Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club! We are reading The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld! Catch up on Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-4, Chapters 5-6, Chapters 7-8,  Chapters 9-10, and Chapters 11-12, and Chapters 13-15, and Chapters 16-18! Read participant reactions and follow along with us each week as we read through the book. Caution, spoilers below!

Week 9: Chapters 19, 20, and 21

By Jennifer S.:

Chapter 19

This chapter enamored me with Holly and Adam and their relationship all the more. Though I have no personal experience with Jewish traditions, it was touching to see their pregnancy journey reach its emotional peak at the bris. They have such a loving relationship, highlighted all the more by the compromises Holly mentioned. And Adam getting up an extra night to take care of Ezra, as well as his respect for the bakery workers, helps portray him as a great man. He has more integrity as a spouse and father than probably any other man in the book. The relationship between Holly and Adam is wholesome and refreshing compared to the drama between other couples. I’m really rooting for their little family.

Chapter 20

It was gut-wrenching to see Holly’s peaceful life suddenly ripped apart by the accident. She’s so concerned over Becca that there was no thought in her mind it could be her husband in trouble. On the other hand, it was heartwarming to see Jordana and Holly come together for Adam’s sake, despite the tension in their past. Jordana using a line from her mindfulness class goes to show how she’s grown as a person. I was proud of Jordana for being so supportive and calm when she got to the scene of the accident. She didn’t let her natural Type-A tendencies take over, and was able to focus on Adam’s needs without being overbearing. I really felt for her when she drew the parallel between Adam’s crisis and being present for her hospital-bound best friend decades ago.

Chapter 21

Dang, this chapter was an emotional ride. At first, I was hopeful for Becca and Nolan’s relationship after he seemed to shake off some of his self-centered jerk tendencies. Things turned sour during the prosthetic shopping, though, and alarm bells went off in my head. They seemed to go off in Becca’s too. Both Becca and I have doubts that this guy is worth the trouble. Becca’s early-morning ruminations that showed her lingering affection for her husband were a welcome respite from the chaos that the reader knows is about to unfold surrounding Adam. I still think Becca’s given Nolan too many chances. Seeing Holly, Jordana, and Becca chatter at the hospital gave me hope that their lives had already climaxed in terms of stress, and things would start to improve again. It felt like they were all cautiously hopeful too. After everything, I can’t imagine the burden Becca must have felt the instant she saw the surgeons and knew the tragedy about to unfold.

In our next blog post, look for the comments and discussion on chapters 22-23!
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We will talk about a few chapters each Monday until the book is done. If Monday happens to be a holiday, then the post will publish on Tuesday. Once we finish the book, we’ll use one more Monday to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss. We’ll also have a video chat book club discussion at the end! Join in, in the comments every week! Also, there will probably be spoilers so read along with us! Excited about the young adult cancer book club? Have any suggestions for future reads? Let us know!

Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club! We are reading The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld! Catch up on Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-4, Chapters 5-6, Chapters 7-8,  Chapters 9-10, and Chapters 11-12, and Chapters 13-15! Read participant reactions and follow along with us each week as we read through the book. Caution, spoilers below!

Week 8: Chapters 16, 17, and 18

By Rachel G.:

I have to be honest. I only read the blurb on the back of the book before requesting my copy and therefore didn’t know much about the book, so I was absolutely prepared to not like this book once I started reading it. Throw the words “Hodgkins Lymphoma” in a sentence, and it’s just about enough to make me want to tune out since that was my particular brand of cancer. HOWEVER, I was more than pleasantly surprised and moved by reading this book. I read it in one sitting and in about three hours.

Now, to get to my assigned section of chapters sixteen through eighteen. Our lives are comprised of so many different relationships, whether they’re the ones we’re born into or the ones we make for ourselves, and I believe that the weekend at Jordana’s had to have been fortuitous timing in repairing the friendship between her and Holly and the relationship between Becca and Nolan. That time spent in the ER between Holly, Adam, and Jordana allowed them to heal some connections that would ultimately lead to friendships Holly would need in the very immediate future and would have no way of predicting. Holly was also able to welcome Nolan into the group, which was pretty cool.

