Reviews with content warning for Car accident - 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

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

alouette's review

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.25

can’t quite process this book enough for a proper review! but i will say that i liked a lot about this book, including the unique writing. i just had some problems with the pacing as a whole, and some of the characters’ development. now, here are my favourite quotes from it:

“it’s confusing- how your heart holds your love and your hurt in the same chamber.”

“if you wanna make poor choices, do it in your own name. not theirs. don’t dishonour them.”

“but aren’t we all dying slowly, painfully? why should the earth be exempt? but i don’t say these things. ask these questions. because they’re not real. they’re just by-products of heartache and regret, anger and disappointment. because i believe in her and her dreams, maybe, probably, even more than my own. because at least she dares to dream, and who was i to punch holes in them?”

“when you leave someone, even if you see the error of your ways, even if you apologize profusely, it doesn’t matter. they don’t owe you forgiveness. they don’t have to take you back.”

“i want to make up for lost time... prove i’m a good person, a better person than i would appear to be, because look, here i am doing something brave, taking a chance, keeping it real, doing the thing. but maybe i don’t get to throw up on the side of this road and feel better, light. maybe keeping this trash inside is the price for my mistakes.”

“and then she, like everyone before her, is gone. because, sooner than later, everyone leaves this house.”

“maybe the lesson from all of this is, sometimes what we see as broken, isn’t... you’re only helpful to someone if what you do actually helps.”

“because as it turns out, we do not have all the time in the world. we only get a finite amount. live each day like it’s your last four hours.”

“it’s hard to let go, even when you know it’s coming.”

“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.”

“this is what it feels like to find something you’ve lost- happiness.”

Content Warnings

More...