Reviewed by Jocelyn Pearce for TeensReadToo.com

THE SCARLET LETTERMAN continues the adventures of Miranda Tate and her friends at Bard Academy. When WUTHERING HIGH ended, Miranda, Blade, Hana, and Samir had discovered that the faculty of the school for juvenile delinquents that the four of them attend are not just weirdos who like to torture kids on an island in the middle of nowhere. They're the ghosts of famous authors who died, mostly by their own hands, before their times.

Miranda and the other students of Bard Academy are being taught by Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Mary Shelley, and Charlotte Bronte, among others. Of course, this is not something they can go around sharing with people, not even other students. Miranda and her three friends have to keep it to themselves.

That's why, when weird things start happening, they find themselves involved. The other kids have their theories, but none are so well-informed as Miranda, Samir, Blade, and Hana. Around the campus, there are weird sightings of "monsters," and a Hooded Sweatshirt Stalker whose face no one has seen. When one of the teachers disappears, things are definitely getting serious.

Miranda can't help but think Heathcliff, the fictional character who escaped from the book WUTHERING HEIGHTS, might be involved. Perhaps, though, that's just wishful thinking...

Not that she should be doing any wishful thinking at all about Heathcliff. She's got a boyfriend. And not just any boyfriend; she's the envy of half the school (the female half) when she wears hottie Ryan Kent's letter jacket.

It's not enough to just deal with figuring out the Hooded Sweatshirt Stalker, is it? Of course not, not for Miranda. She's also got to deal with regular school and social issues (though at a school for delinquents, she fears threats from Parker Rodham may not be so empty as they might have been back at home). On top of everything, she's facing some hostility from faculty members because of her knowledge of what goes on at Bard. She can't help but feel the key to it all would be to figure out what's going on, and she'd better do it fast, before someone gets hurt.

This is a great sequel to a great first novel! THE SCARLET LETTERMAN is a ton of fun to read; in fact, I sat down after getting home and read it in one afternoon! The characters, especially Miranda's friends, are interesting and funny, and the highly original paranormal element to this story adds an extra dimension to an already fabulously entertaining read. Cara Lockwood's writing is fantastic, flowing wonderfully and keeping the reader's attention throughout. There's plenty of suspense in this story, and the ending is open enough to allow for a sequel that readers will be dying to get their hands on while still tying up a lot of the conflict of the story, which is the kind of ending I like best! The ending of the first book was the same way. Both books could be stand-alone novels, but readers will better understand book number two if they've read WUTHERING HIGH. And who wouldn't want to read such a great book? It's certainly worth it; pick up THE SCARLET LETTERMAN! ( )

http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2009/05/ya-weekend_16.html ( )

So I finished the sequel to Wuthering High pretty quickly. Although I liked the first novel better.. this sequel was not bad. I still like the idea of bringing the classics to life. I love knowing the authors mentioned and most of the literary work that is mentioned. Going to have to get to the next book in this series for sure. ( )

The Scarlet Letterman takes up where its prequel, Wuthering High, left off. Miranda returns to the Bard Academy for the second semester of school. In the first book, Miranda finds out that important/famous writers like Hemingway, Bronte, and H.S. Thompson are ghosts that happen to make up the staff at Bard Academy. Literary characters can cross dimensions and come into our world. Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights also makes an appearance as a possible love interest for Miranda. However, at the end of Wuthering High, Miranda is asked to go steady with Ryan Kent, the best looking guy at Bard, and also someone she knew from her old school. She thinks everything is going to go back to normal until she receives a package in the mail. It is a locket with a piece of paper torn out of Wuthering Heights stored inside. The piece of paper says Heathcliff. Miranda is the only thing keeping Heathcliff tied to our world. Something she feels she must keep a secret.In The Scarlet Letterman everything is going fine for Miranda. She has a great boyfriend, she has good friends, and she even gets along with her roommate Blade. Things go downhill when Parker, her arch nemesis, is attacked in the woods that surround the school. Using her attack as an excuse, Parker insists Ryan starts escorting her to all of her classes and extra-curricular activities. Miranda doesn't like this, but deals with it. On top of the attacks (which continue) by the Hooded Sweatshirt Guy, rumors are flying around the school about Miranda and Ryan's sexual activity. When actually nothing has happened at all, she is rumored to have "gone all the way" with not only Ryan, but the whole basketball team too. When Ryan doesn't take this rumor seriously, Miranda and he break up.Miranda is worried that the Hooded Sweatshirt Guy is Heathcliff at first, but soon discovers that it isn't. She rescues him which allows him to join in the big mystery of this installment of the Bard Academy Novels. Teachers are disappearing. Miranda is to blame. She is being framed and is forced to wear a red sweater vest and shunned by the whole school, teachers and students. In order for her to get out of this punishment, that is driving her crazy, she must solve the mystery. Luckily she has great friends that help. Hana, Blade, and Samir from the first book, all join in to help save the day. In the end though, even though her name is cleared, she still has some problems. What should she do about her boy situation? She has Ryan and Heathcliff. Ryan says he just wants to be friends, but still seems like he likes her and Heathcliff, after being discovered by the school faculty and allowed to stay in our world, is told that he isn't allowed to form any romantic attachments since he is only allowed to stay for 3 years. The actual amount of time Heathcliff is out of the picture in Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff doesn't seem like he wants to stick to that stipulation because at the very end of the book he returns the locket that had been taken away by the faculty to Miranda; trusting her with his life once again.So this is what I say about The Bard Academy books. Cute Cute Cute!!! ( )

Read my review at www.yasarah.blogspot.com ( )