Early Departures

Like Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End and Colleen Hoover’s 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 life—but only for a short time?

Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know that he died, and that he’s about to die . . . again. He doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save him. And that the reason they haven’t 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 Q’s 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 can’t 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 life—and beyond.

• Second Chance: Jamal has just a few weeks to reconnect with Q, but every moment is built on a heartbreaking secret about life and death.
• Friends to Enemies: Two years of silence and blame stand between Jamal and Q. Can they rebuild what they lost before time runs out for good?
• Brotherhood: They were once an inseparable comedy duo who chose their own brotherhood. Now, that bond is the only thing that might save them from their shared past.
• Heartbreaking YA Romance: Jamal is torn between mending the past with Q and building a future with his girlfriend, Autumn, who deserves a truth he can’t bring himself to tell.