They Both Die at the End

Such a good read, heartbreaking, read it in a day, just couldn't put it down.

"They Both Die at the End" has quickly become one of my new favorite books. From the moment I started reading, I couldn’t put it down. The premise is unique and thought-provoking—two strangers find out they’re going to die within 24 hours and decide to spend their last day together. The concept immediately hooked me, and the way the story unfolds is both heart-wrenching and beautiful. Adam Silvera’s writing is raw and emotional, and I was completely invested in the characters from the start. Rufus and Mateo are such well-developed and relatable characters. Watching them form a bond as they navigate their final hours made the story both uplifting and devastating. Their personal journeys really make you reflect on life, death, and the importance of human connection. Despite the title giving away the ending, I found myself hoping for a different outcome, which is a testament to how deeply the story pulls you in. Their relationship feels genuine and reminds you how precious every moment is. What I love most about this book is its ability to evoke such a wide range of emotions. It’s not just a story about death—it’s about living fully, even when time is limited. It’s a powerful reminder to take chances, make meaningful connections, and appreciate the time we have. They Both Die at the End is the kind of book that stays with you long after you’ve finished reading, and I can’t recommend it enough. It’s emotional, thought-provoking, and absolutely unforgettable.

I chose this book as part of a 30 Days of Pride Book Review project. This is that review. “Hello, I’m calling from Death Cast. I regret to inform you that sometime in the next twenty-four hours you’ll be meeting an untimely death. On behalf of everyone here at Death-Cast, we are so sorry to lose you. Live this day to the fullest, okay?” Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio are strangers… strangers with one big thing in common. They are both going to die today. They don’t know how or exactly when, just that their numbers are up and an invisible clock somewhere is counting down. Not wanting to spend these final hours alone, they find each other on the Last Friend app, and set out to live as much life as they can squeeze into their final hours. This is, in my opinion, not Silvera’s best work. There were a lot of things I liked about it. I liked both the main characters. I liked both their voices and the way the trajectory of their day took them from being kids who were wasting their time, waiting around to live life fully later, to being people dead-set on scraping the most out of the end of their lives. And rather than a bleak nihilistic end-day landscape, the protagonists experience themes of the redemptive power of friendship and of death being the force that makes people really live. I wanted to root for Mateo to be adventurous and get life experiences before it was too late, and I wanted to root for Rufus to forgive himself for his mistakes and to let his last hours have meaning. It was a bittersweet story of two people being just the right instrument to turn the other’s life in a better direction...but only at the last possible moment. This was not a bad book, by any means….But I feel like Silvera has written better. In this book, Silvera uses a shifting point of view, sometimes telling the story from Mateo’s POV sometimes from Rufus’ and then again sometimes from a handful of seemingly random people, whose stories all ultimately end up being connected. I know that the idea here is to weave a big picture of the interconnectedness of fates… but I would rather have had the whole story from one or two perspectives. I didn’t feel like these random asides ultimately added anything to the experience and instead just pulled me out of the story at hand. Even switching back and forth between Mateo and Rufus as often as it did was jarring for me, especially since the boys spent the whole day together, so we are just changing narrators but not necessarily inhabiting a different place or time. Also, I just struggled a bit with the pacing. What can you ask for in a book that takes place in less than twenty-four hours and promises to end in the main characters’ demises… I didn’t expect to feel so many places where the story kind of dragged. Silvera has a way with vulnerable characters and weaving heartache. He also has a way of building worlds that are perfect vehicles for that particular pain to shine through. But something in the chemical composition of these particular characters and this particular world didn’t quite gel as well as the other books of his I read….Making this a perfectly enjoyable Young Adult novel, that didn’t quite meet my expectations of his previous work. So do I recommend it? Yes, actually. Despite my above complaints, this is still an enjoyable read, and still a touching story of friendship, mortality and love. It still promises heartbreak and then delivers. It’s definitely worth the read for all you introspective Young Adult Fiction fans. Okay, let us end this review with my Pride Book Project scales. It does pretty okay on the Queer Counterculture Visibility scale. This scale measures how much a book shows less visible members of the community. Silvera’s intercity world has a diverse cast of characters. A point of view character, Rufus, is bisexual and everyone is perfectly comfortable with that. People are more complicated than their race and class and immediate behavior might suggest. 4 out of 5 stars On the genre expectation scale it also does pretty okay. This scale measures each book against others from its genre. And, like I said, it is a perfectly enjoyable Young Adult Novel. His other works impressed me more, but this work didn’t fall below the expectations of the genre in general. 3 out of 5 stars

