“Maybe it’s better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs.”
If a book keeps me up past my bedtime, gets me teary, and even after I finish it I still can’t sleep because I need several hours to process how I feel about what I just read, that’s an automatic “highly recommended.” Thanks, Adam. (I think.)
They Both Die at the End is a young adult science fiction novel is set in a world just like ours, with one huge difference. In this world, there exists a service called Death-Cast. Every midnight, Death-Cast phones every person who is going to die on the coming day, to give them a heads-up. To give them one last chance to live to the fullest. To say goodbye. To have a fling. To do whatever they need to do on their Last Day.
Mateo Torrez is eighteen. He is bright and talented and kind. He is also agoraphobic and hardly ever leaves his apartment in New York City. He’s about to begin college (an online university, of course). On September 5, 2017 (the release date of the book!) Mateo gets the call. It’s a shock. How could a healthy young man who is too timid even to leave home possibly die so young?
Rufus Emeterio is seventeen and also a New Yorker. He gets the call in the middle of beating up his ex’s new boyfriend. Rufus is angry and hard edged. But cut him some slack. He lost his parents and his sister in a car accident just four months ago. Now he lives in a foster home and wonders what kind of future awaits him. None at all, it seems.
Mateo and Rufus don’t know each other. Neither of these young men has anyone to spend his Last Day with. Fortunately, there’s an app for that. It’s called Last Friend, and before dawn breaks, Rufus and Mateo are Last Friends. They spend a magical day in New York together, doing their damnedest to live to the utmost. They make their goodbyes. They try new things. They party. They fall in love. Rufus teaches Mateo to be brave. Mateo helps Rufus rediscover his gentle spirit.
Spoiler: They both die at the end.
They Both Die at the End is a tour de force. A novel in which Death is so near it is practically one of the characters will instantly trigger deep feelings, but this is a two-edged sword. Once you’ve got your readers by the feels, you’d better use the opportunity to show us something worth the pain of the journey, or else your book will feel like cheap manipulation. I am happy to say that Adam Silvera not only passed the test, he aced the extra-credit section.
Silvera’s “Death-Cast” is more than just a gimmick to get the plot moving. He devotes some of his novel to examining the impact Death-Cast has on society, on hospitals and emergency services, on celebrity culture, on the internet. Even “Deckers,” as they are called—I couldn’t suss out why—have to put up with creepy people on the internet. Silvera also devotes some chapters to introducing a cast of minor characters. Some are Deckers wrestling with their own fates, some are not, some are already known to Mateo or Rufus, others are not, but all of them cross paths with our two young protagonists on their fateful day.
For this story belongs to Mateo and Rufus. It isn’t easy spending your Last Day with another Decker. You can’t help wondering whether you have inadvertently sealed your own doom. Maybe the piano destined to land on his head is going to get you too, since you chose to tag along. Hilariously, tragically, the two young men avoid taking elevators. “Two Deckers riding an elevator on their Last Day is either a death wish or the start to a bad joke,” says Rufus.
Over the course of their remarkable day and this amazing book, Mateo and Rufus overcome their initial discomfort, get to know one another, say their goodbyes, have adventures, and narrowly escape several incidents that might have been The End for one or both of them right there. They also open up to one another and heal each other’s hurts until at last their budding friendship blossoms into an honest-to-God love. And Silvera strikes not a single false note along the way.
But as the day passes—noon, 5:00 PM, 7:00 PM—the time allotted to them grows short. The tension mounts as they know, and we know, that it must happen before midnight, yet they and we hope beyond any hope that somehow, some way, they will escape their shared fate. One of the most touching moments in a book chock full of touching moments is when the two young men each try to make the other promise not to die first, because neither wants to be the one left behind, even for a moment. It is a promise neither has the power to make of course, and logically they can’t both make it, but the heart has a logic of its own. At last, death comes for them, deaths that were perfectly predictable, in hindsight.
We would do well, every one of us, to follow the example of Mateo and Rufus. It is not given to most of us to know the day of our own deaths. But we all know that Death will come. We cannot escape it any more than Rufus or Mateo could. Most of us will never live a day as full as theirs, but we can at least strive to live as many of the days that remain to us as fully as we are able.