In our next blog post, look for the comments and discussion on chapters 19, 20, and 21!

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We will talk about a few chapters each Monday until the book is done. If Monday happens to be a holiday, then the post will publish on Tuesday. Once we finish the book, we’ll use one more Monday to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss. We’ll also have a video chat book club discussion at the end! Join in, in the comments every week! Also, there will probably be spoilers so read along with us! Excited about the young adult cancer book club? Have any suggestions for future reads? Let us know!

Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club!  We are reading The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld!  Catch up on Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-4, Chapters 5-6, Chapters 7-8,  Chapters 9-10, and Chapters 11-12!  Read participant reactions and follow along with us each week as we read through the book.  Caution, spoilers below!

Week 7: Chapters 13, 14, and 15

By KM H.:

Chapter 13

This one is from Jordana’s POV. I can sympathize with Jordana a bit. All her planning for this weekend has basically gone to hell, and she’s just trying to do one thing according to plan with her friends. Lex gets confrontational with Nolan after too much wine, and Jordana tries to smooth things over, awkwardly, even telling Lex to back off. Everyone immediately gets on her case about defending shit-listed Nolan. She’s trying to remain sympathetic to him since he spilled his guts to her about his work problems but still remain supportive of Becca. Which, of course, is a difficult thing to do.

Jordana tells Becca about how deeply she was affected by Becca’s cancer. She tells her that, seeing her go through all that, had very real ramifications in her life—like taking her kids to the pediatrician all the time and how, when she was younger, she had to check everything multiple times before leaving the house.

And, of course, Jordana and Becca notice that Seth and Lex are making heart eyes at each other. This, naturally, causes some concern. Then Seth’s girlfriend crashes the party, gets mad a Seth (rightfully), and leaves (I would too, girl).

The bit about Jordana’s vicarious trauma at the hands of Becca’s cancer stands out to me the most in this chapter. I don’t often see a lot about how siblings and others handle the cancer of a loved one, especially someone young, so it was nice to have that acknowledged.

Chapter 14

This chapter is from Seth’s POV, and we get to see him coming to terms with his budding feelings for Lex, which is of course is awkward ‘cause, well … Seth, sweetie, Lex is married and you should find someone else to pine after.

So, basically, Seth and Lex make a fire (‘cause they’re both feeling the sparks of looove, I imagine), do a lot of flirting while reminiscing about childhood experiences, and then things kind of get real when Lex starts talking about how Seth has failed at a bunch of stuff. Messed up, done the wrong thing, but things have turned out okay for him. It’s basically her way of consenting to the relationship via subtext, even though she knows it’s going to make a big mess of things in her life. After an unfortunate event involving a lot smacking Lex in the head and Seth coming to the rescue with tweezers, Lex drops the subtext and confesses that she needs Seth—and she doesn’t mean his splinter-extracting skills.

Then we get some info about how Lex is not happy in her marriage, it’s all a mess, she ain’t gettin’ any, that sort of thing. Lex feels inspired to jump off the cliff and hope fate catches her because Becca has taught her that life is short so she should live a little.

Okay. So. I’m a little bit leery of when people use me as an inspiration to do … well, anything. I’m not particularly upset by the whole cheating storyline in the book or anything, but I just sort of put myself into Becca’s shoes. Would I be okay with a friend using my near-death experience with cancer as an inspiration for doing something questionable, like starting an affair?

Um, no. No, I would not. I don’t want to be the object lesson that a friend twists into an excuse for doing something like this. Like, sure—go ahead. Have your affair. But own your own bad life choices and leave me out of it, thank you very much. 🙂

Chapter 15

We’re back to Becca’s POV in this chapter, and the chapter opens with Becca spotting Lex and Seth coming into the house in each other’s arms. She’s realized that the flirting she saw in chapter 14 wasn’t just idle chatter, but something real, and immediately she’s worried about the group and how their relationship will change things.

Still-on-the-shit-list-Nolan is with Becca and sees all this as well. He immediately confronts Seth about his new relationship, reminding Seth of the obvious—that Lex is married. Seth fires back that Nolan isn’t one to talk and things get a little physical.

