Like Adam Silveraâs They Both Die at the End and Colleen Hooverâs It Ends with Us, Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always, is a powerful and deeply moving YA contemporary novel with a speculative twist about love, death, grief, and friendship.
What if you could bring your best friend back to lifeâbut only for a short time?
Jamalâs best friend, Q, doesnât know that he died, and that heâs about to die . . . again. He doesnât know that Jamal tried to save him. And that the reason they havenât been friends for two years is because Jamal blames Q for the accident that killed his parents.
But what if Jamal could have a second chance? A new technology allows Q to be reanimated for a few weeks before he dies . . . permanently. And Qâs mom is not about to let anyone ruin this miracle by telling Q about his impending death. So how can Jamal fix everything if he canât tell Q the truth?
Early Departures weaves together loss, grief, friendship, and love to form a wholly unique homage to the bonds that bring people together for lifeâand beyond.