The Saturday Evening Girls Club: A Novel Paperback – April 25, 2017

Unless you lived in the Boston tenements and under the beliefs of fathers that wouldn’t let old country ways go, you wouldn’t see how hopeless it was for young girls to live a different life than their mothers. Thank goodness for the Saturday Evening Girls Club, which really existed. There they made good friends, both Italian and Jewish, had fun, planned events, had mentors with status and learned to look for opportunities other than those typical of the day. There is a strong friendship between the four lovely young ladies facing the hardships of their lives together, but differently. It’s a very enjoyable read. Hard to put down. Kudos to the author.

Sometimes, I don't want a novel that challenges me to think about the hardest questions in life. Please, just tell me an engaging story about nice people who care about one another, who do their best to cope with life's challenges, and where just about everyone has good intentions! It's even better if there's a love story, and the setting has some kind of historical resonance.The Saturday Evening Girls Club delivers, on all counts.Jane Healey created a novel about four young women who were involved in the (real) Saturday Evening Girls Club in Boston's North End, which was started by a librarian in 1899. It was financially underwritten by prominent philanthropist Helen Osborne Storrow, along with her support of a pottery manufacturing company whose products today are much valued in the Arts & Crafts community. For me, that grounded the story in time and place, because I've spent quite a bit of time in Boston; I can imagine the locations quite clearly.In the novel, it's 1908, and the four 20-year-old women -- two Italian, two Jewish -- are undergoing their "coming of age" as daughters of immigrants. The parents each want something different than the young women do, based on their own history. Caprice's father, for instance, keeps bringing home eligible young men with the hope she'll be willing to marry one of them... but she dreams of opening a hat shop that's affordable for the neighborhood women. Ada hides her college attendance (and scholarship) from her Russian Jewish father because he thinks education is inappropriate for women. And so on.Every generation of young people believes that their parents "just don't understand" but, as the story makes clear, it's really true for these first-generation women (and the friends and relatives with whom they interact). The parents aren't mean or evil; they love their children, and want them to succeed, though in a way that they perceive as familiar. ...and Healey pulls it off, with characters whom I can believe in. (Well okay, maybe the Maria timeline is a little staged. I'm fine with that.)Primarily, though, this is a story about four women who are true friends to one another, where you can feel confident that Things Will Work Out Okay. It's a comfortable world to step into for a few hours. I like it, and I think you will, too.

I absolutely loved this book, especially since I found out the Saturday Evening Girls Club really existed! The story takes place in the very early 1900's in Boston. It is a tale of four immigrant girls, young ladies actually, who are trying to find their way in the "new" world. Even though they are immigrants and live close to one another in the same neighborhood, they come from different ethnic backgrounds. All their fathers are tradesmen (tailor, butcher, etc.) and want to find the girls good husbands through arranged marriages so they will marry and happily raise many children. These girls respect their fathers but have dreams of their own. The families learn to navigate this new world in America but also learn to stay true to their individual ethnic backgrounds. One young Italian girl has been working in a hat shop, learning to make beautiful hats for wealthy women. She longs to save her money and open her own shop making beautiful hats for the ladies in her neighborhood. Another young Jewish lady wants to choose her own husband, another is very intelligent & dreams of becoming a doctor. One of the young ladies is a talented dressmaker and experiences personal familial loss. These girls have grown up together and found courage and support through the Saturday Evening Girls' Club under the guidance of two very understanding and capable women acting as sponsors. The girls not only have dreams of their own but are fiercely loyal to each other. They come together to keep one of the group from making a tragic mistake choosing the wrong man to marry for the wrong reason. I loved the historical facts woven into the story. The characters were well developed and very likable. I found I was really cheering them on as they prove themselves, not only to themselves but to their families as well. It is a tender, comforting story that moves right along and you will enjoy the journey. I only wish the Club had been around when I needed guidance at that age.

Sweet story about friendship and growing up in Brooklyn in early 20th century. Super easy and quick read. Loved Italian and Jewish proverbs at the beginning of each chapter.

I really enjoyed the story of the TRUE friendship between the 4 girls. How they stuck together and loved no matter what!

This is a story about friendship and so much more. I loved this book. I would totally read it again. It reminds me of and gives the same feeling as a tree grows in Brooklyn. It's amazing and one day I believe it will be a classic.