Stories with realistic characters that I can relate to really draw me in and The Cast by Amy Blumenfield is a perfect example of how friendships evolve.

The Cast has characters so well written, so fun and enjoyable that the book leaves you wishing these members of The Cast were your friends too. Jealousies, insecurities, emotional issues are all handled so skillfully... so wonderfully that you'll fall for these flawed people as much as I did!!! I laughed... I cried... kept reading until the end. Highly recommend The Cast as an any day of the week read...as long as you have enough time to keep reading because you will not want to put it down! Secrets, cancer, romance, jealousy, friendship...these are just a few themes and issues that are handled with an honesty that is refreshing!!!

Thank you to Amy Blumenfield, NetGalley, Get Red PR / Sparkpress for allowing me the opportunity to read this advanced reader's copy. As always my opinions are my own, and I loved this book!!!

The book centers around a group of friends who call themselves "The Cast" because during childhood one of them was sick with lymphoma and the others made her a VHS tape of SNL type skits to cheer her up. The Cast members have remained supportive of one another into adulthood, and 25 years from the day they all watched the video together in the hospital, they get together at a home in the Berkshire's. This gathering is the backdrop for many of the characters' stories which we get to hear from the character's perspective (minus one of them, for some inexplicable reason). I did enjoy a lot of the details about the Jewish faith. I also found a lot of Becca's emotional struggles to be heartfelt and realistic.
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This book was a drama centering around a woman with a major illness, so I think I'll begin by admitting that this type of story really isn't for me. I almost DNF'd the book about halfway through. I found a lot of the characters unbelievable, especially one male character whose personality and actions were jarringly contradictory to what everyone said and felt about him. I wasn't really drawn in to any of the character's stories, and nothing about the writing style really wowed me. Some of the character's "pasts" made me roll my eyes a little and some of the plot points were there just to add to the drama, they really served no other purpose.

An amazing story of a high school girl who developers a very serious form of cancer. Throughout her stay in hospital, hooked up to all sorts of machines, her schoolmates continue to visit her and give her support. A slow recovery occurs and towards the end Becca's friends do a skit and include Becca in their story, thus the title of the book The Cast. While at university Becca meets her 'to be' husband. Early in their relationship she tells him about her ordeal with cancer, and also mentions history could repeat itself. They marry and manage to find a surrogate Mom to enable them to have a child with her eggs and his sperm. (The cancer had caused her to be unable to carry a child). Delighted with their daughter their marriage is good. Many years later Becca's best friend, a member of 'the cast' decides to celebrate Becca's freedom from cancer with an extravagent weekend reunion of the cast and their spouses. Little did anyone anticipate what would happen next! Read to find out!
A very well written novel by a new author, I recommend it.

Becca is a cancer survivor. When she was a teenager she underwent radiotherapy and all the nightmares associated with her condition. The opening sequence lets us witness her struggling with her baldness and all the angst and worry her situation warranted. Her friends decided to make a video in which they all stared – 90 minutes of fun to help support their friend, Becca. For one of the group, Jordana, this was a particularly harrowing experience. Her closest friend might die and she was very distressed and struggling to cope with all this entailed.

Twenty-five years on and Jordana has organised a weekend at her holiday home for the friends to unite but unknown to any but Becca and her husband, the cancer has returned. The carefully planned celebration does not turn out as Jordana expected.

The plot unfolds through various points of view, Becca and her husband, and the friends and their partners. A clever and poignant plot that kept be keen to carry on reading to see what happens.

One aspect I really enjoyed was the relationship of Adam and Holly and their decision to follow the rigours of an orthodox Jewish faith. The struggle with choices made for their unborn child was interesting and I had never thought about this complex situation, so I found this quite fascinating.

One negative thought though, Oh Jordana how ICD you are, just perfect in nearly every way – I found you just a tiny bit smug. How shocked I was by some of Adam’s statements (you will know exactly what I mean when you read it) but, actually, I really, really liked Adam. One other thing, there was a bit of a surprise towards the end – I hadn’t seen it coming but could slowly feel something creeping up.

So - not exciting thrilling, no. Entertaining, yes definitely? I could see that a sequel could work and would be more than happy (curious) to see where that would take us.

Thank you to the author, publishers and NetGalley for providing an ARC via my Kindle in return for an honest review.

Switching gears from thrillers to a women’s fiction about a group of friends. The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld was a quick read about a group of childhood friends who reunite as adults. In their teens, Becca had cancer and they rallied around her as she went through treatment. Now as adults, they are living out what was set in motion as kids.

Here’s a quick synopsis for you:

Twenty-five years ago, a group of ninth graders produced a Saturday Night Live-style videotape to cheer up their ailing friend. The show’s running time was only ninety minutes, but it had a lasting impact: Becca laughed her way through recovery, and the group—Jordana, Seth, Holly, and Lex—became her supporting cast for life.

