I purchased this title for my high school library after reading an advanced copy from Netgalley. My students enjoyed Justin A Reynolds previous book “Opposite of Always” and were excited for this new title “Early Departures”. We are looking forward to what comes next!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publishers for giving me a free advanced copy of this book. I really appreciate it.

Jamal and Q were best friends, they were a comedy duo, but then they had a falling out and haven't spoken in a long time. Until the night Q died. Until the night Jamal wasn't able to save him.

However, Jamal is given a second chance to make things right with Q, but the second chance comes with an expiration date Q is unaware of. Jamal is all about seizing the day, but he needs to be honest with Q if he really wants to set things right between them.

Didn't capture my attention and engagement. Interested in trying it again though and hopefully it will take.

I am disappointed with this book. I was expecting one thing and received another. It had potential but it was not well written.

"Sometimes it's not can we, but should we?"

A few years ago I read Opposite of Always and enjoyed it enough that I knew I would read other books published by Reynolds. Seeing this book be picked as a Project LIT book selection made me move it up my list of books to read. I honestly had no idea this book was science fiction and was incredibly surprised when I found out the main premise of this book was bringing back Jamal's best friend, Q (Quincy) after he died. Jamal is there with Q's mother as she makes the challenging decision about bringing Q back to life or not. Jamal is there despite his hard feelings towards Q. It was Q's phone call that killed his parents and he hasn't quite forgiven Q yet.

Things I liked: I liked how the chapters were relatively short. I initially was shocked when the book started with chapter 100 and I realized the chapters were going to count down. But the chapters moved quickly which helped move the story along. I also liked the untraditional structure of this book. Never before have I read a book where the chapters count down to the end of the book. This was a unique experience for me.

Things that didn't work for me: I got a bit confused with some of the alternating timelines/flashbacks. I know this is what justin does well, but it was hard to follow at times. I also found I just didn't care that much about Jamal. Even as his story went on, I didn't feel that pull to want to know what was going to happen next. Finally, (this is more likely a me issue) I had a difficult time keeping track of Jamal's sister and girlfriend. Whenever either of these characters showed up, I had to wait for context clues to figure out who was who. I wasn't a fan of Jamal's girlfriend being pregnant in high school and there being no conversation about that. Again, that's probably a me issue.

This book wasn't awful, but it also didn't hold my attention and I have a feeling it will quickly be forgotten. I don't read a lot of science fiction so that could also influence my opinion of this book.

TW: death of parents, death of close friend, trauma, car accident, grief

**Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Children's for the advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

I am not always a huge fan of Justin Reynold's work, but I know that my students really appreciate his writing. This book, Early Departures, will surely capture the attention of many students with the blend of realistic, contemporary fiction and science fiction. I would have liked to see Q developed more prior to his death. The grief in this book was evident, but not well done. There are many other books that do this better. I'd still recommend it to students, but would not use this for a classroom book club, etc.

Beautifully and thought fully written. This book encourages you to recognize the moments in your life, to make them count. Gripping, with swells of emotion and unexpected suspense, Early Departures took me by surprise, and I highly recommend anyone with a heart, whether you're a teenager or a grandparent, to give this quietly powerful novel a read.

This is a really interesting book. It has a high concept premise -- technology exists to reanimate people, but only for a short time. The best friend of the main character, Jamal, passes away but is given an opportunity be brought back to life for only a few weeks. This gives Jamal a second change to make this right with his best friend -- though only by keeping from him the truth. Through this premise, the author deftly explores issues like grief, loss, and growing up. Recommended!

This book tackled the subject matter of loss and grief with a speculative twist and scientific element to answer theoretical questions about life and death, bending the stages of grief, and a creative plot that addresses families, friendships and love.

The writing was beautiful and deep, characters complex - a fantastic contemporary YA read I highly recommend!

The writing in this was so great, and this is an overall brilliantly constructed book. Its premise and core story are so devastating, though, so I doubt it'll be a re-read.

Every story Justin A. Reynolds writes, I'm captivated, sucked in, and I don't want to find my way out. He spins heartfelt tales with such delicate care and explores important issues. It is so important to get this book into Black teenaged hands.

This book asks a couple of really enormous questions: Would you want to keep a loved one for only a bit more time, knowing that they were going to die? Can we have a world without death? What would be the consequences of altering the natural order of life and death?

