Book Fair Community Read Event with Amy Blumenfeld – The Cast

In advance: $15 I JCC Member: $12 I Patron: Included with subscription
$20 at the door
Admission includes light dinner and wine

Inspired by the actions of her own circle of caring friends and family when she was battling cancer as a child, Amy Blumenfeld’s debut novel centers on a group of ninth graders who produce a Saturday Night Live-style video to cheer up their ailing friend, Becca. The show’s running time was only ninety minutes, but it had a lasting impact: Becca laughed her way through recovery, and the group became her supporting cast for life.

25 years later, on the 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.

Amy Blumenfeld’s articles and essays have appeared in various publications including the New York Times, the Huffington Post, O, The Oprah Magazine as well as on the cover of People. A graduate of Barnard College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism where she was the recipient of the James A. Wechsler Award for National Reporting. The Cast, her first novel, is the 2018 IPPY Gold Medal winner in Popular Fiction, an International Book Awards finalist in Best New Fiction and was listed by the New York Post as a “Best Book of the Week.”

The Fife-Davis Family Annual Jewish Book Fair & Gift Shop will take place November 6 – 21 at the Weinstein JCC.

This event is part of the Jewish Book Council