I enjoyed this book very much, I thought it was very thought provoking for a young adult contemporary book.

Gabriella was an interesting main character, but I did not see my younger self relating to her as much as I would have liked.

I loved the characters and the storyline development of this book. It was absolutely one of my favorites so far and I can't wait to delve in to the next one that this author writes. The storyline was simple, enjoyable, and entertaining.

3.5 stars. I actually really enjoyed the concept of this; it's certainly nothing I've read about before! Other than that it wasn't hugely special, but definitely enjoyable.

I requested this one back in the day as I had every intention of reading it. However, its been years and I still haven't gotten around to it and while I feel guilty at not reviewing a book I think that I need to admit to myself that I won't be reading this one anytime soon....if at all.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

I received a copy from Netgalley.

I came across this one in my Netgalley TBR from a few years back and started reading it, not remembering anything about what it was about or why I had requested it. I think it must have appealed to the ‘Six Feet Under’ fan in me.

The main character Gabe (short for Gabriella) parents’ own a funeral home in a small town, she lives there with her younger sister, has an eccentric aunt, a BFF and a love of all things vintage. One boy made a joke about her being Wednesday Addams so she makes a point of making herself look like Wednesday (which made me like her even more). The novel starts with Gabe and her BFF paired for a school project with ultra popular guy Bryce and cool new guy Hartman. Bryce was the one who for years compared Gabe Wednesday Addams and also nicknamed her Graveyard Gabby which has stuck with her. He also ruined her first kiss with a boy she really liked. So Gabe is less than thrilled.

Even worse when her BFF Bree starts to click with Bryce and before long they’re dating. Gabe is mortified, and understandably so. She’s struggling to adjust when she’s so used to having Bree to herself, and this the jerk who made her an outcast. So naturally it’s completely logical that she wouldn’t be thrilled. Yet she’s willing to at least try for her friend’s sake. It’s not easy. Having been in a similar position personally, when a friend you’ve had for years starts ignoring you for someone else – it’s not easy. So Gabe’s reactions and ways of handling this felt very authentic and believable.

She’s grumpy and annoyed, especially when Bree starts ignoring her texts and calls, ditching her to hang out with Bryce and his popular friends and their girlfriends who both Bree and Gabe have always dismissed as airheads. Bree’s family situation is complex, and it doesn’t help that Gabe is moaning about her own responsibilities. She does some work in the family business and has to pick up her sister from the eccentric aunt. Normal things. Yet she doesn’t understand why Bree gets mad when she whines about it.

While Bree certainly wasn’t a favourite, or even that memorable of a character, you can empathise with her, especially with her miserable home life. Parents are MIA, separated and with little interest in her, so she lives with an elderly grandmother who suffers from Alzheimer’s. Grandma barely seems to know what planet she’s on. She’s got a hot new boyfriend and the popular girls aren’t so bad after all once you get to know them and her only other friend seems determined to hold a grudge and whines about stupid things and doesn’t seem to appreciate how lucky she is.

At least for Gabe, the cool new guy starts paying more attention, and they start forming a tentative friendship with the potential for something more. Hartman seems like a nice enough guy, he has plenty of baggage and drama of his own. Then everything comes to a dramatic point on prom night. Gabe is talked into taking Bree, Bryce, and their friends in the family hearse. The group head off for an after party. Gabe has gone with Hartman as her date, and while the others want to explore some abandoned building, Gabe and Hartman wander off together. There’s a tragic accident.

And everything changes. The event has a major effect on Bree who goes AWOL. Rattled with grief and guilt Gabe realises she has to put aside her grudges and prejudices and do whatever she has to to find her missing friend. Which means reaching out to some of the other girls who were there that night. There’s a touching sense of togetherness as the group come together to deal with the incident and Gabe realises that Bree might have been right after all – these girls and even the boys aren’t so bad after all. They’re just people. Like them, with flaws, complex emotions. Coming together in a difficult time forms new bonds which lead to new friendships and a whole change on life’s perspectives for Gabe. There’s positive changes for Bree as well. The novel concludes in a believable way, without being overly emotional or dramatic.

It’s a well written, enjoyable book, and the characters are easy to understand and identify with.

Thank you to Netgalley and Albert Whitman & Company for approving my request to view the title.

This is a book I needed to read. It deals with serious issues but in a light-hearted funny way. Graveyard Gabe...what can I say about him? We have met someone like him at least once in our lives. Jolene Perry does a fantastic job in this book. THe characters were likable and relatable.

