The description of this book and any review I will write will never do this book the justice it deserves. Wow, what an amazing read! While the underlying theme of friendship and the lengths we go to to protect a friend are strong, the bigger issue of REAL LIFE is so well represented. I devoured this book so quickly—I just had to know what happened next.

Without giving spoilers—I HATED Nolan, cried for Holly, and celebrated Lexi. As for Jordana and Becca, I think we could all hope for a bond that strong.

I received an advance copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

The Cast is a story about long-lasting friendships and the ups and downs of life. This story is a slice of life that could happen to anyone, which makes it so much more intriguing. The characters in this story face so many tragedies and become stronger and closer because of it. This is a great debut novel!

This is a story of long-term friendship, something which we don't always see good examples of in today's world. It shows the ups and downs and what it means to have true friends in your life. Becca beats cancer as a teenager, and is still dealing with the aftermath as an adult. She realizes throughout the story that she and her parents were not the only ones affected by her illness; it also made a lasting impact on her friend group. As they reunite as adults, these consequences start coming out in good and bad ways. I really liked the characters in the story, even their not-so-good sides at times. They were well-developed and easy to know. I will recommend this to friends and family, but I don't think my high school students would enjoy it much.

The Cast is a bit of The Big Chill with Friends mixed in! I loved this story of childhood friends dealing with all the problems in adult life, health issues, marriage, jobs and children. Amy Blumenfeld’s writing made me feel that these characters were MY friends! The Cast is a must read from a debut author!

I had a difficult time engaging with this book. It could be where I was in my reading life, but the premise felt off and not enough to sustain the book. I usually finish books I start, but I picked this one up and put it down many times and never finished.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I always enjoy stories about old friends reconnecting and rekindling their bond a la “The Big Chill.” This book had the diverse characters, the complicated dynamics, and the unique setting (for the most part) of a weekend away - the perfect formula. The story however, focused more on the one-to-one relationships amongst certain friends within the group, as well as the strength of relationships amongst significant others, rather than the power of the group as a whole. This was fine, though perhaps a little misleading given the title. I actually found the sub-plot regarding acceptance and assertiveness of self-definition and worth even more thoughtful than the friendship and relationship arc. While there were some very surprising plot twists and resolutions,, this was an overall contemplative novel..

4.5 wonderful stars for The Cast!

I am hands down a sucker for books about friendship that evolve over time and take place from multiple perspectives (The Interestings, anyone?!?) and when I learned that this was going to be the format of The Cast, I was immediately interested. Blumenfeld does a wonderful job of giving voices to each of the characters that really let the differences in each of their personalities shine. I loved seeing how the relationships changed over the years from childhood to present day in this group of friends.

I can't wait to see what comes next from this new-to-me author who is now cemented on my must-read list!

⭐️⭐️⭐️Stars— The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld
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Meet The Cast! Five friends who grew up together, but unlike others were thrown a huge curveball when Becca was diagnosed with cancer as a teen. Now older and “wiser” Jordana sets up a 25 year from the day Becca was cleared party. With this, each member of the cast brings baggage that includes love, anger, resentment, and their own issues.
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Personally, I enjoyed this book. The timeline at times felt a bit redundant and the relationships were not as deep as are Ensemble, but I liked it. I found that none of the characters were overdone or over saturated. Each one had a necessary role in The Cast and to be honest, I would not have ommitted a single one. Blumenfeld wove the needs and sufferings of each group member perfectly. I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good reunion story.

Thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this wonderful book about five friends and as well as some of their spouses. The have been friends since they were kids. Together each was affected by one of the five’s childhood cancer and they gather for a reunion 25 years later. Several of them deal with life changing issues. However this book was pleasantly in no way soap opera-y. A great read and I enjoyed the references/settings to New York, the Berkshires and Highland Park, IL as well as some Jewish culture..

4.5 stars

This is a moving emotional book about five people from the start of their friendships as children up to their forties. It is a look at how a childhood illness can have a ripple effect on these friendships for years to come.

A debut book that was enjoyable. I will definitely be watching for more books from this author.

I received an ARC of this book. All thoughts & opinions are my own.

I tend to gravitate toward books about groups of friends who have stuck it out through thick and thin, so naturally I requested to read The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld from NetGalley.

The basic plot is that Becca's friends made a video for her twenty-five years ago in the vein of SNL called "Becca Night Live," to cheer her up while she was in the hospital receiving cancer treatment. Fast forward a quarter-century and Becca's friend Jordana plans the ultimate reunion for The Cast. Everyone makes plans to attend; then, of course, as in real life, things begin to happen to thwart even Jordana's carefully planned reunion.

Thankfully, this novel has plenty of twists and turns among the alternating POV chapters, and not much at all was predicatable. Blumenfeld kept me guessing quite a bit, and that's no small feat.

