The Rehearsal Club

A coming of age story that hops back and forth through time, The Rehearsal Club by Kate Fodor and Laurie Petrou is inspired by a real place in New York City.

Pal has just moved to New York City with her mom and dad and is learning how to be a city kid. Her big sister Naomi already lives in NYC in a place dubbed The Rehearsal Club, a boarding house for women looking to make their way in show business. While visiting Naomi, Pal learns of a former tenant of the house, Posy, who feels like a kindred spirit. Pal makes it her mission to discover everything she can about Posy and hopefully help save the Rehearsal Club at the same time.

Kate Fodor and Laurie Petrou have created the most charming and nostalgic story about friendship and sisterhood. This book gave me Babysitters Club meets Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants meets Now and Then vibes. A most beautiful combination of all of my favourite stories and films that reflect friendships at a vulnerable time in time, middle school. The characters are so rich in this story that it’s easy to see how The Rehearsal Club will find its way into many readers' hearts. The characters are so dynamic and interesting that one could easily see how more stories of their friendship evolve but it also is plenty satisfying standing on its own.

I love how this story moves back and forth through time providing historical context and allowing readers to better understand how people lived back in the 1950s and how women existed in the entertainment world at the time. The story has so much glamour baked into the beautiful storyline. Readers will feel they have just been at the best slumber party at the end of this story.