Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful!
Review: I love how Alexandra Ripley picked up exactly where Margaret Mitchell left off. I think she did a wonderful job in transforming Scarlett from a spoiled southern belle to a sophisticated, caring individual. She made Scarlett examine her life and put it into the proper perspective. I felt her emotions as if they were mine. Taking her back to her roots in Ireland was wonderful, I loved reading the vivid descriptions of the countryside. But my favorite chapter was the last when Rhett and Scarlett both realized that they were meant to be together. This was the second time I read GWTW and Scarlett and I would highly recommend both of them. (Although, I would not recommend the movie.) I wish someone would take up where Alexandra left off and take us into Cat's life as a young woman.
Rating: 
Summary: I think Alexandra Ripley did a fantastic job!
Review: For one thing, you think it's easy trying to follow in the footsteps of an epic novel? For another, I think she caught Scarlett's and Rhett's characters very well. We all know that people grow up and people change, and we know that Scarlett was a very determined person who always gets what she wants. Do you not agree that she would have done everything she could to get Rhett back while of course, maintaining her dignity? If you ask me, Alexandra Ripley's 'Scarlett' is a perfect sequel to GWTW. Just because it wasn't the way you would have written GWTW fan fiction doesn't mean Alexandra was off the mark from Mitchell's expectations, it just means it was off the mark from yours. And I truly, truly hope no Scarlett fan will be put off by the bad reviews.
Rating: 
Summary: YUCK! Painful.
Review: My mother told me it was a terrible book. I read it, and I agree 100 percent. Firstly, it has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with GWTW. Secondly, Rhett WOULD NOT marry another woman. Sure, he'd leave Scarlett, but only to make her sorry for whatever she did. Thirdly, every child should know her siblings. But Scarlett isolated Cat from that opportunity. The week in which I read it was painful. It could not have been more painful if someone had taken a red hot poker an applied it to my backside. Moreover, If you enjoy rewriting history and epic novels, by all means, go ahead.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting, but still a disappointment
Review: Attempting to take on someone else's book and recreate it as your own is bad enough, but when that book just happens to be one of the world's greatest epics, it's just plain wrong.People who have read Gone With the Wind have relished in the fascinating and timeless story that Margaret Mitchell wrote, but rather than just accepting the book for what it is (namely, it's cliffhanger ending), most of us seek more - we long to see Scarlett & Rhett end up together. Perhaps working on that bit of selfishness, Alexandra Ripley concocts this tale that picks up almost right after GWTW left of. I'll admit that the novel was interesting, but it should no way have been associated with the original tale in the first place. The alternate setting for the novel is welcome (after all, some sort of underlying social unrest in the story is needed after the end of the Civil War), however the characters were almost completely different as compared to those in GWTW. Scarlett's passion is dulled and Rhett is not nearly as dashing as he should be - the chemistry between the two of them is almost entirely lost, save just a few scenes. Mix that with a new set of ordinary characters (the purposely confusing introduction to Scarlett's enormous Irish family was unecessary) and you have an entirely different story. I'll give the author some credit for coming up with her own take of the story - she put into writing HER version of Scarlett & Rhett's future, something most of us could not (or perhaps should not) do. Perhaps a bit more character development and a even more of the Rhett Butler we all know, and less fabricated and unbelievable storylines (Scarlett reclaiming her family's lost homeland for one - since when was Scarlett interested in anything but her Southern roots?) would have worked. The ending was also a bit predictable, but what do you expect an author who is trying to please millions of readers with closure to do? Nice try, but material like this should be spared to true fans of GWTW, and rewritten with different characters to please the romance novel crowd.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Give it the Time of Day
Review: I'm sorry, but I just couldn't even get past the second chapter of this book before I decided THE HECK WITH THIS! I really am sorry that I didn't at least give it a chance, but I couldn't! After I finished Gone With the Wind (SCARLETT's prequel), I was starving for more. But SCARLETT is such a disappointment. No one can capture Scarlett's character the way Mitchell did. There were too many obvious differences. Also, the drama in SCARLETT seemed much too forced in comparison to GWTW. And certain rules of etiquette in the South that Mitchell made clear in GWTW were completely forgotten in SCARLETT. I do apologize, but I have to suggest that no one read SCARLETT---no one who HAS read GWTW and no one who hasn't.
