If you want a book that’s going to make you think about life, and the choices you’ve made, then this is the book for you. They Both Die At The End is such a thought-provoking and also heart-warming book. Here’s my book review of They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera.
Overview of They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
The biggest clue about what happens in this book is in the title. As you’d expect, both of the main characters die at the end. This means my book review of They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera isn’t in any danger of giving away any major spoilers, as it’s already in the title!
This book follows the story of two boys, Mateo and Rufus, on their last day alive. The book is set in a futuristic world, where a company called Deathcast know if someone is going to die that day. They phone that person just after midnight, in the early hours of the morning, to let them know that they are going to die that day. Therefore, these ‘Deckers’ know that it’s their last day alive. And they have one day left to do everything they always dreamed of doing.
Mateo and Rufus both receive the call from Deathcast to tell them they’re going to die. At the beginning of the book, they don’t know each other. They meet on the Last Friend App, an app designed to connect Deckers so they can have a friend to spend their final day with.
Mateo and Rufus
At first, Mateo and Rufus are wary of each other. They’re complete strangers, and yet they’re spending their final day on earth together. They accompany each other on some trips that each want to do, and begin having some shared adventures together. Rufus encourages the shy Mateo to be brave on his final day, and do things he’d always dreamed of doing but was too scared to do. The two characters get closer as they share this emotionally intense day together.
Throughout the whole book, as Rufus and Mateo have their adventures, we know how it’s all going to end. There’s a constant tension throughout the book, as we know that they’re going to die, but we don’t know how or when. And as we get closer to the characters and more fond of them, it makes it even harder knowing what the inevitable end will be.
If you like the sound of this book, you can buy yourself a copy here.
What I liked about They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
I really loved this book. My favourite thing was that it really made me think about life and death. It made me wonder whether I’d want to know that a day is my last day. Would I want to have the chance to do a few things that I’d always wanted to do? Or say things to people that I’d want to say to them? Or is it better not to know if you’re about to die? I don’t know. It’s difficult either way. I think I’d struggle with the pressure of knowing a day is my last and I’ve got to do everything on that day. But then again, it might be nice to have that final chance to say goodbyes to the people I love. But then that sounds really difficult as well.
This book also made me think about the choices I’ve made in my life. If I got this phone call from Deathcast to say I was dying today – would I be happy with how I’ve lived my life so far? Would I have any major regrets? Are there things that I’d wish I’d have done in my life? I think the answer to that is always going to be yes – there are always going to be more things I wish I’d done. I might wish I’d travelled more, and taken that dream trip that I’d been putting off to the ‘perfect’ time.
This book was a great reminder that life is short, and can be taken away at any moment. Mateo and Rufus were both teenagers, taken far too young. But for any of us, life can be taken away at any moment. This book really made me think about all the things I might regret if I got this Deathcast call. And it was motivating for me to start living my life to the full, so I’d have fewer regrets. And that includes booking that dream trip around the world!
The question of free will and fate
I also loved that this book made me think about the big questions of free will and fate. Knowing that they were going to die that day made both Mateo and Rufus make a lot of different decisions, compared to what they would have normally been doing that day. So was their death pre-determined, and would have happened in a certain way whatever choices they made to do that day? Or, did knowing that they were going to die lead to them choosing to do something that meant they were in the wrong place at the wrong time and therefore died?
Let’s take Rufus’s death. Would Rufus have been in that exact place at the exact time if he hadn’t met Mateo? It seems unlikely – the reason he was there at that exact time was because of the chain of events that had happened after he met Mateo on the Last Friend app. So did meeting Mateo cause Rufus to die? But then Rufus only met Mateo because he’d got the Deathcast alert saying he was going to die. So did getting the alert lead to the chain of events that caused him to die? Or would he have died in that same way at the same time and place anyway, even if he’d never received the Deathcast alert and never met Mateo? It’s super confusing and I don’t have an answer at all – but it’s still fun to think about how much our actions are a result of our free will, or whether it’s all predetermined by fate.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I really loved this book. There’s almost nothing I didn’t like. If I was trying to be really picky, I’d probably say that I preferred the character of Mateo slightly. I still liked Rufus, but I felt like I connected more with Mateo’s character. This meant that I enjoyed the sections from his point of view slightly more. And when the chapter was written from Rufus’s point of view, I was keen for it to change back to Mateo. But this is only a tiny criticism – I really did love all of the book.
Would I recommend They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
I would definitely recommend They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera. It’s the perfect book to make you think about life, and think about the choices you’ve made. It’s the perfect book to give you the inspiration to travel and live your life to the full, living all your dreams. After reading this book, I definitely felt more motivated to life life to the full and travel even more. It was a great book and I loved it.
Hope you enjoyed my book review of They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera! Remember you can buy yourself a copy here. If this book has inspired you to travel, start planning your trip. Read my blog posts on the top experiences in California, Florida and North West USA to get inspired. Or get inspired to travel in Europe, visiting Wales, Lisbon, Austrian Alps, Vienna, Barcelona and Iceland.
