pleasantly surprised by how much we admired it. 'Scarlett' is a wonderful read and I recommend it to anyone who's looking for that 'closure' I searched for.
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