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justannaagain's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’m not sure if I can add anything new to the conversation about this book. I highly recommend it (like most I know who have read it). It confidently defies YA tropes favoring a messier darker but ultimately more honest story. It doesn’t shy away from the difficult themes suggested in its title and doesn’t slap a happy ending band aid on the wounds of its characters. This is both heartbreaking and effective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
cosmicsapphic's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
mariareviews's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
⏳
Bawling at 2am on a Sunday because of two boys afraid of elevators wasn’t what I expected when I started this book 2 days ago. I remember laughing at the booktok videos of people crying after reading this book and now I can only imagine the universe (or the persons reading this) laughing at my tears.
What would you do if this was your last day to live? They Both Die At The End makes you reflect about life and how you’re currently living it. Marcus and Rufus teach you that maybe you don’t need to meet someone for years to be able to say I love you and really mean it. They also teach you how precious every second is. I really relate to Marcus because tbh I’m someone utterly afraid of change and making decisions... so, to see a character that I could wholeheartedly relate too fills my heart with happiness and inspires me to live another day.
They Both Die At The End is that kind of books that makes you stop and think if how you’re currently living is worth it. Three years ago this book would’ve been a nice slap to the face, for I used to wake up with no spark to live. Now? It’s still a nice slap. It makes me think about how much time I lost doubting myself, especially now that this COVID thing has been going for a year, and makes me want to stay alive to see another day.
⌛️
If there’s any mistake, cut me some slack...it’s 2am, I’m sleepy, and the tears make the screen look blurry.
Bawling at 2am on a Sunday because of two boys afraid of elevators wasn’t what I expected when I started this book 2 days ago. I remember laughing at the booktok videos of people crying after reading this book and now I can only imagine the universe (or the persons reading this) laughing at my tears.
What would you do if this was your last day to live? They Both Die At The End makes you reflect about life and how you’re currently living it. Marcus and Rufus teach you that maybe you don’t need to meet someone for years to be able to say I love you and really mean it. They also teach you how precious every second is. I really relate to Marcus because tbh I’m someone utterly afraid of change and making decisions... so, to see a character that I could wholeheartedly relate too fills my heart with happiness and inspires me to live another day.
They Both Die At The End is that kind of books that makes you stop and think if how you’re currently living is worth it. Three years ago this book would’ve been a nice slap to the face, for I used to wake up with no spark to live. Now? It’s still a nice slap. It makes me think about how much time I lost doubting myself, especially now that this COVID thing has been going for a year, and makes me want to stay alive to see another day.
⌛️
If there’s any mistake, cut me some slack...it’s 2am, I’m sleepy, and the tears make the screen look blurry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Blood
booksthatburn's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I read this book expecting a story where two people die at the end. What I got was a tender, heartfelt, and sometimes exhilarating story about two guys connecting when they're almost out of time, sharing their friends and their last moments.
I really like the narrative structure. The first part of the book stayed with the two MCs for a while, letting me really get to know them as characters and get a sense of the setting. Then, once they were established as MCs, it slowly introduces snippets from other characters' perspectives to give context, sometimes to get in the head of someone the MC's interacted with (or someone who knows someone they interacted with). It helped to ground their experiences and create this feeling of many people living their lives with all these connections, but always returning to the MCs and their growing bonds with each other. There were only a few places in this snippet of the world which were important, but even with these few locations and small selection of characters it made it feel big. They had time to visit places and return to a few key ones as things changed throughout the day, or sometimes only the reader was the one revisiting when the second glance was through another character's eyes. Many of the characters grew or changed in this one day. Not everyone, obviously, a mass epiphany or everyone becoming great overnight would have broken immersion, but enough for it to feel like a book where most people became a little bit better for having gone though this day, for having known each other. The way the central conceit was incorporated into the rest of the modern world was really smooth. When they first meet on the app I was laughing because it felt right, that's absolutely how this kind of app would have played out in 2017 when the book is set. Grounding this in a specific day on the calendar was very wise, since it means that even as the popular apps change it can still feel relevant because it's not pretending that technology is ageless or something. It also feels like it'll be resonant for a long time because it's specific and poignant without being self-aggrandizing.
I didn't expect the ending to blow me away, but it did. I mean, it's in the title, right? But this is a book that's fully about the journey, not the destination, and it has room to be fun, serious, contemplative, heart-pounding, sad, and wonderful, all in one day of the characters' lives. The seeds of the end were there from the beginning and I'm so sad that the book is over, even though I knew it had to end eventually. I love the ending. I'm very sad about it, but it's perfect for this book and these characters. If it really had to be over sometime this was probably the best way it could have gone about it.
