Just Another Dead Boy
An addictive romance with a twist you've never seen before
Binding: Paperback
Imprint: Walker
Age 14+
General Fiction
A heart-pounding romance with a twist for fans of Ali Hazelwood and They Both Die at the End by a multiple award-winning, Carnegie-shortlisted author.
"A heartbreaking and uplifting story of falling in love against the odds." Margaret McDonald, author of Glasgow Boys.
DON’T FALL IN LOVE.
That’s the only rule.
If you were rich and had a few weeks left to live, what would you do?
Check in to a five-star luxury resort with a difference.
Regan works at one of these resorts and she's about to meet Jude, who has a week to live. Regan’s job is simple: make Jude feel as though he has found true love before he dies.
But when a fake romance starts to become something else, can they take on Fate together – before Jude's death date catches up with them?
Readers are loving Just Another Dead Boy:
"Characters 10/10. Pacing? Exceptional. Intention and meaning and beauty? BREAKS THE SCALE." Goodreads review
"I will carry this story in my heart for years to come." Goodreads review
"I was not prepared for how much this book would made me feel. It’s beautifully heartbreaking. A romantic tragedy about hope, grief, what it means to live and love." Goodreads review
"Absolutely tore my heart out." Goodreads review
"The banter is sharp, the emotions hit hard, and the story lingers long after the last page." Goodreads review
Creators
Kelly McCaughrain's debut Flying Tips for Flightless Birds won an unprecedented hat-trick of awards at the 2019 Children's Books Ireland Awards, as well as the Northern Ireland Book Award. Her YA novel Little Bang is shortlisted for the 2025 Carnegie Award for Writing and the Children's Books Ireland Awards. Just Another Dead Boy is her first YA speculative romance. Kelly was Children's Writing Fellow for Northern Ireland 2019-2021. She lives in Belfast.
Reviews
With an unsettling premise in which the poor provide services to the wealthy so they can live out their final days, Another Dead Boy is a unique dystopian novel filled with existential dread and the importance of human connection. It encapsulates the inevitability of death and, thus, how people choose to live their lives to the fullest as the mortality clock ticks, while simultaneously serving as an allegory for the capitalisation of end-of-life care.
York Press
“Kelly McCaughrain’s new YA speculative romance is an exciting bittersweet adventure, raising questions about privilege, mortality and sacrifice. […] I know it’ll go straight to young adult hearts”
Tia Fisher
“Beautifully written, Just Another Dead Boy will rip your heart from your chest. A viciously sharp novel brimming with energy that teens will be clamouring for, I absolutely loved it.”
Lucas Maxwell, school librarian and author of A Million TIny Missiles all at Once
“Clever, moreish and so wonderfully relatable. One of the best YA books I’ve read in a very long time.”
Jenny Ireland
“[Kelly] has such a gift for murky emotional truths … the pacing is incredible, it’s a masterful combination of gripping and moving in turn.”
Deirdre Sullivan