One of my favorite parts was the incorporation of a character who had chosen a life in the Orthodox Jewish community. I am blessed to know an Orthodox family, so to see that lifestyle so respectfully represented was wonderful.

I recommend this novel for fans of friend-group reunion stories. You won't be disappointed.
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FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book on NetGalley for review. All opinions are my own.

3.75/5 stars

The Cast is a wonderful and emotional story of friendship, illnesses and loss. I think it would be perfect for bookclubs - there is a lot to discuss in here! I'd especially recommend this book to be read in the month of October - if you read this, you will know why. Hint, no not because of Halloween.

​The cover caught my eye - I loved the greens and the blues, and the casual prettiness of it. And for the cover whore like me - thats an important aspect of the book.

​I do have to say that The Cast deals with some heavy topics, although it handles them with a gentle hand. But if anybody out there is as much of a hypochondriac as I am - beware.

Before I talk about the cast (get it?) I wanted to mention quickly that this book is very rich on jewish traditions and customs - which was so great to read, because I feel like I've learned so much. It was also nice, because to be honest I haven't seen many books out there featuring jewish characters (besides the ones set in time of WWII of course).

​There are quite a few alternating points of view, but the main focus is on Becca. A childhood cancer survivor. I was rooting for Becca all the way through.
​Nolan, well in my book Nolan can jump up his own ass and die! For me there was no redemption for him. I understand what his point of view meant to portray, but I just couldn't get on board with it.
​Jordana was next after Nolan in her annoyingness, although I might have disliked her so much because I saw pieces of myself in her. Jordana's ocd and constant need to control and micromanage everything showed me that maybe some of my tendencies in life aren't pretty.
Holly, oh Holly. I absolutely adored her. There was not enough of her in the first part of the book, but later she became the central figure and oh my goodness that was tough to bear.
Lex was fun to read about and surprisingly I totally understood and supported where she came from, and why she did hat she did.
Seth was alright, but his POV was kinda annoying, mostly because his inner dialog was so childish I had to keep rolling my eyes.
​Adam and Sal did not have enough page time , especially Sal - I feel like I even don't know Sal at all.

This was a solid 4 star read all the way through, but the ending did feel rushed and a bit unfinished so down to 3.75 it went. I realize that this was supposed to be one of "life goes on" endings, but I still felt like I needed some more closure.

​I am very happy that I read this - it just randomly caught my eye on Netgalley, and surprise books often turn out to be the best books.

Big thanks to Get Red PR, SparkPress and NetGalley for an advanced copy of the book. All opinions are my own, honest and come from the heart.

My Review of “The Cast” by Amy Blumenfeld , GetRedPr Sparkpress August 14,2018

OMG! WOW! I loved everything about “The Cast” by Amy Blumenfeld. Kudos to Amy Blumenfeld for her storytelling and her vivid descriptions and colorful cast of characters. I was captivated and enthralled with this emotionally charged intense novel. The Genres for this Novel are Fiction and Women’s Fiction. The story takes place twenty five years before in the past, and the present.

The characters in this story are complex, complicated, emotional, confused, loyal, and flawed, which adds substance to the story. Twenty five years ago, a group of ninth graders make a video to cheer up Becca, their classmate who has cancer, and is in the hospital. They make the video in the style of Saturday Night Live. This video is significant throughout this story.

Now in the present, it is twenty-five years later, and the entire cast of friends are celebrating Becca’s life. A very good friend of Becca’s has made copies of DVD’s for each person as a gift of the original tape. Becca’s daughter enjoys watching this slap-stick comedy that her friends had put together. What the friends don’t realize is that from all the radiation that Becca had, she now has a diagnosis of breast cancer, which seems to be contained with surgery.

Becca appreciates life and knows she will have the surgery but is thinking long and hard about reconstructive plastic surgery and the complications. Her husband doesn’t understand Becca’s reaction. Becca’s husband also feels at time as an out-cast to the group of friends.

As the friends are to get together, each one has their own dramatic problems to deal with. Wrong decisions are made, and wrong conclusions are made. This is a novel that looks at deep and loyal friendship that withstands time, and the ups and downs in life. I love and appreciate that the author brings up such a difficult topic of cancer with such dignity and class. She also discusses the importance of emotional support, family, friendship, forgiveness, love, faith and hope. I would highly recommend this novel to readers that enjoy women’s fiction. There are some Kleenex moments. I received an ARC from NetGalley for my honest review.

A group of friends reuniting for a weekend at the same time as Breast Cancer has returned for one of the main reasons “the cast” exists. That’s the basis of this story. I wasn’t expecting such complex characters to come out of this story. I wasn’t expecting the husband of the woman with Breast Cancer to be such a jerk. Basically I wasn’t expecting this book to be as meaty and good as it was.