Not reviewed. I made it to 5% mark but I lost my interest on the story. It just didn't work out for me. Jolene Perry's books aren't for me. The premise was boring and the characters weren't interesting. Forcing myself to read it is a wrong idea. At least I've tried. Thank you for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was just a stereotypical young adult book and while it was okay, I didn't find anything really extraordinary about it

This was such a unique read! I really enjoyed the funeral home aspect and will be looking out for more books featuring them in the future!

When i requested this book i didnt realize how intermingled it was with death.
As i just lost my father I was unable to read this.

“All the Forever Things” is a unique book that deals with deep issues in a sensitive and entertaining way.

I think every young adult or adult who is/was an outcast will be able to relate to “Graveyard Gabe,” even if your family does not own a funeral home. The story is bittersweet and touches on friendship, embracing who we are, first loves, forgiveness, and death. Somehow this is all put together in a way that hurts at times but is funny and entertaining at others.

I recommend “All the Forever Things” for upper middle graders through adults who are looking for a good young adult novel that is different from the norm.

*3.5 Stars Rounded Up

Considering the fact that Gabe works (and lives) at a funeral home, I expected her to be more interesting. But instead, she becomes exactly who she hates people treating her like -a weird, closed-off, broody goth girl.

The way that she acted basically the entire book wasn't what I feel would be consistent with any 16 year old girl, but instead everything felt like it was middle schoolers. And I say that as someone who didn't have her first kiss until she was 18 and had graduated high school. The way she and Bree were about boys and dating, the way Gabe couldn't handle sharing her friend...

There were some nice messages about life and death in this, which was really the best part.

I liked Hartman, and thought that the way he pursued Gabe was pretty adorable. He was also eccentric and quirky, but in what felt like a very genuine way. I do wish that these characters had had more depth though, especially Gabe, since it was hard to make any real connection with any if them when we mostly just got shallow stereotypes and interactions.

For the majority of the story, not a whole lot seems to actually happen and it dragged quite a bit. Finally, at about 70% it picked up and became more interesting.

AW Teen and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of All the Forever Things. This is my honest opinion of the book.

Growing up in the family funeral home has made Gabriella unique and a target to some of her peers. Having her best friend Bree understand and even embrace Gabe's lifestyle has been helpful and comforting. When a guy starts to get in the way, will Gabe be able to understand that growing up and exploring other possibilities in life does not mean that Bree cares for her any less? Will she be able to help a friend who wants answers that Gabe is uniquely able to give? Will that friendship turn into something more?

All The Forever Things was, in a lot of ways, a typical YA romance. Although the primary setting for the main character was unique, the rest of the book was the classic story of best friends being tested by a relationship. When it comes down to it, in a couple of weeks, I will barely remember the characters or the plot. In a genre full of similar stories, All The Forever Things was not different enough to set it apart.

All the Forever Things is my second Jolene Perry book, and while I had high hopes for this one after reading her previous novel, I was a bit let down. The characters were a little flat, and the main character seemed like she was entitled and cared only about herself. The story was interesting, and the cover simply beautiful, but I am a person who loves character driven novels so I was really hoping for a little more.

Gabe’s family runs a funeral home, so she knows about death and the truth about life: everything ends. Gabe has embraced her reputation and her Wednesday Addams-vibe, complete with vintage clothes and an I-don’t-care attitude. Her best friend, Bree, is all she needs, someone who understands the weirdness of her life and loves her anyway.

But when Bree starts dating a boy who is the epitome of everything Gabe—and Bree—has hated for years, she wonders if the really knows the truth, or if she knows Bree at all. The only once she can turn to is new boy Hartman, who doesn’t know quite what to make of Gabe, but who gets Gabe out of her shell anyway. Driving a hearse to prom will change Gabe’s life more than she ever imagined.

All the Forever Things is an enjoyable read. Gabe is a character I both loved and sympathized with, and her faux pas and missteps made me laugh and cringe at the same time. Her friendship with Bree broke my heart, and made me hope everything would work out for the two of them, and Hartman is a wonderful contrast for Gabe. If you love young adult books, definitely pick this one up.

(Galley provided by Albert Whitman & Company.)

I was looking for something different and All the Forever Things fulfilled what I was looking for. I can't imagine what it'd be like growing up around a funeral home. Gabe did a great job in trying to distance herself from feeling anything until Hartman comes along. The bond they form is unique to their stories and who they are.