They Both Die at the End actually made me contemplate how I would spend my final day if I knew it was my last. Part of the reason I adored it so much is because I saw a lot of myself in Mateo – I’d be that kid who was afraid to leave the house and who would (let’s be honest here) turn to the Internet to find someone to talk to before my day had ended. And then I probably would have let someone like Rufus convince me to go have some fun. That anxiety struck a chord with me like few books do. Maybe it’s because we are alike. Maybe it’s because I’m literally afraid of death. Either way, this felt real to me, and I appreciate this representation in the book. I identified a bit less with Rufus, but the explicit bisexual representation with his character was something I most certainly welcomed. I loved how open and comfortable he was with his sexuality as well. He’s someone who feels comfortable taking risks and going out on limbs and it’s just a wonderful contrast to Mateo’s character, and the way in which Silvera manages to keep the two of them in sync despite their differences worked beautifully. One kind of weird thing about this book is that it switches perspectives between characters every chapter, and for any chapter that isn’t from Mateo or Rufus’s perspective, they’re written in the third person. It’s a little strange to get used to, but for me it works because the two first-person characters we’re reading about are the ones we’re forming attachments to, and while we don’t really need to get attached to the third-person side characters their perspectives do add another layer to the story. Like with the spoiler title, every time we meet a new perspective character we’re immediately told whether or not they’re going to die later that day, and every single character impacted Mateo and Rufus’s day somehow. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it. The lack of explanation of Death-Cast and how they know that people are going to die when they do is a little frustrating, but the thing is it’s frustrating for everyone, including all of the characters in the book (even the ones who are making the calls). Though you’ll genuinely want to know why this is a thing by the end of the book, you have to keep in mind that this book isn’t meant to be a mystery. It’s meant to be a love story (a tragic, Silvera-eque love story). Something this large in this society isn’t something that’s likely going to be figured by two teenagers within 24 hours, especially ones who know that they’re going to die and want to spend their last day not solving that mystery. It’s frustrating, but I get it. If it were your last day, would you spend the whole day trying to figure out how they knew to call you? I wouldn’t. I don’t cry while reading very often, but this book definitely had me shedding a few tears. This book is a sad book – something that you can figure out from the title alone – but it’s one that’s filled with love and excitement and thrills. It’s one that made me question what I’m doing in life. It’s one that’s worth a few teardrops to read. Final rating: 5 of 5 stars

Yet another emotional rollercoaster by Adam Silvera. Every one of his books is full of emotional turmoil but written in the most beautiful of ways. I know his books are going to hurt, hell the title gives it all away here, but I am still eager to read the story. It is a nod to his writing talent that he makes me okay with being an emotional wreck as I read. This book focused on the idea of what would you do if you knew you were going to die. In this world there is a program called Death Cast that calls up people between midnight and 3 and lets them know that they are going to die that day. Rufus and Mateo both receive the call and need someone to spend their last day with. Neither of them is without people in their lives but because of outside forces they can't spend their Last Day with those people. They use the Last Friend app and find one another. Throughout their last hours they find a connection in each other and find a way to release their true selves. I adored both Mateo and Rufus. They were these two teens who were dealt a bad hand. Fate had it out for them. Both are trying to find a way to find a reason to live. Mateo lost his mother when she gave birth to him and his dad is in a coma. Rufus survived the accident that killed his family. Both of them are reeling from horrible events and both have lost themselves inside their own fear and tragedy. In one day they find each other and realize that they are not doomed people. Yes, they are going to die but their spirits and souls don't have to die. Mateo learns how to live without fear and Rufus finds the side of himself that he thought he lost when he lost his family. Both boys find a deeper connection then just friendships in each other. I loved the way life was examined in this novel. The way the idea of living for yourself and finding a way to make life count was talked about. It was a beautiful way of showing that life is never over if you can find the right ways to live it. Rufus and Mateo had only one day but they made it mean something and found love in the process. I also loved the way small other stories were told throughout the novel. These were people that had some contact with Mateo or Rufus. Some was good interactions and some weren't but in the end it showed how connected everyone is. You don't realize the impact you have on people you barely interact with on a daily basis. A simple smile or tap on the shoulder could change things. Or it may not change anything but what matters is that no one lives in a vacuum. All lives are connected for better or for worse. I desperately wanted this to end in a way that made me more happy than sad, in the end it gave me hope. Hope that life is always worth living no matter what. Hope shown through these two boys who found a way to make a day matter like a lifetime. Adam Silvera really does know how to write a poignant and meaningful tale.

