All the Forever Things

by Jolene Perry

Overview

Gabriella and Bree have been best friends forever—or as close to forever as you can get. But their relationship is put to the test when Bree breaks their friendship. Can the two friends put the pieces back together?

From growing up in the funeral home her family runs, Gabriella knows that death is a part of life and nothing is forever. Yet Bree, her best friend, has been a constant; it's always been the two of them together against the world. But when Bree starts dating a guy—the worst guy— from that ultra-popular world, suddenly she doesn't have time for Gabe anymore. Now the only one at school who wants to spend time with "Graveyard Gabe" is Hartman, the new guy, but Gabe, not wanting to lose her mind over a boyfriend the way Bree has, holds back. It takes a very strange prom night (with the family hearse instead of a limo) for Gabe to truly fall for Hartman. But when she leaves the after-prom party with him, she’s not there for Bree—or for the deadly accident that happens that night. Bree survives, but will she and Gabe ever be able to rebuild their friendship?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807525333
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	04/01/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Jolene Perry has a degree in political science and has taught middle school and high school. Her previous novels include The Summer I Found You, Stronger than You Know, and Has to Be Love. She lives with her husband and family in Alaska.

Editorial Reviews

"An interesting and unusual romance."—Kirkus Reviews


"Perry has crafted vivid, round characters who navigate complicated, mature questions about death and dying with sincerity . . . . A layered novel about love and forgiveness in the face of loss."—Booklist


"Larger than just a story about broken friendship, new romances, and death. Both the ending and the funeral home setting make this book stand out."—VOYA

From the Publisher

03/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—If there's one thing Gabe knows she can count on, it's that she and her best friend Bree will never grow apart. Dubbed "Graveyard Gabe" by the obnoxious Bryce Johnson because of her family's funeral home business, Gabe thrives on her weirdo status—helping her parents out with funerals and cadavers, endlessly browsing vintage thrift shops with Bree, and absolutely loathing smug-faced Bryce. It's a comfortable world for Gabe until Bree becomes the object of Bryce's affection. Soon her friend is giggling and blushing instead of scorning. While Gabe attempts to choke down her hatred for her longtime nemesis, the new addition to their junior class, Hartman, may just be the brooding distraction she needs from her otherwise crumbling social life. Perry manages to give the whiny Gabe enough quirks to make her life interesting. Bree is a much more sympathetic character, balancing her gritty home life with the shock of the most popular boy in school showing her attention at the possible expense of a friendship. The plot becomes too predictable at times—disasters on prom night offer a convenient close to the friendship struggle. The life of a teenage girl who works in a funeral home initially seems like a compelling premise, but unfortunately Perry does not deliver a strong narrative to support the characters. VERDICT Purchase only where YA romance collections need to be refreshed.—Michael Marie Jacobs, Darlington School, GA

School Library Journal

2017-01-17
This high school romance comes with a twist, as the protagonist's family lives in and runs a funeral home.Gabriella is 16 and has only one friend, her bestie, Bree, who works with Gabe applying makeup to the corpses. But Bree soon starts dating Bryce, a good-looking but crass football player who has taunted Gabe for years. Gabe cannot understand why Bree has abandoned their friendship to spend so much time with him. Meanwhile, Gabe meets Hartman, a new student in their school. Hartman confesses to being just as much of a nerd as is Gabe, but both are too awkward to move their relationship forward. Nevertheless, Hartman keeps turning up at the funeral home, trying to cope with his father's recent death. As Gabe becomes ever more frustrated with Bree's inattention, she and Hartman finally begin to break the ice. But when Bree wants Gabe to drive her party to the prom in a hearse, things begin to go wrong. Through Gabe's present-tense narration, Perry emphasizes her protagonist's distress over losing her only friend as well as her newfound interest in romance with Hartman. She does her best to navigate her "Graveyard Gabby" image—she's even bought into it with her cultivated Wednesday Addams image, an endearing quirk—but her understandable sense that life is fleeting hampers her ability to grow. Perry's cast is a predominantly white one. The funeral twist makes for an interesting and unusual romance. (Romance. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews