The Cast - by Amy Blumenfeld (Paperback)

About the Book

Twenty-five years after a group of ninth graders produces a Saturday Night Live-style videotape to cheer up their cancer-stricken friend, they reunite to celebrate her good health--but the happy holiday card facades quickly crumble and give way to an unforgettable three days filled with moral dilemmas and life-altering choices.

Book Synopsis

2019 Foreword Indies Finalist in Adult Fiction--General 2018 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Popular Fiction 2018 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Fiction
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.

Review Quotes

2019 Foreword Indies Finalist in Adult Fiction--General
2018 IPPY Gold Medal Winner in Popular Fiction
2018 International Book Awards Finalist in Best New Fiction

Included in NY Post's "The week's best books", August 2018 * HelloGiggles * Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke's best books

"[A] promising debut . . . Blumenfeld manages to instill real depth into her characters, making them instantly relatable and sympathetic . . . The author's love and attention to her cast really makes the novel shine. A deceptively simple tale that packs an emotional punch."
--Kirkus Reviews

"[An] absorbing debut...Blumenfeld writes with wit, verve, and heart."
--Booklist

"A dazzling debut that challenges the boundaries of longstanding friendships. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll relate. But, most of all, you'll wish it would never end."
--Emily Liebert, USA Today bestselling author of Some Women

"In The Cast, Blumenfeld deftly reminds us how friendship and love, when cultivated over decades, can transcend even the darkest moments. A heartfelt, moving page-turner."
--Fiona Davis, best-selling author of The Address

"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."
--Susie Orman Schnall, author of Subway Girls and The Balance Project

"This is my favorite novel of 2018. Your heart will grow after reading this story about the healing power of friendship."
--Norah O'Donnell, CBS This Morning co-host

"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."
--Wendy Ruderman, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter and co-author of Busted: A Tale of Corruption and Betrayal in The City Of Brotherly Love

"By page 25, I'd already laughed out loud--and cried too. Amy Blumenfeld has masterfully captured the depth and magic of decades-long friendships in a story that moves effortlessly between two life-changing events that occur 25 years apart. Each character is someone you'll recognize. Each step on their journey together is one you'll feel in your bones. Blumenfeld has a true gift for storytelling that leaves you hoping it never has to end."
--Elizabeth Anne Shaw, Editor in Chief, FamilyFun Magazine

"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!"
--Elyssa Friedland, author of The Intermission

"If you've been lucky enough to have friends that are like family, The Cast will warm your heart."
--Hello Giggles

"Amy Blumenfeld explores the frailties of friendship in her debut novel, The Cast . . . While writing from different perspectives, Blumenfeld deals with this coterie of friends with the utmost sensitivity and care; each member of the group is painted in a sympathetic light, despite their shortcomings. The plot takes a back seat to the palpable emotion displayed throughout the book. That is, until a shocking tragedy threatens to upend everything. Readers who enjoy character development and complex relationships will bask in Blumenfeld's stunning first novel."
--Seattle Book Review

About the Author

Amy Blumenfeld grew up in Queens, New York. She is a graduate of Barnard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she received the James A. Wechsler Award for national reporting. Her essays and articles have appeared on the cover of People, in The New York Times, The Huffington Post, O, The Oprah Magazine, as well in George where she worked as a staff editor and writer. Amy's debut novel, The Cast, was selected as a New York Post Best Book of the Week and named Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Award in Popular Fiction. She has also been a contributing author to a best-selling anthology and two non-fiction books. Amy lives in New York with her husband and daughter.