I feel like I should have expected this. The title, the book description, the fact that the last two Adam Silvera books have made me sad, this is no different. This story is so raw, and it makes no secret what's coming at the end, but the journey is still a heartfelt one about two teenage boys who get their Death-Cast calls too soon. This story is about Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio and how to choose to spend their End Day. What this means is that a company known as Death-Cast makes calls between the hours of midnight and 3:00 a.m. to people who will die before the day is out. Everyone handles the calls different, and there are businesses and "perks", if you will, for how people choose to spend their End Day. Mateo Torrez is a gay Puerto-Rican who has been living on his own ever since his dad landed in a coma two weeks previous. He's a bit of an introvert and spends his time looking up how others spend their End Days, fearful and anxious of the day he'll get the call. Rufus Emeterio is a bisexual Cuban-American and gets his call when he's out with his friends, beating up on his ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend. In any other time, Mateo and Rufus might seem like polar opposites, but wanting to be near other people on their End Day brings them together for a day that's full of life like they've never lived before. This story has a very interesting format to it. The chapters told from Mateo and Rufus' POV are all in first-person present, and then there are all the chapters that are told from a wide variety of characters. These are people who only make a passing down the street, or who are close to Mateo and Rufus. But their stories are told in third-person present. It's certainly different. I'm not a fan at all of stories in third-person present, but the author has got me so wrapped up in the story and the characters' lives, that the story chapters from the secondary characters' POV, don't bother me at all and I winded up quite living the format and execution of the storylines. I appreciate how diverse the cast is, and the dark humor that goes with an otherwise potentially grim story. I feel like I should point out that there is, however, that there is a throwaway line about a black character’s name that doesn’t sit well with me. The different aspects involving death are well thought out. Death is the one thing that's inescapable for all humans, but what if we're given the chance to know ahead of time that's it's coming within the next 24 hours? Would we bunker down, hoping to outwit death? Put our affairs in order? Or try to live out the remainder of your life in the fullest way possible? There's something tragic about the book, that the characters are seventeen and eighteen, and still manage to be so...level-headed about it all. Mateo is the sweetest, most pure cinnamon roll and I loved seeing him being able to conquer his fear, a little bit at a time, because he wants to. Rufus is the opposite of Mateo. He's a little loud and rough along the edges compared to Mateo, but there was a time where he had a loving family, and the day they got their Death-Cast call unsettled something in him. He has the Plutos, a name for the kids who live alongside him at a foster home, but when things force him out to find a friend to hang out with, he compliments Mateo in every way. The emotions of all the characters in this story is raw, and definitely not a book you can read without a box of tissues nearby. Although Death-Cast isn't real, the emotions are. I love Mateo and I love Rufus. Their fears, their excitement, it all feels so, so real. It's not really a story with a romance, and yet, for the time period the book spans, the relationship that develops between Mateo and Rufus doesn't feel like an insta-love story. It's one where friendship and love can manifest when you know you may never have it again. They Both Die at the End is a gripping story about life. Mateo and Rufus are the loveliest characters, and Adam Silvera has yet again managed to make me sob through a book and thanking him for it after. ***Thank you to HarperCollins for providing me with an e-ARC of this book from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***

I have an aunt who reportedly reads the last chapter of a novel first to see if the book has a happy ending. If it doesn’t, then she doesn’t read the book. With Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End, my aunt would have no reason (no spoiler here) to do anything but look at the title. Silvera’s premise is a simple one: an official agency gives a person a phone call on their dying day to let them know they have 24 or fewer hours left to live. Enter the two protagonists Mateo and Rufus, teenagers, who get that news and connect to spend their final day together. I did not like this book. I grant that Silvera’s idea is a stunning one. I agree that his message—to live each day as if it is our last—is a great one to impart, especially to teenage readers. I even think his characters are vibrant, engaging, and dynamic. But the whole idea turned me off. There is no explanation how this agency came into being, nor how it knows what it knows. It is inventive that the knowledge it imparts has turned into a lucrative business—another theme here—but ultimately, I did not want to read the boys’ final day adventures knowing the inevitable. Perhaps I don’t have the “death is a long way off” concept that teen readers may have; perhaps I can’t relate to a young person’s feeling that death can happen but won’t happen to them. At any rate, I simply wasn’t “into” this book and found myself skimming the last hundred pages just to see how it ended. Duh!

“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.