On the silver anniversary of Becca Night Live, the friends reunite over the Fourth of July to celebrate Becca’s good health—but nothing goes as planned. The happy holiday card facades everyone’s been hiding behind quickly crumble and give way to an unforgettable three days filled with complex moral dilemmas and life-altering choices. Through humor, drama, and the alternating perspectives of five characters, The Cast explores the power of forgiveness, the importance of authenticity, and the immeasurable value of deep, enduring friendships to buoy us when life plays out differently than expected.



Friendship, illness, life, are just a few of the themes running through this novel. Great book and a different vibe than most of the books I have read lately!

This is an extremely poignant story that explores the bonds of friendship. Becca, Jordana, Lex, Holly and Seth, have been friends since elementary school. A tragedy when they are teens is the catalyst for a reunion that occurs 25 years later. Over the course of a weekend, the five friends find themselves exploring and questioning pretty much everything they know about friendships, love, marriage, and ultimately, loyalty. I found the characters to be extremely realistic, especially Becca and Lex. I didn’t much care for Jordana, although I respected her role in the plot and in the web of friendships. I really liked the dynamics between the friends, and how they realized each other’s strengths and weaknesses and what they each meant to each other. Ultimately heartwarming, and for the most part, satisfying, this was a good book that I read in one day – I just really wanted to know what happened to the characters. Thank you to NetGalley, Get Red PR, and the author for a digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and SparkPress for this ARC. Heartfelt, heart wrenching, and straight to all the feels. Lovable characters you fall into and become invested in, absolutely relatable friendships and a brilliant heartstring-tugging book. Maybe don’t read this though if you’re like me and struggling through your nostalgic phase lol.

Thank you to SparkPress and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book in exchange of an honest review.

Childhood friends who were able to overcome and survive a tragedy of one of the group...great story. I liked how they had been friends for many years and on the 25th anniversary came back together to celebrate the occasion. All of them were at different stages of their lives and each character had a voice in chapter(s).

Solid 3.5 stars so I rounded up :)

What a spectacular debut! This novel will make you laugh, cry and get downright angry! I experienced a whirlwind of emotions while reading this book.
Do you have a group of friends that you still keep in touch with from high school? I only have a few that I'll send a quick Facebook message or email to every now and then. This story makes me reminisce about some of my childhood friends and feel a pang of regret for not checking in more often. The bond this group of friends has is remarkable and makes me a little green with envy.
I especially love the format of this novel. Varying perspectives from one character to another are my favorite. Each individual is wonderfully developed and well thought out. I enjoyed every single one of them except for Nolan, the main character's husband. The reason is obvious if you read the book!
If you're looking for a unique and engaging story revolving around friendships, relationships and the curve balls that life throws at us, this book is for you. It's a refreshing little reminder that adulting is hard for us all! But it can also be pretty fabulous too.
Thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for this free digital advance readers' edition in exchange for my honest review.

Having recently finished “The Cast” by Amy Blumenfeld, I am happy to have had the chance for the preview; thank you Net Galley!

“The Cast” was an emotional and well written debut novel!
Enduring friendship through distance and time apart is hard to attain, but it is wonderfully depicted in alternating chapters throughout this story. For me, reading about this group of friends (Becca, Jordana, Holly, Seth and Lex), was somewhat reminiscent of the characters and friendship in the movie “The Big Chill”. Completely different; but the camaraderie felt the same. I could envision this story as a movie also, and from time to time caught myself wondering who would be “cast” as this group of friends. I would definitely pay for a ticket to watch this particular story unfold in front of me again, even though everyone knows that the book is always better than the movie!

This book is about as funny as the last hour of any SNL show - but it is beautiful novel of lasting friendships. Its just depressing as hell towards the end.

What I loved: It was terrific to see a mainstream novel feature a majority of Jewish characters. The insight into the Orthodox world was not only enlightening, but also so informative. The bonds that these 5 people shared are so intense - I truly wonder if younger generations will be able to establish friendships like these?

What I didn't love: Each character has a scene where they come off as such an ass and extremely unlikable even if it is just for that moment.

She took me back. Blumenfeld took me back to high school years of tight friendships, shifting loyalties, and utter incomprehension of the life to come. In this story, we live the past into the present day when the friendships of the past rally to support a present-day challenge. For me, I so enjoyed spending time with the teenagers in fraught, loving selves--and seeing them brought to the current day to face a huge problem together when the eyes aren't so bright, the hearts not so untarnished and whole. Great premise, great cast of characters.

The Cast was an interesting novel; a pretty good one for a first! I'm not going to sum it up - there will be enough reviews that do that - but I feel that I do have to say that I HATED Nolan's attitude towards Becca during the center of the crisis situation. Even towards the end, when the first argument was over and they were on the second, I wanted to turn around and slap him. I hate that Becca stayed with him after he turned into an a$$hat AGAIN. That alone made me give this book 4 stars. Otherwise, it was fabulous. Parts were happy, sad, scandalous, tender, and heartbreaking, just like in real life, and I heartily approved of it all - just NOT NOLAN. 4 stars, and I can't wait to see what Amy writes next!

This book started off interesting but somewhat slow plot-wise. I didn’t expect it to really go anywhere, but it still held my interest. As I continued I was impressed with Blumenfeld’s writing and the development of the characters. I really enjoyed this book! It was an easy and entertaining read.

