A review by andrearbooks
Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds

5.0

Early Departures by Justin A. Reynolds grabbed me by the feels so hard. It was such a unique premise and such a wonderful and emotional story of friendship. Jamal and Q are estranged best friends. Then, Q dies in a tragic accident. Through an experimental procedure, Q is able to come back to life. The only thing is this is a time-bound return, and he has a limited number of days left. During this return, Jamal commits to reconciling with Q and making the most of this time. This means working through the reason the relationship was fractured in the first place. The story then explores the past where the friendship fell apart and what Q's real-time return looks like. This was just so, so well done. I was so drawn into the characters, and I was in literal tears by the end. I don't want to delve too, too much into what really drew me in because that's where the power of this story lies. This is my second Justin A. Reynolds (and I'm ready for me), and I love the masterful way he uses time as a plot device.