I really like the narrative structure. The first part of the book stayed with the two MCs for a while, letting me really get to know them as characters and get a sense of the setting. Then, once they were established as MCs, it slowly introduces snippets from other characters' perspectives to give context, sometimes to get in the head of someone the MC's interacted with (or someone who knows someone they interacted with). It helped to ground their experiences and create this feeling of many people living their lives with all these connections, but always returning to the MCs and their growing bonds with each other. There were only a few places in this snippet of the world which were important, but even with these few locations and small selection of characters it made it feel big. They had time to visit places and return to a few key ones as things changed throughout the day, or sometimes only the reader was the one revisiting when the second glance was through another character's eyes. Many of the characters grew or changed in this one day. Not everyone, obviously, a mass epiphany or everyone becoming great overnight would have broken immersion, but enough for it to feel like a book where most people became a little bit better for having gone though this day, for having known each other. The way the central conceit was incorporated into the rest of the modern world was really smooth. When they first meet on the app I was laughing because it felt right, that's absolutely how this kind of app would have played out in 2017 when the book is set. Grounding this in a specific day on the calendar was very wise, since it means that even as the popular apps change it can still feel relevant because it's not pretending that technology is ageless or something. It also feels like it'll be resonant for a long time because it's specific and poignant without being self-aggrandizing.
I didn't expect the ending to blow me away, but it did. I mean, it's in the title, right? But this is a book that's fully about the journey, not the destination, and it has room to be fun, serious, contemplative, heart-pounding, sad, and wonderful, all in one day of the characters' lives. The seeds of the end were there from the beginning and I'm so sad that the book is over, even though I knew it had to end eventually. I love the ending. I'm very sad about it, but it's perfect for this book and these characters. If it really had to be over sometime this was probably the best way it could have gone about it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
CW for homophobia (minor), panic attacks (minor), mental illness (minor), grief, drowning, blood, gun violence, violence, suicidal thoughts, child death, major character death, death.ashylibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Phew, Adam Silvera did me dirty with this story. I thought that it would be an interesting read about some new technology (AKA Death-Cast) that would bring two strangers together to live out their last day together...BUT NO. This story was so much more than that. This is the first book that has made me choke up since I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult in like sixth grade.
I was not sure if I was going to enjoy this one because the beginning started a little slow for me, but my mind quickly changed. I was entranced by the way the characters developed, grew, and inspired each other throughout the story. Silvera did a phenomenal job of creating a web of characters that built on one another while developing themselves along the way.
Rufus and Mateo were truly a dynamic duo, to the literal and figurative sense. Not only did they complement each other, but they also grew and developed to become extremely dynamic characters. They helped each other cope with and understand the tragedy that occurred in their past, and watching this was close to magical. I did not expect Rufus to be the character he was, due to the initial introduction readers get of him, but I am so glad I was wrong about him.
After further consideration of the story, however, I do wish that the romantic relationship between Mateo and Rufus didn't happen. I don't think that it took away from the story so much as I think the story might have been even a little bit stronger had the relationship remained platonic. I think by taking this route, Silvera could have really run with the fact that both Rufus and Mateo felt like they had to push away their true friends on the end day so they would not be affected by the aftermath of their deaths, and because of this, they built a strong friendship in the one day they had together.
**I will definitely say, however, if you are at all triggered by death, know that this book focuses A LOT on death. Obviously from the title, it can be assumed that there will be death, but as someone whose anxiety is triggered by thinking about death, I did have to step away from this book a few times to re-center myself. **
I was overtaken with emotions, laughing, scoffing, tearing up. This book brought so many emotions to the table that I was not mentally prepared for, but I regret nothing about reading this story.
I was not sure if I was going to enjoy this one because the beginning started a little slow for me, but my mind quickly changed. I was entranced by the way the characters developed, grew, and inspired each other throughout the story. Silvera did a phenomenal job of creating a web of characters that built on one another while developing themselves along the way.
Rufus and Mateo were truly a dynamic duo, to the literal and figurative sense. Not only did they complement each other, but they also grew and developed to become extremely dynamic characters. They helped each other cope with and understand the tragedy that occurred in their past, and watching this was close to magical. I did not expect Rufus to be the character he was, due to the initial introduction readers get of him, but I am so glad I was wrong about him.
**I will definitely say, however, if you are at all triggered by death, know that this book focuses A LOT on death. Obviously from the title, it can be assumed that there will be death, but as someone whose anxiety is triggered by thinking about death, I did have to step away from this book a few times to re-center myself. **
I was overtaken with emotions, laughing, scoffing, tearing up. This book brought so many emotions to the table that I was not mentally prepared for, but I regret nothing about reading this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Medical content
bluebirdreads's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia