This book is one of my favorites from this year so far. I don’t know exactly what I was expecting when I picked this up, but definitely not what it turned out to be. I went into this book blind, without a clue of what it was about, just knowing I would probably end up in tears.
Although, I didn’t end up crying, I got pretty close. This story is heartbreaking, yet filled with hope. It had a very apparent message that everyone could benefit from.
This story is for you if…
… You are afraid of living or dying.
… You want a story just as funny as it is dark — bonus if you love dark humor.
… You love seeing unique world building, representation, and characters that are so well written they feel real.
This story takes place in a world where once midnight hits, a company called Death-Cast starts making phone calls to everyone who will be dying that day. No one is really sure how Death-Cast knows this information, but they’re never wrong. Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, receive a call from Death-Cast and learn the bad news. Rufus tries to spend the day with his family, but due to some unfortunate circumstances (like being chased by the cops for beating up your ex’s boyfriend), he has to spend it alone instead. Mateo has no living family besides dad, who is in a coma. He decides not to visit his only friend, a single mom his age, at first because he doesn’t want her to be consumed with guilt and grief while he is still living. Because of this, the two meet on an app called Last Friend (think Tinder for people on their death day looking to find someone to hang out with). They decide to meet up in this leads to an adventure of a lifetime.
First of all, this story was enjoyable for a lot of reasons. It was extremely well written and the characters were so real. At times, I honestly forgot I was reading. Adam writes teens as, well, teens. In the way they spoke, acted, and thought. Once I was finished, I actually missed Mateo and Rufus.
One thing I loved about Mateo, was how I saw myself in him. He was so ralatable from his anxieties to his quirky way of thinking. He saw everything with a gentle eye. For example:
“After all, to most people a bird is nothing compared to an actual human being, because actual human beings put on ties and go to work, they fall in loved and get married, and they have kids and raise them. But birds do all of this too, They work — no ties, you got me there — and mate and nurture baby birds until they can fly. Some of them become pets who entertain children, children who learn to love and to be kind to animals. Other birds are living until their time is up.”
Not only did we see the story from the main characters’ point of view, but we also saw it from some other insignificant characters. Now, if it hadn’t been done the way it was, I probably would have hated t. But it added so much to the story. I honestly loved it. It reminded of the way Neal Shusterman did Scythe (a book that I also LOVE). This gave us a lot of insight that Mateo and Rufus just couldn’t provide.
So much of this book went beyond the story. It was deep and profound. I found it not only challenged how we live life, but how we react with our fears and anxiety. This books shows death should not prevent living, and even just existing can influence someone’s life, as “entire lives aren’t lessons, but there are lessons in lives.”
Overall, this book was beautiful, heart wrenching, captivating, and peaceful. I highly recommend They Both Die at the End.
“This loaded question is the exact reason I didn’t want anyone to know I was dying. There are questions I can’t answer. I cannot tell you how you will survive without me. I cannot tell you how to mourn me. I cannot convince you not to feel guilty if you forget the anniversary of my death or if you realize days or weeks or months have gone by without thinking about me. I just want you to live.”
Books for Eternity 