They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

 

Reviewed by Abby

How would you react if you received a phone call telling you that were going to die today? The caller does not tell you how or when you will face your sudden demise, just that you now have less than 24 hours to live.  Most of us would find this horrifying and frightening, but that is just how the world works in the universe of Adam Silvera’s They Both Die at the End.  Those who get the alert from Death-Cast (a call center-esque establishment) are known as “Deckers” and often receive special treatment in restaurants and attraction sites if employees know their status. There is even a messaging app called Last Friend which enables doomed people to reach out to others in the same situation.

As the book opens, it’s shortly after midnight in New York City. Mateo and Rufus have just received their End Day alerts from Death-Cast. Mateo is alone in the comfort of his own bedroom when he receives the news; Rufus is in the midst of beating up his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend.

Mateo and Rufus eventually discover one another’s profiles on Last Friend and agree to meet each other in person. They both have regrets they wish to overcome before their time is up. Mateo feels he has not achieved enough in his short life. Rufus has experienced a lot more while living with his foster siblings, but has long-lasting familial trauma.   They make the most of their final day by attempting to fit in as many fulfilling memories as possible. As is obvious from the title, this book does not have a conventional happy ending, but watching these two bond and create cherished moments makes it all worthwhile.  

I was anxiously awaiting the scene where these characters would reach their end. I had no idea when it would happen, just Mateo and Rufus are also in the dark as to their final fates. Silvera does an excellent job at creating suspense by including minor characters’ perspectives in chapters while aligning Mateo and Rufus’s timeline with major, possibly fatal, events in NYC.  These opening scenes truly had me pondering the endless possibilities of where we could end up on the day we die.               

Listening to the audio book version, I was happily surprised to recognize two of the voice actors from other audiobooks I have borrowed from TN READS. Michael Crouch, Mateo’s narrator, has performed in many Young Adult and LGBTQIA+ novels in the past. The other actor I knew was Bahni Turpin, who commonly narrates characters who are women of color. Turpin is the voice of the numerous minor characters that break up Mateo and Rufus’s thoughts to provide more of a broader perspective into Silvera’s fictional world.  

This novel was an exciting, heartbreaking, and memorable read for me, and has become one of my favorite Young Adult titles to date. If you enjoy diverse love stories that don’t always turn into happily ever afters, I would recommend giving this book a try! It has a wonderful combination of sci-fi, LGBTQIA+ romance, and thriller elements. It reads as a more mature YA novel.

Just as a reminder, they both die at the end, so make sure to mentally prepare yourself beforehand.