Name: Sarah Sammis's review of Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds
Item: Early Departures
Rating: 3
Author: Sarah Sammis

Justin A. Reynolds

Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always, returns with another charming and powerful YA contemporary novel with a speculative twist, perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, Becky Albertalli, and Adam Silvera. 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.

Early Departures

Samirah Arif

Justin A. Reynolds, author of Opposite of Always, returns with another charming and powerful YA contemporary novel with a speculative twist, perfect for fans of Nicola Yoon, Becky Albertalli, and Adam Silvera. 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.

Sarah Sammis

** spoiler alert **
           The plot unfolds in a predictable fashion. If you've read Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes (1959), you've essentially read Early Departures. I had hoped Q. would buck the obvious plot and get a happy ending. He doesn't. His death times two is just there to teach Jamal a lesson about life.

Fatima Kadri 

*4.5
This book had me tearing up the entire last 50 pages. The only reason I’m not giving it 5 stars is because of a few things that irked me but otherwise this was a brilliant book.

not poorly written and covers grief, how to move on, the fact that one should learn to enjoy life with the time that you have with the people that you love. rated at 3/5 because i, personally, could not quite connect with the protagonist (i could understand his pain and therefore the consequences of intrusive and impulsive thoughts, but it got to a point where i got mildly annoyed); and, at some point it became a bit difficult for me to truck on through the late-middle to end.

casey

Alice Myles

(more like a 4.5) justin a reynolds just writes how I think and I'm in love with his mind and his stories and his characters and I will purchase and love his work time and time and time again. I have nothing else to say. This book broke me into a thousand little pieces but it was so full of love and hope and joy at the same time.

McKenzie McWhorter

This book dealt with grief in many different forms, it was both incredibly heavy and lighthearted at times. I really enjoyed the characters and their interactions. The concept of reanimation was interesting to read about too.

Kate

Beautifully written and brimming with raw emotion, Justin Reynolds has once again proved his stories, characters and talent to be true gifts to the world.

Samirah Arif &
Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds

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Samirah Arif &Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds

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Join the club

Samirah Arif &
Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds