ARc Review: The Cast By Amy Blumenfeld

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. 

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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 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.