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lautir's review
5.0
Another book read in one day!
I'm not sure where this comes from in the book store, Teen section I would hope. In which case it's a lovely find for a teen novel and an absolutely adorable read. It's heartbreaking and touching all at once, being simply written with great pacing.
I'm not sure where this comes from in the book store, Teen section I would hope. In which case it's a lovely find for a teen novel and an absolutely adorable read. It's heartbreaking and touching all at once, being simply written with great pacing.
becibee's review against another edition
I didn't like it much when I started, but I persevered and ended up pretty invested in the story.
rachelini's review
4.0
This was excellent! If you've ever wanted to read a book about love and friendship and theatre and ninjas in high school, I highly recommend this one.
abigailbat's review
3.0
2.5 stars
After Julia dies, Cass is lost. She'd been hanging out with Julia and her theater friends, who decide to put on Julia's musical, Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, but Cass doesn't really feel like she belongs with them. When Julia's boyfriend Ollie casts Heather Halloway as the lead, Cass has had enough and she leaves town, trying not to think about the girl who made her middle school years hell singing the words that Julia had written. But when Cass gets back in town and starts helping with the musical, she and Heather start to get to know each other and... and Cass finds herself falling for her.
Ugh, I'm so ambivalent about this one! I love the plot and the idea of a ninja musical and the wonderful tribute that Julia's friends are putting on. I love that it's a GLTB love story that's not about the angst of coming out. But I wish that Cass had had a stronger voice. I just never really felt like I got a sense of who she was and I never felt a strong connection with her. However, I'd definitely say that Emily Horner is an author to watch and I hope to see more from her in the future!
More on the blog: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2010/12/love-story-starring-my-dead-best-friend.html
After Julia dies, Cass is lost. She'd been hanging out with Julia and her theater friends, who decide to put on Julia's musical, Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, but Cass doesn't really feel like she belongs with them. When Julia's boyfriend Ollie casts Heather Halloway as the lead, Cass has had enough and she leaves town, trying not to think about the girl who made her middle school years hell singing the words that Julia had written. But when Cass gets back in town and starts helping with the musical, she and Heather start to get to know each other and... and Cass finds herself falling for her.
Ugh, I'm so ambivalent about this one! I love the plot and the idea of a ninja musical and the wonderful tribute that Julia's friends are putting on. I love that it's a GLTB love story that's not about the angst of coming out. But I wish that Cass had had a stronger voice. I just never really felt like I got a sense of who she was and I never felt a strong connection with her. However, I'd definitely say that Emily Horner is an author to watch and I hope to see more from her in the future!
More on the blog: http://www.abbythelibrarian.com/2010/12/love-story-starring-my-dead-best-friend.html
caresays's review against another edition
4.0
OH HEY YOU WERE REALLY ADORABLE. EVEN THOUGH I DON'T CARE ABOUT NINJA MUSICALS. BUT I LIKE IT WHEN CONFUSED TEENAGE GIRLS KISS OTHER GIRLS, YAY.
Okay, but seriously, I've been waiting for more YA books that deal with sexuality like this one. You don't fall immediately in love. You are confused and your sexuality is undetermined and, I mean, that's okay. It's a fluid thing. I like that Horner left it unlabeled.
I liked that there was Billy Collins. I liked that Heather said, "Poems are not for explaining. They are for pretty girls to read aloud." Mmm, Heather, I love it when pretty girls read poetry aloud. Thumbs up for taste, girl.
Okay, but seriously, I've been waiting for more YA books that deal with sexuality like this one. You don't fall immediately in love. You are confused and your sexuality is undetermined and, I mean, that's okay. It's a fluid thing. I like that Horner left it unlabeled.
I liked that there was Billy Collins. I liked that Heather said, "Poems are not for explaining. They are for pretty girls to read aloud." Mmm, Heather, I love it when pretty girls read poetry aloud. Thumbs up for taste, girl.
stenaros's review
4.0
I grabbed this book just for the title and found a great YA story bravely taking on issues of death, sexuality, friendship, musical theater and bicycling. The main character reminded me a lot of a friend I knew in high school, which probably helped. Great read.
shawntowner's review against another edition
2.0
I feel dirty reading young adult fiction, but this book was listed in the Editor's Choice of the NYT book review, so I can use that to rationalize my intellectual downfall. The book is about an unpopular girl who is trying to honour her dead best friend's memory by putting on a play that she (the dead friend) wrote. That part of the novel I'm fine with. The topic of teenagers dealing with grief while still trying to be like teenagers is handled very well in the novel. Unfortunately, none of the characters are at all likable.
The characters in the novel all seem to be pseudo-ironic faux-hipsters, who love ninjas, breaking into song, and complaining about how American horror movies are vastly inferior to the Korean originals. The only way the characters in the novel could have been more like cliched wannabe hipsters would have been if the novel were set in a Brooklyn dumpster and they had been drinking PBR instead of Merlot. Also, there's a good bit of generally snotty teenage behaviour, but that's to be expected in a novel about teens.
The premise of the novel is grand. The grief of young people is handled very well. Unfortunately, the characters are like an unholy union of Glee fans and people who take pictures from 4chan and post them to other sites on the Internets, that is to say, people who desperately want others to think they are "cool," "with it," and "hip to the scene," etc. For young people, I think this would be a great book. For jaded early-middle-aged shut-ins like myself, it's just a frustrating disappointment.
The characters in the novel all seem to be pseudo-ironic faux-hipsters, who love ninjas, breaking into song, and complaining about how American horror movies are vastly inferior to the Korean originals. The only way the characters in the novel could have been more like cliched wannabe hipsters would have been if the novel were set in a Brooklyn dumpster and they had been drinking PBR instead of Merlot. Also, there's a good bit of generally snotty teenage behaviour, but that's to be expected in a novel about teens.
The premise of the novel is grand. The grief of young people is handled very well. Unfortunately, the characters are like an unholy union of Glee fans and people who take pictures from 4chan and post them to other sites on the Internets, that is to say, people who desperately want others to think they are "cool," "with it," and "hip to the scene," etc. For young people, I think this would be a great book. For jaded early-middle-aged shut-ins like myself, it's just a frustrating disappointment.
jaclynhyde's review
5.0
Lovely, lovely story of a teenage girl working out her issues with her best friend's death, old enemies, and her own sexuality. Cass is an excellent main character, and her struggles feel painful and real--but the book never gets overwhelmed by sadness, considering the plot concerns a production of a musical about a ninja princess. Julia's character is clear and present throughout the book even though she's dead, letting her personality and her relationships with Cass and Oliver get a focus.