This was such a “right book at the right time” for me. The idea of chucking it all for a solitary cross-country journey of self-discovery sounds so awesome right now I can’t even tell you. This is the sort of book that inspires a soundtrack — she’s biking, not sitting on a train or bus, but you can picture the “staring out a window listening to folk rock as the corn fields fly by” montage anyway. (Full review at http://www.parenthetical.net/2011/05/16/review-a-love-story-starring-my-dead-bes... ( )

The story of how a well-loved member of a crowd's death affects the crowd is not new, and I picked this up with a bit of trepidation. It was unwarranted. Horner's first novel is ably plotted and well-done. There were more than a few laugh-out-loud moments, and I liked the narrator very well. She was achingly believable and so adolescently stupid she could have stepped right off the page.

I loved the long-distance bicycle trip. I loved the growth in the characters throughout the story. I loved the way the friends close ranks when it becomes important. There's a lot here to love.

For all that I loved it, I recognize that it's a first novel. The dialogue was more than a little wooden in spots. There were some minor bobbles in believability and consistency, and the flashback flash forward format is difficult to follow at first, but overall I think it a very worthwhile and solid story. ( )

I can't review this rationally or give it a rating. It hit me in some vulnerable places at a vulnerable time, but not in a bad way. I'm glad I read it.

I actually put off reading this book, because I have heard a lot of mixed reviews on it. I actually enjoyed A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend a lot. Parts of Cass reminded me of myself. In high school, I was always on the fringe of several cliques in high school and never felt that I truly belonged in any of them. I understand how vicious middle schoolers can be and that helped me understand the tough shell that Cass had. The emotions that Cass had were so intense and realistic, I felt all of them. Heather seemed like a bitch at the beginning of this book, but she turned out to be likable and sweet at times. The other characters added humor to the story and kept me laughing. The plot was slow at the beginning, but it quickly became engaging. I liked that the story alternated back in forth and it showed the extreme growth that happened to Cass in such a short time. I found the theater aspect to be entertaining, but I love musicals and it could be boring to anyone that doesn't like it. There was also a lot of originality that was with in the book. I liked the one last legacy part that came from them preforming Totally Sweet Ninja Death. Horner made a fantastic debut. I would recommend this book to fans of contemporary young adult fiction. ( )

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.... ( )