A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend (review)

Julia's death shatters Cass' life: the two girls had been best friends since third grade, and even when high school brought Julia prominence in the theater crowd, she generously included Cass with her drama friends despite Cass' lack of theatrical inclination. Now that Julia's gone, her friends want to perform the musical she wrote, Totally Sweet Ninja Death Squad, in her honor; Cass, however, first takes off on a cross-country bike trip to clear her head and sort out her grief for Julia, and to face the possibility that she cared for Julia as more than just a friend. There's some heavy emotional weather here, since Cass basically comes out by realizing how much what she's lost matters to her; the book unfolds that realization slowly and thoughtfully, making it more a conscious realization of something Cass has suspected than a shock. The subplot of Cass' budding romance with Heather, formerly her tormenting middle-school enemy, adds additional depth to the character exploration, and Horner's style is fluid and readable throughout. Focus is a problem, however, with the narrative jumping around confusingly between Cass' trip (a strand that's actually rather superfluous) and show rehearsals, making the psychological arc difficult to ascertain; the pace also slows down amid the ups and downs of Cass' relationship with Heather. There is no shortage of readers thinking through intense same-sex friendships, though, and they'll find much food for thought in Cass' journey to self via the memory of her friend.