Member Review

After unexpectedly losing one of there best friends in college, five friends make a pact that when things are at a low for them, all of them will get together for a “living funeral” so they know how the others feel about them before they actually die. When Jordan realizes he doesn’t have much time left, he initiates the pact one last time.

Oh, how I loved this book! Rowley’s style of writing drew me in from page one, and I did not want to put this book down. Rowley narrates the audiobook, which I listened to while reading the eARC. You could feel the emotions he put into this book while narrating it, and I’m glad he chose to narrate it himself.

The way he wrote the chapters was perfect for this story with shorter chapters for The Jordans and longer chapters for when each friend initiates the pact. I appreciated the way he developed each character by giving us their back story then showing us why they called their friends together and hearing how each of them made an impact on the others’ lives.

While reading this book, it brought up so many emotions and a lot of “what if” questions.

- 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴?
- 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘪 𝘥𝘰𝘯'𝘵 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?
- 𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘯𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦?

I’m guessing that’s what the author was hoping to evoke in his readers while reading this poignant novel.

This book will stay with my for a long time. If you read and loved The Guncle, I think you’ll want to check this one. Make sure you have some tissues nearby!

Thank you Putnam Books, PRH Audio, and NetGalley for advanced copies in exchange for my honest review.