Reviews with content warning for Grief - Early Departures

Early Departures is about life and death, comedy and tragedy, grief and moving on.

Jamal is no stranger to grief. Two years ago, both of his parents died in a car crash. Since then, he's struggled to keep it together--he's not doing well in school, he had a falling out with his best friend, and he's walking on eggshells with his girlfriend for fear of losing her too.

The novel takes a sci-fi twist when Jamal's ex-best friend (Quincy aka "Q") dies and is temporarily resurrected by a top-secret medical facility known only as "The Center." The only people outside The Center that know Q is living on borrowed time are Jamal, his sister Whitney, and Q's mom--not even Q himself. Jamal knows this is his chance to make things right with his friend, but can he do that while also holding this massive secret?

Despite Q's looming death, this book is still funny and uplifting. I really enjoyed the banter between the characters, and I loved the flashbacks to Jamal and Q's comedy videos. Overall, I would definitely recommend this book and would love to have a copy in my classroom. It normalizes dealing with grief in healthy ways, like celebrating the lives of lost loved ones, crying (even for men!), and seeking professional help. Finally, I read this as an audiobook, and I think the narration was well done.

Content Warnings

kie's review

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

theespressoedition's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“And I suppose the story moral is:
You can die and still live on.
You can be alive but be consumed by death.
The difference between living and being alive is:
Everything.”

After reading Opposite of Always, I knew I had found a new favorite author. When Reynolds announced Early Departures, I immediately added it to my reading list and anxiously anticipated the release date.

I’m not entirely sure what I was expecting with this book, but I will tell you that it was full of surprises.

You meet childhood best friends, Jamal and Quincy (or “Q”), who haven’t actually been best friends in nearly two years. They haven’t even spoken – until an altercation at a party where things get a little out of hand. Shortly after, Q dies (despite Jamal attempting to save his life). Jamal finds himself in an increasingly uncomfortable situation when Q’s mom agrees to have her son reanimated. Yep, Quincy will live again – but only for a short amount of time… and there’s a catch: he’s not allowed to know that he died or the details surrounding his death.

This story was the epitome of an emotional roller coaster. You see, I expected to cry. When reading about a book that covers the topic of death – especially the death of a best friend or parents; really any tragedy – I assume that I’ll be swiping away tears on the regular. What I didn’t expect was the sudden fits of laughter that would follow the tears or even happen while I was still crying. The author did a fantastic job creating an environment that felt natural despite the somewhat “unnatural” elements throughout the book.

Some of my favorite moments were entirely unrelated to Quincy. Jamal’s older sister, Whit, is a force to be reckoned with. She brings light and joy into parts of the story that need it the most. There is a massive emphasis on the importance of family (the one you’re given AND the one you choose) and it’s incredibly heartwarming.

I often wonder which is more important in a novel: the plot or the characters. While I typically believe the plot is most important, I really appreciate good character development. One thing that this book definitely does not lack is great character development – but the best part? It also has an amazing plot. It truly is the best of both worlds. The characters and their relationships are believable and relatable.

Honestly, I could continue writing for ages about how this story impacted me in millions of ways, but rather than detailing it all out and leaving nothing to the imagination, I’m just going to plead with you to read it for yourself. You will definitely not regret it.

Content Warnings

bsteve24's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

effy's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was one hell of a book. I went into it with no clue what it was about which just made it all the more impactful.

Reynolds has managed to create a book that is simultaneously one of the most beautiful and saddest books that I have ever read. I loved every minute of reading this book even if I had tears streaming down my face for at least 75% of this book.

This books is a razor-sharp exploration of grief as well as focusing on living, truly living and nods to last moments.

The numbering of the chapters in reverse was so clever as we got a countdown but somehow you also manage to forget that is what's happening.

This book contained a lot of surprises considering it seemed to have a pretty clear direction.

Spoiler

It was clear from very early in this book that we wouldn't get a traditionally happy ending but I still really hoped that would be the case. Damn if I didn't want Mr Oklahoma to sweep in saying he had found a way to keep Q alive!

Content Warnings

cereads's review

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

More...