Just Another Dead Boy

4.7

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Author(s)

Kelly McCaughrain

Publisher

Candlewick Press

Genre(s)

Age Range

14+

Release Date

July 07, 2026

ISBN

978-1536251739

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Regan has two rules: Don’t fall in love. Don’t have hope.

In a world where everyone knows the date they will die, wild-child Regan works at a luxury resort as a “Juliet” for the Romeo & Juliet Service, promising to provide the illusion of star-crossed romance to rich boys on end-of-life retreats. She gets to live life on the edge—skydiving, partying, and doing a host of other people’s bucket-list thrills—then moves on to her next client. But when world-famous Death Date researchers the Dalys arrive, she’s tasked with her hardest client yet, their overachieving, stone-faced son. Jude Daly sees right through the setup—he thinks she’s a parasite, and, frankly, she thinks he’s an entitled jerk. They agree to fake romance for the sake of Jude’s parents and Regan’s job, but as contempt turns into something else, will Regan ignore her ironclad rules so she and Jude can take on Fate together? Or will his impending Death Date catch up with them first? A compelling and heartbreaking twist on Romeo and Juliet, in which Regan realizes she might have to stop living like today is her last—and start living like it isn’t.

Editor review

1 review

Just Another Dead Boy

February 16, 2026 (Updated: June 04, 2026)

Overall rating

4.7

Plot

5.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

N/A

In a futuristic world, everyone is born knowing their death date. The date is marked on them. For the wealthy, there is a resort where they can pay for the privilege to have the 'perfect' girlfriend before they die. Regan's job is to be one of those girlfriends for the very rich. Her rules include not to fall in love and not to have hope. That all changes when she meets Jude Daly. He's arrogant and rude. The stereotypical rich jerk. But as Regan starts her job as his 'Juliet' and agrees to fake their relationship for the benefit of his parents, things change.

What worked: They Both Die at the End meets Romeo and Juliet with a futuristic twist. In this case, everyone has a death date. Some live long lives, but others die young. For the very rich, there is a resort in the Catskills where American Jewish vacationers used to go, but it is now abandoned. At this resort, there are those like Regan who are hired to be Juliets and have fake relationships with those before their death date.

Regan likes the perks of her job-fancy dresses, expensive food, dates, and more. In reality, she lives with her alcoholic mother in the former Catskills. The differences between the two worlds is shown in stark reality. Her best friend Micah also works there. Their way of dealing is partying.

Jude comes off at first as uptight, snobbish, and entitled. Before her assignment, Regan accidentally bumps into him, which makes their fake relationship begin on a bumpy start. He frowns on the whole resort way of helping people deal with their death dates. Regan resents him and his arrogance.

Great pacing with an equally great voice. I was engaged from the very first page. Regan and Jude's relationship starts as almost a stereotypical enemies-to-lovers trope, but fleshes out to much more. The author does a great job by giving the characters more depth. We see Regan, Micah, and Jude's vulnerabilities throughout. We also see how they work together, even against deadly odds.

Hope is a big theme in this otherwise tragic story. To find hope even when you know that life is ticking down. But mostly it's one of seizing each moment and not letting life slip by. I also like that this story was true to the Romeo and Juliet theme.

Gut-wrenching at times, with engaging characters in a story that will have you reflecting on finding joy in every day.

Good Points

1. They Both Die At the End meets Romeo and Juliet
2. Enemies to lovers trope