Becca tries to calm still-yet-more-on-the-shit-list Nolan down, even though she agrees with Seth and his assessment that Nolan is a grade-A asshole.

But the thing is, she’s got this massive diagnosis, and she honestly doesn’t want a divorce. She wants her marriage to work, and she’s definitely feeling some needless guilt for having gotten cancer. Again.

She confesses that she’s scheduled the mastectomy and reconstruction, thinking that she can cancel the reconstruction if she chooses to do so later. And, of course, eternally-on-the-shit-list-Nolan bungles the whole thing, telling her that he knew she was “too smart to give up the chance to look like a woman.”

Asshole.

Naturally, that comment goes over like a ton of bricks and they argue. Holly interrupts, thank goodness, and the chapter concludes with Becca reminiscing about the birth of her child via surrogate.

To say that Nolan is a problematic character is an understatement, but at the same time, he’s very representative of some of the arguments and issues I’ve heard breast cancer friends go through. He’s very biological-essentialist, like much of our society, and it’s gross. Breasts do not equal womanhood. You do not need boobs in order to be a woman. And from the way he talks, he values these fluffy sacks of fat and mammary tissue more than he does his wife and his marriage.

This is also why I have issues with breast cancer awareness campaigns that try to use cutesy marketing all about saving boobs. Like, seriously. BOOBS ARE OVERRATED. Why can’t we value the lives of the people we’re saving, not these non-essential bits of anatomy? Nolan and campaigns like these embody the way that our culture values the sexual parts of our bodies, but not the person that lives inside that body.

In our next blog post, look for the comments and discussion on chapters 16, 17, and 18!
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We will talk about a few chapters each Monday until the book is done. If Monday happens to be a holiday, then the post will publish on Tuesday. Once we finish the book, we’ll use one more Monday to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss. We’ll also have a video chat book club discussion at the end! Join in, in the comments every week! Also, there will probably be spoilers so read along with us! Excited about the young adult cancer book club? Have any suggestions for future reads? Let us know!

Welcome to the comments and discussion of the Young Adult Cancer Book Club!  We are reading The Cast by Amy Blumenfeld!  Catch up on Chapters 1-2, Chapters 3-4, Chapters 5-6, Chapters 7-8, and Chapters 9-10!  Read participant reactions and follow along with us each week as we read through the book.  Caution, spoilers below!

Week 6: Chapters 11 and 12

By KM H.:

Chapter 11: Holly

I think Holly is one of the most even-keeled characters in this bunch. In this chapter, Holly’s husband, Adam, discovers that Holly made a baby registry when the store calls to recover their price gun that Holly accidentally took with her. This is a potential tension point because Holly and Adam’s practice as Orthodox Jews includes a taboo against gift-giving to unborn children. Adam and Holly don’t discuss it right away, so we don’t get to know how they worked it out.

What we do see is Becca coming in and helping Holly return the price gun, and act that leads to all sorts of internal debate for Holly, because it’s Shabbos and she is deeply observant. In the end, she decides to go with Becca to the store and return the item, even though it’s Shabbos and she shouldn’t be riding in a car. She goes because she wants to help Becca, who seems to need to get out of the house right then.

I really enjoyed this chapter and being in Holly’s head. I especially liked how Holly questions and wonders about her religious practice and how she wants to raise her unborn child. She’s walking a delicate line, wanting to remain Orthodox but debating what’s best for her and her family now. I think what I liked most about this whole internal debate or the acknowledgment that people change, and that what works well for someone in one part of their life might not work later—and that’s okay. I also really, really appreciated that she bent her religious custom to help a friend in need. Overall, I found Holly and Adam to be two of the most heartwarming characters throughout this novel. 🙂

Chapter 12: Nolan

At this point, I am firmly in the “Nolan is a highly divorce-able douche nozzle” camp. The chapter opens with his mom, the only reasonable person in his family of origin, prodding him out of bed to go make-up with Becca. Then we get treated to Nolan’s mental pity party (eg “They’re probably calling to disown me.” And “Why should I apologize for speaking my mind.”) as he deals with (deserved) issues with his law firm and (undeserved) affection from his daughter. Eventually, he decides to head to the reunion to be with Becca and try to keep his family together—he knows divorce is on the table—but at this point, he’s still convinced that he’s right about Becca’s need for boobs.