Because we all die at the end.
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Popular Highlights in this book
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From the Publisher
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| They Both Die at the End | The First to Die at the End | They Both Die at the End Collector's Edition | Death-Cast 2-Book Hardcover Box Set: The First to Die at the End, They Both Die | |
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40,793
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| Price | $8.60 | $6.16 | $19.37 | $20.99 |
| Tearjerkers, romcoms, and epic adventures from #1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Silvera! | In a world where people receive a phone call on the day they’re going to die, Rufus and Mateo meet through an app called Last Friend and come up with a perfect plan to live their last hours to the fullest. | Orion and Valentino, two star-crossed lovers, meet on the first night of Death-Cast’s fateful calls and learn one of them will be the first to die at the end… | A collector’s edition of the #1 New York Times bestselling book featuring special cover specs, an exclusive short story, and a letter from the author. | A hardcover box set of They Both Die at the End and The First to Die at the End, two emotionally captivating stories set in Adam Silvera’s Death-Cast world. |
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| Infinity Son | Infinity Reaper | Infinity Kings | What If It's Us | Here's to Us | |
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| Price | $7.49 | $7.49 | $14.74 | $9.21 | $11.54 |
| A gritty, fast-paced adventure in an alternate New York City about two brothers who find themselves caught in the middle of a magical war, generations in the making. | The battle continues in the sequel to Infinity Son, where brotherhood, loyalty, and love are put to the test. Some are born with powers, and other will go to great lengths to obtain them. | The explosive third and final book in the Infinity Cycle in which the Infinity Son and the Infinity Reaper go to war, who will be crowned the Infinity King? | Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera combine their talents in this smart, funny, heartfelt collaboration about two very different boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together—or pulling them apart. | Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera reunite to continue the story of Arthur and Ben, in this bestselling sequel to What If It’s Us. |
About the author
Interesting and uniquely written story!
Overall I thought this was an interesting story, and I love the way it was uniquely written! The concept of the title and idea of the book was genius in the sense that although we are told the ending of the book and work our way towards it, it was still enjoyable to read :) I also really love the representation in this book, how the lead characters are POC... etc. This was great though the only reason I'm giving it 3.5-4 stars is that I feel I was a teeny bit underwhelmed; Like many others, I saw this book everywhere and was really excited to read it; I finished it in 2 days and couldn't put it down, but IDK, I feel like some tiny thing was missing and the dialogue between the characters was sometimes a bit stale. Apart from that, unlike some other reviews, I personally think that the side characters were an interesting addition! It was nice to see the story and plot progress from different points of view and see how they tie into the story and the different reactions upon receiving the call. It made me think about how although we often go about our day and don't really know anything about other people around us, everyone has their own little story, experiences, and life as complex as one's own. There were times where I found myself thinking about how I'm living my life, and what changes I can make to live my life to the fullest; for me, this served as a reminder to stop being so worried about what others might think of me, be open to new experiences and put myself out there!some of my favorite quotes:- “Maybe it’s better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs”- “You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk”- “Entire lives aren’t lessons, but there are lessons in lives”- “There has to be more to life than just imagining a future for yourself. I can’t just wish for the future; I have to take risks to create it”- “Sometimes the truth is a secret you’re keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier”- “anyone can have pretty eyes, but only the right kind of person can hum the alphabet and make it your new favorite beat.”- “I just don’t think I should be the judge of who actually needs my help or not like they should do a dance or sing me a song to prove they’re worthy. Asking for help when you need it should be enough.”- “He didn't say that 'love is within' or 'love is all around you.' (...) love is a superpower we all have. But it's not always a superpower I'd be able to control, especially as I get older. Sometimes it'll go crazy, and I shouldn't be scared if my power hits someone I'm not expecting it to.”-“Yes, we live, or we're given the chance to, at least, but sometimes living is hard and complicated because of fear.”(if you made it this far ty! (I hope this was helpful) have a beautiful rest of your day! )
