Help me remember this YA book.

January 25, 2013 5:27 PM

I've been trying on and off for years to remember this YA book. Actually, I think it might be a series, but maybe not. Details within.

-Book is set in the US in the 1930s-1940s.

-Features a family with four (I think) kids, two boys, two girls. Their mother is deceased and they live with their father and housekeeper/nanny.

-All four kids have some kind of talent, but I can only remember the talents of the two girls.

-The oldest girl is about 13 and an actress. She is cast in a radio soap opera.

-The other girl is a ballet dancer.

-The kids pool their money so that each one can do something special once a week or so. The oldest girl uses the money to get a manicure. She realizes her father will be very angry with her and tries to hide it but he notices at the dinner table. The housekeeper sacrifices some of her beloved perfume (Nights on the Nile?) to remove the nail polish.

BONUS QUESTION:
-I have the nagging feeling this is a series and in one of the books the family inherits a female relative's house and the attic is filled with Chippendale furniture. Horrible but memorable detail: Cranky old relative was known to acquire a pair of kittens once a year and euthanize them once they grew out of the kitten stage. Also, if these are the same kids, their cousin(s) live in the area this house is. This may be muddying the waters, but it seems like the kids lived in New York City and the house was out in the Hamptons.

posted by fozzie_bear to media & arts (6 answers total)

It's called The Saturdays. I had a copy.
posted by Frowner at 5:30 PM on January 25 [2 favorites]

Also part of the Melendy Quartet - I didn't know there were more books.
posted by Frowner at 5:31 PM on January 25

Wow, that was fast! Thank you!
posted by fozzie_bear at 5:34 PM on January 25

The bonus question, however, with the old lady and the cats, is from the same author's GONE-AWAY LAKE. Love that book too. I will never forget Mrs. Brace-Gideon and the summer cats.
posted by OolooKitty at 5:57 PM on January 25 [1 favorite]

Ah, so I wasn't too far off, same author. Thanks!
posted by fozzie_bear at 6:09 PM on January 25

Oh geez, I tried to read these as a kid when I found them in a closet but couldn't get into them. Cool!
posted by stoneandstar at 9:59 PM on January 25