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 … 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.
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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!
Childhood friends–Becca, Jordana, Holly, Lex, and Seth–reunite 25 years later for a weekend getaway. Will they all get along as well as they used to? Or, has time and distance changed their friendships?
Even though it was Becca who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma when they were teens, health scare affected all of them in numerous ways and for years to come. Even though there were a large cast of characters and numerous story lines, I didn’t have any trouble keeping everyone straight and following along. If you love stories about lifelong friendships, then don’t miss this humorous, authentic, and heartfelt debut!
I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
Location: New York City
In her captivating and wholly engrossing debut, Blumenfeld pulls the reader in from the very beginning. She deftly handles the perspective of multiple characters as well as writing about complicated issues with levity and grace. This well-told story is timely and relatable and leaves the reader wondering how she would handle similar situations.
I have to admit that I’m a sucker for the “getting the band back together” genre of books and this one delivers. I love the “cast” of characters. Each one is interesting and real with unique challenges to face during the course of the story. Blumenfeld’s writing brought me right in to the the lives of the cast and the touches of humor kept the story from getting bogged down during the tragic moments. I really enjoyed this debit novel and I look forward to more from Blumenfeld.
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!
Sometimes books with multiple viewpoints don’t work. And then there’s The Cast. Blumenfeld does a superb job moving the story forward with her alternating characters, threading the pieces of their lives together into one beautiful, tight knot.
A story of lifelong friendships (and love) and the obstacles faced along the way, Blumenfeld’s writing is seamless and real, a cast of characters I already miss. Brava!
This warm and heart-felt story is reminiscent of The Big Chill. The characters became my own friends, and I was sorry to see the book end.
This was a terrific debut with a well fleshed-out, diverse, and appealing cast (see what I did there?) of characters. There were approximately seven different points of view, all of which captured and maintained my interest throughout the entire book. Despite several heartbreaking turns, I wouldn’t describe it as a sad book. Although the ending was satisfying, there’s definitely room for a continuing story. I’d be thrilled if the author wrote a sequel…
An easy read with wonderful characters each of whom have a happily ever after at the story’s end. Largely because they “find” themselves. I enjoyed how differently each dealt with a best friend blind sided by a cancer diagnosis and the depth of the bonds of friendship….
My favorite book in ages! Read this book!
Good, quick read.
A dazzling debut that challenges the boundaries of long standing friendships. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll relate. But, most of all, you’ll wish it would never end.
Brimming with tenderness, humor and heart, The Cast expertly explores how the experiences in childhood forever shape our adulthood. Blumenfeld has created richly-drawn characters who are flawed and relatable and easy to root for despite their mistakes. This is a must-read!
Amy Blumenfeld’s The Cast is a heartfelt story about growing up, growing together, and sometimes growing apart amid life’s gifts and grief. Ultimately, it is a novel about love and transformation. Readers will cheer and shed more than a few tears for these childhood friends, who come together for a reunion weekend against the backdrop of a dark history ― one that resurfaces and tests their bonds.
This is a story of a group of friends who have been through a lot together. When they were in high school, one of the group, Becca, was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. It was a difficult time for Becca and for her friends. Fast forward 25 years, the friends are now 40, and they are gathering together to celebrate 25 years of Becca’s health.
However, there is much more under the surface – relationships between husbands and wives, between friends, and their own struggles with the disease that threatened Becca when they were young. The story details how everyone is affected when a member of the group becomes seriously ill, and how that takes a toll on their lives.
It is told from the perspective of all of the friends, as well as by Becca’s husband. Each person brings their own unique experience to the story, and it is a good way of telling how reacting to someone’s tragedy affects us all differently, differently at 15 and then at 40 years of age.
#TheCast #AmyBlumenfeld