Twenty five years ago five friends were inseparable. They became more so when they bonded when one of them got cancer. She survived the cancer but the effect of the hospitalization the treatment and the situation remained with them forever.

Now all grown up with families of their own, other than Seth the perennial bachelor they are getting together once more. More disparate than before, each have their own issues in their lives and once again Becca is facing a return of the cancer and this time it is creating a huge rift in her marriage as well.

The story goes back and forth between their school years and present times and it threw up a scenario which was new to me. Becca is faced with a decision of a mastectomy, common enough today but she is hesitating about reconstructive surgery. She is very keen on the idea of just having the mastectomy and stopping at that. Her husband Nolan is horrified. He cannot imagine his wife without breasts, as being "not normal" , and not "womanly", being the butt end of jokes amongst his friends and his attitude has blown Beccas trust and love for him as this a Nolan whom she cannot imagine.

The attitude of Nolan divides the friends as well who try to see the situation from his point of view as well, but the camps are solely behind their friend. They supported her in the past and they will do so now.

Friendships, marriage, unexpected issues, deep attractions after decades all come up in this beautifully handled story.

Review I enjoy reading books written in multiple perspectives. It helps me as a reader better understand the drivers behind behavior. The Cast is told from the perspectives of five friends. I loved the depth of their friendship and growth over the course of 25 years. Each were relatable and well-played. A very entertaining story and makes for a great beach read.

I requested an advanced reader's copy of this book from NetGalley because I love books about close groups of friends who reunite after many years. I enjoyed what the author did with the novel with combining multiple points of view of the friends and spouses who came together to celebrate 25 years since the "cast" of friends made a Saturday-Night style video to cheer up an ailing friend. However, I didn't realize before I started reading it that the ailing friend had cancer and for personal reasons, that topic is too close to my heart right now. I ended up skim-reading parts of it to keep a distance from it. I would like to re-read this in a few years, possibly by audio book as I think it would be an absorbing audio-read. The book is now out and I would recommend it, just with a caveat for those sensitive to cancer topics.

5 life long childhood friends.affected by their friendships, illness and loss. A very emotional story that could have been hard to follow, but it was well written and easy to follow. I enjoyed it and could see it as a book club choice-lots to talk about!

Becca at fifteen was in the hospital because she had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma-cancer. Becca’s family and teenage friends are afraid she isn’t going to make it. Becca’s best friends- Holly, Seth, Lex, and Jordana made a comedy tape to make Becca hopefully laugh at. Becca’s friends never let on how much her being so ill and see her suffer when they as well as Becca was so young. Becca felt blocked from the normal teenage things like: homework, goofing around, and first dates. Becca is trapped in bed in the hospital trapped by tubes, and IVs. The video was in the format of Saturday Night Live. 25 years later and Becca and her friends have stayed in contact over the years. All the friends are having their own issues but want to have a reunion weekend to celebrate Becca’s life. Becca is married to Nolan and has a daughter- Emma. Emma loves going back and watching the video from her friends so long ago. Now a friend of Becca’s has made copies of the video for each member of the cast as a gift. Becca got a diagnosis of breast cancer from all the treatments when she was a teenager. But the cancer seems to have been stopped from surgery. Becca has learned to appreciate every minute of life. But Becca is thinking hard about the reconstructive plastic surgery and Nolan doesn’t understand why. He also feels like an outcast from Becca’s friends she has had since being a girl. Becca is having some issues with Nolan and wonders how much Nolan is really being honest with her and she questions if Nolan’s professed love for her is real. Becca's friends realize her illness is causing problems for her and Nolan. Jordana had already sensed there was something wrong with Becca again - who was her best friend.
I loved this book , it was an incredibly awesome, emotional read. I loved how the friendships lasted through the years. I didn’t want to put this book down. I loved the plot and pace. At times I laughed while reading this and at others I choked up. I found it very interesting that the author brought up the issues on plastic reconstructive surgery between Nolan and Becca. I had never seen anything like that before in a book I was reading. I loved how the author treated the subject of cancer both when Becca was a teen and as an adult. But also the treatments and and side effects as well as the effects on the people who cared about Becca. I did get annoyed with some of the characters such as Nolan and Jordana. The ending did feel rushed to me. I also liked a lot of the characters POVs being showed. I liked the characters a lot for the most part and I loved the ups and downs of this book and I recommend. I wish I could rate this 4.5.

I love books about friendships and this was a heartwarming tale of five friends who had known each other since 9th grade when Becca's battle with cancer left her in remission. The kids' spinoff video of Saturday Night Live--called Becca Night Live--kept them laughing and fondly remembering the good times they had. Now, on the Silver Anniversary of this time, they once again meet for a weekend they all assume will be full of wonderful memories. But of course, life is never that easy and each of them have dealt with issues that plague adults--whether it's illness, work-related, or personal. Nothing goes as planned. But we are reminded of what true friendships really do for us; they buoy us up when we are drowning, they rarely judge when we've made a misstep, and they strengthen the bonds of family as a constant. You will probably laugh and cry at this lovely debut.