Ivy, Matteo, and Cal used to be friends in middle school, but inexplicably, they grew apart. When their paths cross on the high school parking lot a few years later, things aren't as awkward as expected. They joke about their "best day ever", where they all skipped out on a field trip together. They each confide that they're dreading the school day and decide why not make a repeat of the "best day ever"? It should be even better now that they can drive, right?

But things quickly fall apart when Ivy's rival for student council president winds up dead and Ivy stumbles upon the body, quickly followed by Matteo and Cal. Each of the three former friends has secrets to hide and betrayals abound. But necessity keeps the three tied together. Will they wind up enemies or true friends by the time the day is over? Will they find the real killer, or will the killer find them first?

I greatly enjoyed this one. The characters are all distinct and it was easy to tell whose voice I was reading with three POV characters. It's hard to show meaningful character growth in three main characters in the course of a day, but McManus manages to make it happen. This is one I'll definitely recommend to students.

All This Time is an emotional rollercoaster about losing yourself in your relationships, losing those you love, and finding yourself and the life you want to live.

Kyle dated Kimberly all through middle school and high school, but on the night of their graduation party, Kimberly decides to break up with Kyle, for real this time. She doesn't know who she is outside of the context of Kyle's girlfriend. She wants to experience more of the world and know what it's like to stand on her own.

But Kimberly doesn't get that opportunity. She and Kyle are in a car accident the night of the party. Kyle escapes with a broken femur and a head injury. Kimberly dies. Suddenly it's Kyle who has to figure out who he is outside of his familiar context. He doesn't want to, but now it's him who has to experience more of the world and know what it's like to stand alone.

Up until this point in the book, I found the story very easy to follow and believe. But after this point, things start to feel more glossy, more generalized. Characters were not as well developed and I sometimes found myself skimming. Even the relationships between Kyle and his best friend and his new friend Marley were lacking something.

But stick with it through that part because it will make so much sense.

I didn't care for the last ten pages or so of the book, because there's no moral lesson to be learned through illness or injury that can't be learned without them - so I really dislike it when an author overuses these tropes to bring about an epiphany. The final lesson learned could have been made and stated in a way that wasn't as gimmicky and that would have made it so much more profound.

Still, I'd only subtract half a star for those last few pages, so I went with an overall five star rating. This is a great book, especially for those who are rapped up in their romantic relationship or are serial monogamists and need to learn who they are without someone else.