The Rehearsal Club - by Kate Fodor & Laurie Petrou (Paperback)

About the Book

"A mystery spans decades at the Rehearsal Club in this story of sisterhood, friendship and following your dreams under marquee lights. Twelve-year-old Pal Gallagher is a newly minted New Yorker who loves to make people laugh and is hoping to find kindred spirits in her new city. Her older sister, Naomi, lives at the Rehearsal Club, a historic boarding house for aspiring actresses. Pal quickly gets swept up in the glamor and high-stakes of the theater world, and is drawn into a decades-old mystery about Posy, a boarder who was kicked out of the Club for reasons unknown. In 1954, Olive feels like she is working harder than anyone to make it to Broadway -- along with the forty-four other young women who live at the Rehearsal Club. In comparison, her carefree friend Posy is making it look easy. Tensions rise when the two audition for the same part, kicking off a series of events that lead to Posy's departure. What really happened all those years ago? The truth involves a Broadway play called The Weekend House, a necklace and a secret that Olive has kept all these years -- until Pal and her new friends start digging into the past. What they learn could change the very fate of the Rehearsal Club itself."--

Book Synopsis

A mystery spans decades at the Rehearsal Club in this story of sisterhood, friendship and following your dreams under marquee lights.

Twelve-year-old Pal Gallagher is a newly minted New Yorker who loves to make people laugh and is hoping to find kindred spirits in her new city. Her older sister, Naomi, lives at the Rehearsal Club, a historic boarding house for aspiring actresses. Pal quickly gets swept up in the glamor and high-stakes of the theater world, and is drawn into a decades-old mystery about Posy, a boarder who was kicked out of the Club for reasons unknown.

In 1954, Olive feels like she is working harder than anyone to make it to Broadway -- along with the forty-four other young women who live at the Rehearsal Club. In comparison, her carefree friend Posy is making it look easy. Tensions rise when the two audition for the same part, kicking off a series of events that lead to Posy's departure.

What really happened all those years ago? The truth involves a Broadway play called The Weekend House, a necklace and a secret that Olive has kept all these years -- until Pal and her new friends start digging into the past. What they learn could change the very fate of the Rehearsal Club itself.

Key Text Features

chapters

dialogue

author's note

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.3

Compare and contrast two or more characters, settings, or events in a story or drama, drawing on specific details in the text (e.g., how characters interact).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.3

Describe how a particular story's or drama's plot unfolds in a series of episodes as well as how the characters respond or change as the plot moves toward a resolution.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.6.6

Explain how an author develops the point of view of the narrator or speaker in a text.

Review Quotes

The Rehearsal Club is charming, and often quite funny, with vivid, sympathetic heroines and a well-drawn supporting cast.

-- "Historical Novel Society"

The combination of humor, heart, and growth gives depth to this story. Theater lovers, current performers, and fans of historical or realistic fiction will enjoy this peek into the past.

-- "Children's Literature Comprehensive Database"

A delightful collaboration ... Readers who love mysteries, along with singing and dancing, will enjoy this clever story that opens an intriguing window into theater history.

-- "School Library Journal"

This quirky, funny mystery [is] sure to delight readers of all ages, especially budding theater kids.

-- "Booklist"

Inventive, humorous, and delightful. STARRED REVIEW

-- "Kirkus"