His reception at the reunion is a bit cold. From there, he gets some alone time with Becca and instead of working things out, they talk about Emma’s birth. Then Nolan and Seth argue, and Nolan spills his guts about his work troubles to Jordana at the end of the chapter.

I kept waiting to hear Nolan really argue his case about the reconstruction—whether that happens through inner monologue or in conversation with someone else. Unfortunately, Nolan is a master at avoidance and self-pity, and even at the end of the chapter, he’s mentally pleading with Becca to admit she overreacted so they can enjoy the weekend. Ugh.

Conclusion: Nolan is still a douchebag.

By Jessica K.:

Chapter 11: Holly

In chapter 11, we get a glimpse inside Holly’s daily rituals as an observant Jewish woman. We also see how her daily routine is upended by her response to Becca’s cancer diagnosis. She forgets to turn off her phone for Shabbat, forgoes the rules and drives with Bec in a car, etc. She also commits to a secret pact made with her other friends to “distract [Bec and] lift her spirits].”

This chapter reminded me of how my own cancer diagnosis affected the lives of everyone around me. On a macro level, everyone had to grapple with the fact that my life was in jeopardy. On a micro level, they did the same thing as Bec’s friends and made concerted efforts to lift my spirits. I appreciated their efforts but also felt weird about it. I was processing my own breast cancer diagnosis but also dealing with everyone else’s emotional responses. I didn’t want anyone else to worry, so I always put on a brave face.  I really like how this book is so realistic.  It is obvious from reading that the author has also been through what we’ve all been through.

Chapter 12: Nolan

This chapter is all about how Becca’s husband, Nolan, processes the news of her breast cancer and how her childhood BFFs come to her defense when he inappropriately pressures her into having reconstructive surgery after her bilateral mastectomy.  This chapter really highlights the spectrum of responses you get from friends and family when they find out about your cancer.  Generally, I try to be understanding toward others, but it is hard for me to sympathize with Nolan here.  As a breast cancer survivor and a divorce attorney, I know far too many stories about the women who received life-threatening diagnoses and the men who could not handle their wife’s cancer.

Here, Nolan is keeping secrets about his job, running away to his mom’s house, and showing up late to the party celebrating his wife’s remission.  To me (admittedly not an objective observer), his response is not appropriate. But, neither is it unexpected.  Cancer sucks and it takes a toll on everyone around you in different ways.

By Sarah H:

Chapter 11 was written from the view of Holly. This chapter talks about being authentic and being yourself. The story is around a scanner gun that Holly accidentally stole and the need to return it even though it was a Saturday and as an Orthodox Jewish person she should not be going out. Holly decides as a good friend she needs to help distract Becca and broke the rules for the first time in over 20 years.  This chapter reminded me of my friend Nancy and how she will often pick me up to go shopping at Walmart as a distraction. Sometimes she will drop everything to step up and distract me as Holly did with her religious beliefs.

Chapter 12 was written from the viewpoint of Nolan and is his perspective following the previous fight with Becca. The chapter shows the effect that a diagnosis and big decisions have on everyone in the family and friendships. It also updated us that he might be about to lose his job and possibly be sued. It is a chapter of stress and turmoil from the characters’ perspective. While trying to protect others he is distancing himself.  While reading this chapter I could physically feel the stress that was happening. It gave me a chance to step back and think of some of the situations people I love have been through with my diagnosis. How people have kept important life things from me out of love and not wanting to “burden” me with more. Also, it made me think of some of the fights I have had and question what else was going on during those times.

In our next blog post, look for the comments and discussion on chapters 13-14!
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We will talk about a few chapters each Monday until the book is done. If Monday happens to be a holiday, then the post will publish on Tuesday. Once we finish the book, we’ll use one more Monday to talk about general feelings from the book and anything else you’d like to discuss. We’ll also have a video chat book club discussion at the end! Join in, in the comments every week! Also, there will probably be spoilers so read along with us!  Excited about the young adult cancer book club?  Have any suggestions for future reads?  Let us know!