"They Both Die at the End"

“They Both Die in the End”

Written by Adam Silvera

Reviewed by Diana Iozzia

After recently beginning to read Adam Silvera’s young adult fiction, I have to admit that I enjoy it more than I initially expected. After loving “What if it’s Us”, I began to read “They Both Die at the End”, by listening to it through an audiobook format. The interesting storytelling techniques add an interesting appeal to the already curious story.

To begin, “They Both Die at the End” creates a prophecy for the two main characters, Mateo and Rufus. In this universe, characters are called the day of their death through a company called Death Cast. When called by Death Cast, those that will die within 24 hours now have the opportunity to access electronic tours, virtual reality thrills, and a social media for those looking for many different types of last-minute comfort, either platonic or romantic.

Mateo and Rufus are loveable characters, very similar to the style of Adam Silvera’s other gay male characters. Mateo fits Silvera’s trope of an awkward, sweet nerd. Rufus fits the trope of a cool and laid back, sometimes troublesome, guy. As we progress through the story, learning about these characters, we see how they live out their last day on Earth.

This is a very sweet and emotional novel, but I personally did not enjoy this as much as I had hoped I would. I have found that I do not enjoy audiobooks as much as I enjoy reading physical copies, so I do think I’ll not go in with high expectations. I find myself losing interest after a few chapters in, but I find myself needing to then finish the story. I do have to mention the great narrators. One last issue that bothered me was the random perspectives, of others who might die that day and those who knew the other characters.

The conclusion of this novel was very heartbreaking and definitely made me physically unsettled. It’s also oddly ambiguous and possibly uplifting.

Lastly, I did enjoy this book. Although I expected to love it more, I still think this is a worthy book. Adam Silvera writes very honest and realistic characters that you’d either fall in love with or want to be friends with a lifetime.