The Club

In The Club, Eighth grader Barbara is at that awkward age: wedged between what her friends urge her to do, what her parents expect her to do, and what she desires most. This is the age of discovering boys, one’s own voice, and independence. But how can she assert herself while in Catholic school, with its rigid doctrines, unbending rules, and one very hateful nun? From the excitement of modeling to the possibility of her first kiss, Barbara leads the reader through the quotidian life of a teenage girl. We see the distrust that can exist between mother and teenager daughter, but we also share her joys of a family outing to the Rose Parade and her profound grief when someone she loves suddenly dies. A touching and revealing novel, Sue Ross reveals the truth about growing up in the Los Angeles of the innocent post-war Fifties.