They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Book Review

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Book Review

Details of They Both Die at the End

Book Name: They Both Die at the End

Authors: Adam Silvera

Pages: 317

Genre: Fiction

Publish Date: 5 September 2017

Language: English

Book Review: 

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I haven't even read the book—why am I God? So you can imagine how distraught I was when I actually read the book. The main reasons why I think I reacted so strongly to this book is because I think there was a really good balance between the more somber tones and the light-hearted moments.

This book obviously does talk a lot about death and, you know, being put into a position where you know when you're going to die. It forces you to reevaluate things and question some of your choices. But the main messages that I got from this book were more about celebrating your life and living it to the fullest. Knowing that you have less than 24 hours left to live—such a short period of time—you don't want it to go to waste.

I think that I just didn't expect to have quite so much fun with this book and to laugh as much as I did, because I went in knowing this was going to be about two characters that died at the end of the book. But there's only so much that the book can do to soften that blow.

I thought the characters were really lovable. They're flawed, they have their quirks, and that just made them all the more real and relatable to me. Though I can totally understand that other readers, with different experiences, might not connect with them as strongly. I also thought the dynamic between Mateo and Rufus was just so pure. They knew each other for less than a day, and yet they still developed such a strong connection.

I think this is partly because of that single very significant shared experience and partly because the characters complemented each other with their differences. Their comparable personalities would result in the other one taking risks or stepping out of their comfort zone and trying new things. I really cherished the characters individually, but together as well.

I just didn't want this story to end. Also, this is an own voices novel—one of the main characters is also gay and Puerto Rican, and then the other main character is bisexual and Cuban. Whilst the majority of this book is told from Mateo and Rufus's perspectives, we do occasionally jump across to some other characters, and I thought this was really interesting.

I wasn't expecting to get all of these additional perspectives, and whilst I didn't always understand the significance of them at the moment, I do think they worked really well with the story and definitely helped contribute to the world-building. 

Another reason why I liked these additional perspectives is because we also get to see some different reactions to receiving the Death-Cast call. Because of this, we're also able to explore some of the more psychological implications of knowing when you're going to die. That's kind of a scary thought—I don't really want to know. Just let it come when it comes.

We often only get a smaller glimpse of these characters in these different perspectives, but sometimes I actually wanted to know a little bit more. I think that some of those could be really engaging stories, especially if they are fleshed out into their own novels and novellas.

On a somewhat related note, I did find myself wanting to know more about Death-Cast itself. This aspect of the world, though it is the catalyst for all of the events that happen in the story, is definitely not the focus. I'm not saying that I think the focus should have been shifted more towards Death-Cast in any way—I was just really curious about the mechanics behind it all. Like how does it work and how did it start?

There is a lot of mystery surrounding it, and our main characters are not in a position to reveal more about the company itself because a lot of that information isn't open to the general public. But with those additional perspectives, there was the potential to kind of get a little more inside information if we had the right character's perspective. Very curious to hear more about that if there were ever any more stories set in this world, Adam.

This book was one of my favorite reads of 2017. Any book that incites such a strong emotional response is going to be a really important story to me, because the fact that I shed those tears—and there were a lot of them—demonstrates how much I connected to those characters in their story.

Adam Silvera just did such a wonderful job of creating this complex world with whatever technologies they have that make Death-Cast possible. That stood out to our own current world, but it still felt so familiar and true. Like, I can imagine if a company like Death-Cast were to exist and pop up in our society, there would be businesses starting up that offer these experiences for people living their last day and all of the other implications surrounding it as well.

It was just such a beautiful book. It was heartbreaking, it was heartwarming, it makes you think about life and death and love and humanity. And even though you go in knowing where it ends, you can't help but enjoy the journey that Adam Silvera takes you on. I cannot recommend it enough.

If you like books that make you cry, this book was made for you. This is one of the top three books that have made me sob hysterically while reading it—like, could not see because the tears were streaming down my face. It was a mess.

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