But then it doesn't even attempt to answer any of them. And I love it.

This isn't a story about those big questions. This is a story about Jamal, and in particular about Jamal's relationship with his estranged best friend Quincy. It uses this big, huge idea to tell a story about relationships and grief and love and loss, and it's done in a way that is compelling and still manages to feel real.

Recommended for those who like stories about friendships and relationships, grief, and growing up.

I really liked the concept of this books, but parts fell a little flat for me. There was so much apologizing and reflecting, particularly in the middle when it could have been about this second chance at life! Maybe teenagers would appreciate the angst in the middle, but to me if felt like a lot of arguing and repetition. I liked the second half better when it felt like they all finally started living, and I appreciated each of the characters in the book. The dialogue was pretty entertaining too.

"I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own."
The character building and conversations were top notch. I tore through sections of this book, because it was so well written and so compelling, and so damn funny. I would say that realistic ya fiction is his sweet spot, the relationships and world of these teens were done with skill. Where it got a little rough for me was when it went into sci-fi with the reanimation. Those specific elements of the story were at times tedious or just struggled in comparison to the rest of the story. Excellent points on coping and dealing with grief though.

Jamal is still dealing with the sudden death of his parents nearly two years prior leaving behind just Jamal and his older sister Whit. Jamal's grief has consumed him and has caused him to place blame where none was due. Specifically upon the shoulders of his former best friend Quincy. Jamal and Q haven't spoken in nearly two years and Quincy has also suffered the loss of his father, without Jamal to lean on for support.

When they run into each other at a beach party, tensions are running high. Jamal knows that he needs to make things right with his friend. When Q nearly drowns at the party while trying to rescue a girl in the water, Jamal sees his opportunity at reconciliation slipping away, but when Q ends up dying in the hospital after the accident, Jamal's heart is on the verge of breaking again, this time for the friend he push away.

But a chance at reanimation will give Q more time and give Q's mother time to say good-bye. Jamal is also hoping it will give him and Q an opportunity to patch things up between them. The only thing is: Q doesn't know he's dead, and he definitely doesn't know that he's living again on borrowed time. Jamal knows that the right thing is to tell Q the entire truth, but if you know when you're going to die, will it prevent you from living?

Early Departures was a beautifully crafted story of loss and grief, friendship and family, and most of all: Love. A poignant story dealing with life and death.

Upon finishing the book, thinking back to everything I've read, I don't know that I can definitively say that I've read a book centered on male friendship. That highlights the love between these two characters so much that in the past and present recollections you can't help but feel the gut punch in the fact that they let this friendship slip away. And with every block used to rebuild what has crumbled you feel this immense happiness. But it's, of course, also tinged bittersweet by the fact that Q has limited time.

It was a bit difficult to warm up to Jamal in the beginning. The parsing out of information, why he stopped speaking to Q, what happened with his parents is drawn out for a ways into the story. So it takes a little bit to form the picture of the fact that Jamal is still deeply grieving for his parents, and just when he's maybe coming out from that bleakness, his person dies too. I thought it was an interesting commentary on the different ways we grieve.

I like that Justin A Reynolds doesn't give us a conclusive picture of whether or not Q's reanimation is more gift or more painful. Is having to lose someone twice, knowing their end is near worth it? Or does the closure outweigh the sadness? I feel like happiness and sadness go hand in hand with one another, not working only as opposites.

I loved each well-spent moment within the pages of this book and even though it doesn't deal with the happiest of topics - something that normally would have kept me away from reading - I finished this book, somehow, feeling lighter.

This is the first book I've ready by Justin A Reynolds, but I will definitely be checking out his previous book.

What if you had the chance to say a real goodbye?

Jamal never had the chance to say goodbye to his parents, but when his best friend Quincy dies, he has the chance to say all that he never had a chance to say when his friend was alive, that is if Quincy will forgive him long enough so he can talk.

This book is challenging. There are a lot of ethical questions that make for an interesting discussion. Is there ever enough time when a loved one dies? Would you want to bring back someone so YOU can gain closure? Won't it be even more painful the second time a loved one dies?

The reader journeys through these questions and more as Jamal tackles what it means to be a friend in life and in death.

