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audreychamaine's review
2.0
Cass is having a rough time. Her best (and possibly only) friend, Julia, was killed in a car accident. Now Julia's friends are putting on a musical that Julia wrote before her death. The problem: the female lead, Heather, is the same girl that terrorized Cass three years earlier by calling her a lesbian in front of the whole school. The story switches between Cass's journey by bicycle to take Julia's ashes to the Pacific, and her struggle to figure out her new relationship with Heather, all while trying to come to terms with what her sexual orientation may or may not be.
I liked the idea of this book. Using a journey to discover the self, and then making amends with the past sounds like a great concept. However, I never really got into the story or the characters. Julia never seemed like much of a real person to me, and I couldn't relate to Cass. I also couldn't wrap my head around doing a "Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad" musical, probably because that is so far off of the radar of what I'd be into. I'm sure this is probably a good book for somebody, maybe a teen trying to come to terms with who he or she is, but it just wasn't for me.
I liked the idea of this book. Using a journey to discover the self, and then making amends with the past sounds like a great concept. However, I never really got into the story or the characters. Julia never seemed like much of a real person to me, and I couldn't relate to Cass. I also couldn't wrap my head around doing a "Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad" musical, probably because that is so far off of the radar of what I'd be into. I'm sure this is probably a good book for somebody, maybe a teen trying to come to terms with who he or she is, but it just wasn't for me.
sandlerpage's review
3.0
This book has an enormous amount of potential, which is the reason i didn’t give it 2 stars. I so wish the author had focused on the stronger parts of the story she was telling - the grieving, the journey, the questioning friendships, the sexual identity - instead of throwing another story into the mix that was unnecessary and distracting.
saidtheraina's review
4.0
It took me a minute to warm up to this book.
It seemed a little TOO custom-written for me.
And I like to defy expectations.
But I read the last half in less than 24 hours.
The story flips between Then and Now. Then is a selection of memories of her friend, as well as of her cross-country bicycle trip to honor her friend. Now focuses on the production of Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, the musical written by her friend, and her romance with another member of the team putting it on.
There are too many great quotes in this book. About figuring out who you are, about questioning your sexuality (SO many extra stars for not portraying sexuality as a binary), about mourning the loss of your closest friend. I really appreciate the way Horner acknowledges the importance of friendship. It's definitely a story which resonated with me, all the way down to the Quaker appearances.
It's kinda hard to talk about, actually.
It seemed a little TOO custom-written for me.
And I like to defy expectations.
But I read the last half in less than 24 hours.
The story flips between Then and Now. Then is a selection of memories of her friend, as well as of her cross-country bicycle trip to honor her friend. Now focuses on the production of Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, the musical written by her friend, and her romance with another member of the team putting it on.
There are too many great quotes in this book. About figuring out who you are, about questioning your sexuality (SO many extra stars for not portraying sexuality as a binary), about mourning the loss of your closest friend. I really appreciate the way Horner acknowledges the importance of friendship. It's definitely a story which resonated with me, all the way down to the Quaker appearances.
It's kinda hard to talk about, actually.
sausome's review
4.0
This book was pretty great ... funny, real, bicycle-y, drama-folk-y, high-school-romance-y, and just all around good. I mean, the play the kids put on, in honor of their deceased friend who wrote it, is called, "Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad" -- which is awesome! Kudos to this book, indeed!
daffz's review
4.0
I read the first fifth of this book yesterday, then sat down to read again today and read rest of it in one sitting. This book was really, really good.
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend Has a very interesting structure. There are two storylines going on at the same time, both with the same main character. One takes place in the recent past, right after the main character's best friend died. The other is a little while later in the present. The chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now". At first, I thought this was a recipe for disaster, how could I keep two storylines straight when they're both about the same person without getting confused? But it wasn't nearly as hard to keep track of as I feared. The stories were different enough to be easy to keep apart and they also complimented each other nicely.
I thought the romance was really nice too. It showed how relationships can change over time in a very realistic way, and the issues the two girls ran into felt very natural. The ending was just really cute.
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend Has a very interesting structure. There are two storylines going on at the same time, both with the same main character. One takes place in the recent past, right after the main character's best friend died. The other is a little while later in the present. The chapters alternate between "Then" and "Now". At first, I thought this was a recipe for disaster, how could I keep two storylines straight when they're both about the same person without getting confused? But it wasn't nearly as hard to keep track of as I feared. The stories were different enough to be easy to keep apart and they also complimented each other nicely.
I thought the romance was really nice too. It showed how relationships can change over time in a very realistic way, and the issues the two girls ran into felt very natural. The ending was just really cute.
mrswythe89's review
3.0
Enjoyed this! Like reading a slice of life manga, but set in America. Reading this sort of thing always makes me reflect upon the fact that I've ended up as this spec fic fan/writer, because I don't think my reading and literary interests necessarily fall so neatly within that strict category, but the vast majority of everything I read in English is so alien to my life and experiences that it might as well be SFF lor.
I liked the prose and thought the confusion and FEELINGS of the characters were very natural.
For many reasons the book made me glad I did not grow up in the US.
I liked the prose and thought the confusion and FEELINGS of the characters were very natural.
For many reasons the book made me glad I did not grow up in the US.
brencoombs's review against another edition
4.0
I like that this is so different from the usual wlw romance and the main character is interesting enough to carry the story through her grief, introspection, and growth.
madhatter360's review
3.0
I've read the book before, but everything seemed to go by a lot quicker this time around. To be fair, I read it in under 2 hours, but still.
la_melisma's review
4.0
While A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend had its fault--the largest among them being the completely unrealistic dialogue in which the characters (mostly teenagers) beautifully and thoughtfully articulate every point they need to make--Horner did a skillful job portraying the various ways in which grief manifests itself. Ultimately, what I liked most about this book was that Horner wasn't afraid to show the dirty, ambiguous side of life and love. She illustrated all the turmoil and uncertainty that accompanies trying to learn how to live your life while still honoring someone who's gone.
Horner shows that grief isn't all crying and sadness; it's anger and inertia and blame and love. Cass is a character that at times, is far from likable and makes some really poor decisions; she spends a large portion of the middle of the book--specifically in the chapters that narrate her "road trip"--not knowing what to do, not having any answers. Sure, that doesn't make for a particularly spell-binding read, but it's also a very honest depiction of life and coming to terms with death. I've read through far too many books where even if the character professes not to know what to do in a given situation, he/she still makes a quick, and often right, decision simply to move the plot along and keep the tone upbeat. Horner doesn't fall into that trap; she portrays teenagers for what they really are: people who make mistakes and are still learning about life and themselves.
Overall, I very much enjoyed A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend. Horner artfully tackling the types of heavy issues that many authors don't go near: death, jealousy, sexuality, gender roles, etc.
Horner shows that grief isn't all crying and sadness; it's anger and inertia and blame and love. Cass is a character that at times, is far from likable and makes some really poor decisions; she spends a large portion of the middle of the book--specifically in the chapters that narrate her "road trip"--not knowing what to do, not having any answers. Sure, that doesn't make for a particularly spell-binding read, but it's also a very honest depiction of life and coming to terms with death. I've read through far too many books where even if the character professes not to know what to do in a given situation, he/she still makes a quick, and often right, decision simply to move the plot along and keep the tone upbeat. Horner doesn't fall into that trap; she portrays teenagers for what they really are: people who make mistakes and are still learning about life and themselves.
Overall, I very much enjoyed A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend. Horner artfully tackling the types of heavy issues that many authors don't go near: death, jealousy, sexuality, gender roles, etc.