Rating:
Summary: After reading a lot of other reviews..
Review: ... I noticed 2 reactions to this book. One type was the one or two star "how could she have written such a lousy novel" reactions, that often proved their point by sticking to tiny little details (such as the similarity of Scarlett's trips to Tara when she was desprate, or her having taken off her corsets). The other type of reaction was usually 3 stars or more, with an appreciation of Ripley's effort to write this sequel. I must admit I belong to the 2nd group, because I basically believe that the first book was very well written, and managed to tie all of its own loose ends except for the Scarlett and Rhett relationship - which is an end I think Margaret Mitchell herself wanted to leave loose... And this is why I found the Scarlett / Rhett aspects of the sequal so disappointing - after all the plot twists of GWTW between them, the only way to go was a variation of the one mentioned in the book: Scarlett chasing Rhett, which only makes him run further away, and only when she 'grows up' does she get him back... The inclusion of Rhett in this book seemed a little fake, and to me it felt as though Ripley had included it just to satisfy the die - hard fans of GWTW who wished to see the couple get back... I think that Ripley made a wise choice by removing Scarlett from everything and everyone she knew. Scarlett had misunderstood the rules of the Atlanta 'Old Guard' and had so many chances to fix her status in GWTW that keeping her in Atlanta would have been boring. She was there long enough for us to see how low she had gone there (not being invited to parties, people ignoring her, not selling her stuff in their stores, not going into hers...), and by this stage having the 'Old Guard' forgive her would have been fake. The Old Guard's attitude was already tied and sealed by Margaret Mitchel, and all Alexandra Ripley had to do was show that Scarlett finally realizes the kind of people her new friends are, and when she throws them out she just has no one to live for in Atlanta... This might be a specific example, but in general, I felt that going back to all the locations from GWTW would have been just re - writing the first book, and I'm glad the plot was taken to new and interesting places... I suppose that many of the die hrd fans expected something with the same style and plot turns of the GWTW book - but then, why not ust read GWTW again? Scarlett's moving to Ireland seemed a natural step - after not fitting into the southern society in Atlanta and Charleston, she finally finds her Irish relatives, which seem to love her, admire her, and most important of all - accept her just as she is... This is what trigers her to change. Instead of wearing a tight corset under over - decorated fancy clothes, she takes her corsets off, and wears simple peasant clothes, because she doesn't have to impress anyone with her fancy clothes - her relatives love her anyway... She finally gains status without having to act unnaturally, which makes her realize all of her natural power and talents, and eventually does become a great lady (just like her mother). Even when Scarlett goes away to a whole new place, and meets new people, we still get to learn how people from GWTW are faring. This was probably a tribute to all the fans of the original book, just to justify this being a proper sequal. In general, Ashley turns out to be OK, Ella and Wade find happiness in Tara with Will and Suellen, etc. In general, I think that people who are strong fans of GWTW and expected a classic sequel would be disappointed, because besides Scarlett, all other characters from GWTW appear very briefly, if at all. These 2 books are like 2 books about the same charcters, and while GWTW provieds some history for Scarlett, the later takes the story to completely different directions... So I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to accept this change.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad, But Not What "Gone With the Wind" Was
Review: We readers are puzzling people-we wanted a perfect sequel for "Gone With the Wind" because we wanted to know what happened, yet we knew that no one can write quite like Margaret Mitchell could. The first thing that was wrong about this book was the fact that the author of the original book didn't write the sequel (in this case, "Scarlett"). I think that if Margaret Mitchell wanted a sequel, she would have written one!!! Therefore, no one else should do what only the author should. Alexandra Ripley couldn't even begin to be totally true to what Mitchell would have done, not only because she WASN'T Mitchell, but because every author wants an original book with characters that they created themselves. This is where the book begins to lose its original charm. Ripley created these new characters, but did the reader want them? She changed the entire setting, but did that make for a worthy sequel? I think the answer to both of these questions is "no." "Scarlett" begins with a scene at Melanie's funeral (how can any sequel to "Gone