There’s a lot of love flowing in this amazing second novel by young adult author Justin A. Reynolds. Jamal is an African-American teenager who has experienced a lot of loss, which you learn about in the first few poetic chapters. His mom and dad died in an accident and Jamal clearly blames his best friend, Quincy, for causing it. He’s ducking out of school and is getting ready to break up with his girlfriend, Autumn.

Not a lot is going right. But then it all goes wrong.

At a house party one night, Quincy rushes into Lake Erie to rescue someone from drowning and puts his own life in danger instead. Jamal rushes in but is too late to save him. Quincy dies in an ambulance on the way to the hospital.

That’s where the sci-fi element comes in. Jamal and Quincy’s mom are offered the chance to reanimate Quincy. The reanimation will only last for a few days, but it might just be enough time to deal with the unresolved issues in their friendship and give them a chance to properly say goodbye.

This book is really not science-fiction and it is not a walking dead zombie novel, although there is one “Frankenstein’s Monster” scene that I did like. The reanimation and the rules that govern it are only there to allow the characters an opportunity to see what happens when they are given a temporary second chance. They take full advantage of it, but it isn’t without some sad times. This is a great book about grief and also about the power of lasting male friendships. There will be a lot of readers who “get” this book.

Justin A. Reynolds… I’m a big fan.

This was a beautiful book. So heartfelt. Moving. Memorable. A tearjerker. I feel there isn't a lot that needs to be said for this book. It will touch your heart.

Justin A. Reynolds’ impressionistic, speculative, emotionally accessible and beautifully original novel, Early Departures, explores the pain of regret that attends sudden and unexpected death, especially when it happens to young people.

Jamal has one regret in his young life – he didn’t save the life of his close friend Quincy – Q - Barrantes when the young man drowned. They had once shared everything, from college plans to a love for Jauncy, a digital comedy program that obsessed their teenage years. Even as he tries to move on with his life, with his girlfriend Autumn and his pregnant sister Whit by his side, Jamal is haunted by Q’s memory, struggling under the weight of his grief and guilt over something that came between them prior to Q’s death.  Q was inadvertently involved in the deaths of Jamal’s parents, and Jamal subsequently ignored Q’s pain when his father passed.  In the wake of all three tragedies, Jamal has become adept at pushing others away and indulging in the local party scene.

Then medical science intervenes. There’s a new sort of medical treatment which can reanimate the dead for a brief period of nineteen days. While the dead person has no idea that they had ever died and may even display altered personalities without careful intervention, their living friends and relatives have another few days to cherish with them.  Q’s mom chooses to reanimate her son, leading Jamal to try to repair the rift between them without revealing that Q has died – and soon will die again.

Early Departures is a powerful character study with a sci-fi gleam, a wonderful sense of personality and a completely fresh and original voice.

It’s a book about two things: the way grief can weigh a person down to the point of shapeshifting their emotions and identity, and the importance of embracing life. Jamal learns to overcome much and especially do the latter as he comes of age in the wake of Q’s death and second life. It’s a fascinating journey that’s both surrealistic and bracingly grounded.

The book has a lot of stylish prose, and its minimalism has great purpose and liveliness that make it amazing.  There’s something thrilling and unique about its sparseness that grips the reader. The poetry of grief and the lusty power of life are given equal weight in a beautiful yet prosaic way.

All of the characters are memorable in their own way – from Q’s emotional mom to funny Whit.  We get a few doctor types from the hospital thrown into the mix as well, and they contribute nicely to the story as a whole..

There are two central relationships here – Q and Jamal’s intensely close friendship-turned-conflict and Jamal’s relationship with Autumn, which is complicated by Jamal’s sense of loss, which constantly forces him to push her away. Both relationships are given equal weight, with room left for Q’s mom to process her feelings about her son’s death and Whit’s strong bond with Jamal to take some narrative space.

My only real criticism of the piece is that I felt as though Whit could have pulled a little bit more narrative weight.  I like what she got to do in the book, but I wanted more of her. But that’s only a small bobble.

Early Departures will cause teenagers to dream and to feel seen and understood at the same time, especially if they’ve experienced a death in their lives.  It’s a moving, enriching and rewarding experience that’s absolutely worthwhile for them and adults alike.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
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