“Everything about this moment is familiar. The silent communication between Mom and Dad as they shift the casket into the best position for viewing. The bereaved’s sighs, me sliding the soft soles of my shoes over the carpet, and the overpowering smell of condolences that have arrived from companies with names like Flowers R Us.”

Title: All The Forever Things

Author: Jolene Perry

Series: Standalone

Publication: April 1st 2017 by Albert Whitman & Company

Pages: 288

Source: Netgalley

Summary from Goodreads:

Nothing is forever. Gabe knows that more than most girls. After all, she lives in a funeral home (it’s the family business), and she gets that everything in the world dies eventually – people, rumors, fashion trends, the nickname “Graveyard Gabe.” But her best friend, Bree, has been a constant in her life; it’s always been the two of them together. Until Bree starts seeing a guy who stands for everything Gabe thought they were against. How could Bree change her mind and go for someone like Bryce Johnson?

Now Gabe doesn’t know who her friend is anymore. And the only person who seems to have time for her is Hartman, the new guy, who is somehow not weirded out by the funeral home stuff (well, a little). Still, Gabe doesn’t want to lose her mind over a guy the way Bree has, so she holds back.

But a very strange prom night (driving the family hearse instead of a limo) will change what Gabe knows about friendship, love, life, and everything that comes after – forever and otherwise.

A Listical of Thoughts:

• Nothing lasts forever, like my patience – which didn’t last long enough to enjoy this book.
• Gabe is “woe is me,”  selfish, and and immature. The only interesting thing about her was that she lived in a funeral home.
• Speaking of living in a funeral home, it was used to make Gabe a special snowflake.
• The one enjoyable part was the aspect of friendship and the difficulties that come about when one friend starts a relationship.
• Girl on girl hate makes me so mad. It’s time authors get beyond that as a plot point.
• The book had false uniqueness. It was trying to be something other than the contemporary romance that it was by constantly reminding us that its heroine was quirky and not normal.
• Romances are usually predictable, but this suffered from so much predictability that it stole all the fun away.
• Long story short, I can’t figure out a single reason to promote or recommend this book.