With the Wind" be as good without Melanie?), and after chronicling all of Scarlett's social woes in Atlanta, promptly whisks Scarlett off to Charleston in pursuit of Rhett. There Scarlett meets Rhett's mother, sister, brother, and all of the Charleston people, as well as seeking Rhett's mostly elusive attention. A journey to Savannah follows; Scarlett abandons her aunts' and hated grandfather's company in favor of her newly-found Irish relations (her father's family). This sets the scene for the bulk of the novel, for after meeting her Irish kin, Scarlett journeys to Ireland. A "quick" visit to her family becomes a permanent stay-Scarlett has Rhett's daughter (Cat), buys a manor that was once O'Hara property, and generally builds a new life for herself in Ireland. But she still misses Rhett... As I said, the characters in this story are simply not as memorable as the ones in "Gone With the Wind." I can't exactly describe it-they just don't have that "special something" that makes them fascinating to the reader. Ripley tries to write like Mitchell; sometimes it succeeds, but this novel still has some boring/confusing/needless parts. I don't think the word "boring" was even in Mitchell's vocabulary! Most of all, I was disappointed by the ending. Too much action, too many happenings all crammed into a few pages-in a book 880 pages long, that shouldn't be the case! On the positive side, it WAS nice to see Scarlett grow up a little. She seemed to mature into a slightly more thoughtful person (but she didn't lose too much of that stubborness!), and her realizations about her mother's imperfections were good insights into her character. Cat was a good character, and it was easy to see why Scarlett loved her so much-another sign of her growing up was that she became a better mother. The Irish setting is interesting in some ways; customs are explored and Scarlett realizes her family history in a satisfying way. And, I have to say it.. the ending accomplished what we were all waiting for. This book isn't terrible; it just doesn't have the magically real characters, compelling setting, and faultless pace of its forerunner.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, our heroine sees the error of her ways... etc......
Review: I, who read Gone With the Wind in about a week at the tender age of 14 (I'm 15 now), and have since read it about six or seven times, was extremely satisfied with the sequal. After my first few readings of the original, I realized what the problem was - I didn't like Scarlett. (Not many authors have the courage to design and write an unlikable heroine.) For everyone else who was yelling at Scarlett to 'grow up!,' 'Don't marry Charles!,' 'Just tell Rhett how you really feel!,' etc, etc, etc, you will be happy with how Ripley matures and softens Scarlett. For everyone who was as frustrated with her as I was, you'll get a pleasent surprise when you come to a certain scene of self-revelation, of 'owning up to failure,' which, as everyone who has read GWTW knows, is a major issue for Scarlett. It also provides insight into the harsh life of the Irish under English rule. 'To anyone with a drop of Irish blood in them,' it will make you wince with empathy, feel anger towards the English military who brutalize Ireland, and feel pride in your Irish roots. The book satisfies everything we wanted for Scarlett, remains true to the characters of Scarlett and Rhett, and is a real page-turner. If you've read GWTW, you'll want to read this.
Rating:
Summary: If you liked GWTW, don't be tempted to read this slop
Review: I really find it hard to believe that Margaret Mitchell's family approved this author. This book doesn't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence as GWTW. This is basically a cheap romance novel, same tired plot as a thousand others. The characters do not in the least bit resemble the richly drawn characters in Mitchell's book.
Rating:
Summary: Overwrought with detail. Needed about 1/2 the pages used
Review: This book read more like a Danielle Steele novel. I didn't expect her to mimic Margaret Mitchell's style, of course. But I wasn't to keen to read this, either. Weaknesses: 1. Too long (If you've ever read anything by Ayn Rand, you know that it is possible to assert very little in a huge amount of space. If you've not read her, then this will be yet another clear example of that.)
2. Too corny (Those scenes full of redheads, all of whom have larger than life characters and are part of a *big, loving, communal family* were just a bit over the top.)
3. Too unrealistic (Scarlett O'Hara as a sponsor of early form of the IRA? Scarlett O'Hara moving to Ireland and building and empire?)
4. Dabbling with the supernatural. Huh? Strengths: This book was loosely historically based, and did give an indication of what has created the rage of the Irish toward their being governed by the British for such a long time. It is also interesting to note the disdain with which they were first looked upon at their start in this country.
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