They Both Die at the End meets Youâve Reached Sam, in this heart-stopping speculative young adult novel from New York Times bestselling author Robbie Couch that explores all the different ways love can live on after tragedy.
Itâs been a year since eighteen-year-old River Langâs best friend died in a car accident. And every day since, heâs had to pass by the depressing billboard that appeared as a result: a texting and driving PSA that reduces Dylan to a cautionary tale and River to the best friend of the dead kid at school. Dylan was so much more than a statistic, though, and River hates that everyone in town seems to have forgotten.
When heâs caught improving (a.k.a. vandalizing) Dylanâs billboard, River is blackmailed into joining the Affinity Trialsâa research study thatâs observing teens who are âstruggling socially.â But as soon as he arrives, Riverâs social struggles only worsen as heâs thrown together with the last person he wants to spend an entire week with: his ex-best friend and Dylanâs former girlfriend, Mavis, whoâs the only one who knows the truth about the night Dylan died.
During the Trials, River befriends a charming quarterback named Nash, and it doesnât take long for romantic feelings to start bubbling to the surface. But so do bizarre developments within the Trials that make him wonder what researchers are actually studying while monitoring his every move. And when suspicions lead him to a bombshell discovery, River will have to decide just how far heâs willing to go for another chance at first love.