Just Another Dead Boy

By Kelly McCaughrain

"Achingly tender and leavened with hope." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

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.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1536251739
• ISBN13: 9781536251739
• Release Date: July 2026
• Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Age Range: 14 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 9 and higher