I like the idea behind this book.
I loved the blurb. I expected quirky, and some of it was. But most of it was kinda, well, blah. At least for the first half. The third quarter picked up a bit and the last quarter was what saved this book for me.
I didn't like Gabe much in the beginning, she did grow on me. Rather slowly mind you. She was too self involved and very imature. Though she is only 16, I tried to give her some slack for that but despite that she felt immature and also much younger. She does do some growth though which is what totally endeared her to me at the end of the book.
The support cast is in some ways quirky but when one scratches at the surfaces they take on the normal roles we get in basically every YA contemporary book.
The only difference here and what kept me going was the recurring theme of loss and death. It gives the book some unexpected depth. It is also what kept me going, when I was pondering if I should DNF 30 or so % in.
The first half felt incredibly long wound and like it was trying too hard to be different. Barely anything happened other than Gabe having internal and not so internal dramas.
Perry did an interesting take on death and loss. Retrospectively I like how she set it all up, even if I wasn't a fan of it in the first half. And she turned it around as well, looking at the question of living. The question of change and friendship were raised. Hartman was such a great contrast to Gabe when looking at life. I love how Perry made them reflections to each other, so similar yet coming to a totally different view.

"Forevers are personal, Gabe. My father's existence may not matter to a star a million miles away, or even to someone else who lived on my street. But my father's life was so much to me. The way I live my life will always be influenced by knowing him. So, in my world, my father is forever. In my world, that time we spent on the beach is forever. I will never forget that. Forevers are everywhere."

I am giving 3 Stars, because the first half was a generous 2stars, the 3rd quarter 3 and the last bit probably 4Stars.
It's worth giving it a try, because while something are the usual usual other parts are so different, unexpected, insightful and beautiful.

How come I’m discovering Jolene Perry’s books just now? I need to check out the rest of her books because if they are as good as this one, then I’m in trouble!

Gabe is the quirkiest character ever. I like her a lot. She has some My Girl vibes going on (love that movie), she lives in a funeral home just like Vada. She has beautiful blonde hair and pale skin and a Wednesday Adams dress.
Gabe and her best friend, Bree, share a love for vintage fashion. They also share a mutual hate for Bryce, the guy who keeps calling Gabe “Graveyard Gabe”, among other things.
Life’s pretty good. Until it is not. Bryce asked Bree on a date and suddenly she’s ready to forget everything he’s done to her best friend Gabe and ride off into the sunset with him. Gabe can hardly recognize her best friend anymore. And she needs Bree more than ever, she needs to share everything that’s been going on with the new guy, Hartman.
Is it possible that she’s lost her best friend forever?

First of all, I love the meaning behind the title All The Forever Things. That was the main reason I wanted to read this book, I wanted to discover the meaning behind that title. And I’m so glad that I got the chance of reading it because it didn’t disappoint. I won’t tell you what the meaning is, you’ll have to read this book if you want to find out!

As you can tell, I love Gabe’s character. But she is not the only character that I love. Hartman is one of the loveliest male characters I’ve ever read. He’s awkward and grieving and such a beautiful person. Jolene wrote some beautiful, swoony scenes between him and Gabe and those scenes complement the story perfectly and made me love the book even more.

The only thing I don’t like but wouldn’t change for the world, because then the book wouldn’t have the same touch to it, is Bree. I loathe her character. I find her very superficial and I can’t freaking believe she would choose some guy over her best friend. She’s gone through a lot so I understand why acts the way she does but I hate the way she changed when she started dating Bryce.
Also, I don’t like Bryce. Blame Thirteen Reasons Why, every single time I hear that name I think the worst. That didn’t help my case, I really tried to like Bree and Bryce.

All in all, this book is beautiful. It has precious messages inside it, I wish there were more books like this out there in the world. And Gabe’s and Hartman’s love is so incredibly beautiful, every time I think about it I feel like hugging a teddy bear. Sounds weird, but I promise that’s exactly how you’ll feel.
If you’re a YA lover, then read this book. You’ll enjoy it, for sure!

I thought this book was good. The setting really provided a lot of the most interesting parts to it, I'm very glad it didn't come across as a gimmick and was in fact a story element. And the ending! Really well done.
I didn't feel as invested in the characters as I might have liked, but for a short light read it worked it fine. I enjoyed my time with this story.