'Though I was snuggling on the sofa with my daughter, every other part of my being was back in that room over two decades earlier, experiencing Becca Night Live for the very first time.'

Twenty-five years ago Becca’s best friends Holly, Seth, Lex and Jordana gave her the gift of laughter with a video tape in the same style as Saturday Night Live to help her heal from a very serious illness, Hodgkin’s lymphoma. While her friend’s lives go on as that of most ninth graders, homework, goofing around and first dates Becca feels locked out of it all, stuck in bed, trapped by tubes, IVS. The tender gift gives her something for herself, something she doesn’t have to share with her hovering, overbearing but caring parents. Becca’s illness is a noxious brew of mixed emotions, a longing to be a part of the group fully again, instead of being left out of even the smallest details, it’s like time standing still for her, while her friends are forging ahead, she is left behind in a sterile room with an uncertain future. It is 25 years later, she has a daughter of her own Emma (whom she loves beyond anything in the world), and a husband Nolan whom she met in college and fell hard for. But how much honesty can she take from him and why do his real feelings make her question if his love is genuine? This is an interesting part of the story, because people aren’t supposed to be honest about things that make them seem vain, a man’s perspective about such an intimate body/health issue of his wife’s hardly seems fair. But there are two sides, even if it comes off as selfish or cruel, it’s his truth even though it won’t sit well with most women.

As the friends come together, something is failing in each of their lives. Becca’s illness creates a division between her and Nolan, and all the friends are aware things aren’t good between them. All the treatments she received as a teen left its mark on her body. Her friends kept a lot from her, how deeply painful it was to stand by and watch her suffer when they were so young. There are other issues too that come to a head during the ‘reunion’. Not everyone who seems to be living the perfect life is truly happy. Every member of The Cast has a voice in the novel. Something came between Holly and Jordana when they were young, it smacked of betrayal though that may not have been intentional and many years later it still causes an ache. Old jealousies arise, feeling as if time never passed. Jordana is still attuned to her best friend and the atmosphere, she knows something is wrong again. All the old fears bubble inside of her, and it’s time to confess just how frightened she was all those years ago. But first, she has to know what is going on. Is she being pushed out again, by Holly, who took something else from her before? Lex has so much and should be fulfilled, so why is she crowing so loudly in defense of Becca’s own marital struggles, so sure Nolan (as the man) is to blame? Three children, a successful husband and perfect home may not be enough for her anymore. Seth was headed for success at Princeton so long ago, the wind in his sail changed his direction and his romantic life is more about getting women out of his bed as fast as in. Strange now to find himself getting closer to the very married Lex, and giving her business advice? Just how much has she changed? Bonds will be tested, and bridges will be built, some on grief. The friends have been dealing with very adult issues since the year their beloved friend Becca was diagnosed decades ago, and once again they will all need each other’s love and support as life takes a bite out of them.

This is perfect for a book club, it could spark serious conversation about women’s issues that also become men’s issues.

Publication Date: August 14, 2018

Get Red PR

SparkPress

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

The premise of this book had me excited for the story. A group of friends who had stayed close over 25 years and survived one of them enduring childhood cancer. Becca is now married with a child, but as a kid she almost died from cancer. Her friends, Jordana, Holly, Lex, and Seth were there for her the entire time. Now they're adults and they are getting together for the weekend to celebrate her being cancer free for 25 years. Unfortunately, the weekend does not go off the way Jordana, the host, envisioned it.

I do not want to give anything away in this review for a potential reader. I just couldn't connect with the characters. There were just so many to keep up with and each chapter was from a different POV of the friend group or Becca's husband, Nolan. That made keeping up with whatever was happening a bit difficult. While it wasn't my cup of tea it was a quick read and the writing style was fun to read.

I liked this novel. I saw the death coming a mile away, but it was a decent plot and solid writing.

I could not put this book down, as torn by the story as I was and needing to find out how all the stories ended. There are stories within the main one of a reunion of five long term friends who are reuniting at the twenty-fifth anniversary of one of the friend’s cancer treatment. Each one is dealing with their own personal dilemmas which also touch upon the lives of each other. The ending blew my heart apart, unexpected and unanticipated but fitting within the context of the whole book.

This book is a powerful testimony to friendship and how one thing positive or negative can have repercussions for everyone involved.

It is a wonderful first novel that does something very rare for a novel of this type. It left me wanting to know more about the future. Usually I finish a novel and that is it. But this particular novel left me wondering what would happen to the characters.

An excellent job and I look forward to more from this talented new author.

A sweet story of friendship that has lasted decades. I loved how the story was told through every main character's viewpoints, I felt that gave it much more depth.