Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

58 reviews

tvintrs's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

The First to Die at the End is a book with an interesting premise and a diverse cast of characters. On the face of it, it seems like a pretty long book clocking in at 550 pages in the hardback edition but it reads quickly and the constant changing of POVs used within the story help to keep the pace strong throughout.
The book follows two young men in New York who meet for the first time on the eve of Death Cast's first day running

(a Service which calls people in advance to let them know that they would be dying within 24 hours of the call.)

Orion, a native New Yorker, meets Valentino - an aspiring model, new to NY - and they become fast friends when they find out that

it is Valentino's ''End Day'' and he would soon be dying.

The friendship between the boys is quite sweet and seeing Orion

doing everything he can to give Valentino the best last day is admirable and inspiring.

However, I couldn't help but feel that there was a lot crammed into the 24 hours the book takes place through, which sometimes left it feeling rushed particularly in regard to the relationship between the boys and Valentino's offer

of giving his heart to Orion (literally, as Orion suffers with cardiac myophathy and is also on somewhat of a life timer.) It felt, to me, a little manipulative given that Valentino probably shouldn't have been making such descisions in the state he was in, but it did help to highlight the ethical questions around Death Cast such as what is ethically correct when it comes to a Decker wanting to organ donate.

I really enjoyed the concept of Death-Cast and the legal and ethical implications it would have on the world, and was interesting to see how it impacted the fate of Valentino at the end. I do, however, wish we as an audience had come to know more about the workings of the company. Perhaps this is explored in a later book, or perhaps it is left as a mystery, either way the concept was an interesting read.
Ultimately, I feel as though for me this was a 3 star read. It was quick and easy, but I struggled at times with the dialogue of the younger characters (perhaps just as I am not American so the slang/nicknames at times just felt too foreign or forced (O-Bro particuarly)) which was a little grating. I also felt it was a little rushed and didn't fully invest in the relationship between Orion and Valentino, not helped I think by the fact I found Orion to be not a super likeable character - I'm not sure why. The ending I feel should have left more of an impact, but I didn't feel it myself. Other than being happy for Gloria's newfound hopeful freedom, anyway. I feel like it would have a better impact on a younger audience and do feel the themes in the book are very worth exploring. I look forward to reading more of Adam Silvera's writing in this universe. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Violence, Death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Homophobia

lugotthecinema's review against another edition

adventurous emotional 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? No

5.0

a painfully beautiful story. absolutely ripped my heart out i havent stopped crying

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Car accident

Minor: Cursing, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content

pulchritudinous_panda's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

It was a truly wonderful book and I loved the characters so much!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Chronic illness, and Death of parent

sorcha's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Blood, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Violence, Homophobia, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content

purplee_rain89's review

dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Just like the first book, this story was so heartbreaking, yer incredibly beautiful. I really loved the way it was written; I felt like I was in the situations the characters were in myself and was really able to feel with them. Orion and Valentino's love story might be tragic but in contrast to the first book, it was so beautiful to see one of them live on with the help of the other. I also love how Adam Silvera portrayed the concept of "change the things you can and accept the things you can't change" perfectly, e.g. with Scarlett not being able to see Valentino for one last time and his parents never truly accepting him and loving him as they should. But he still got all the closure he could from their last phone call and the fact that both Scarlett and Valentino found a family with Team Young had something really hopeful about it and I'd like to think that they ho on to heal from his death together.
Another great thing was all the connections you had to the first book! Like Valentino and Orion meeting the younger versions of Rufus and Mateo and even Rufus family, especially his mom who obviously played a big role. Plus, Dalma being the creator of the Last Friends app was beautiful as well.
Just like with the the first book, I found this story to be really inspiring and somewhat motivating to think of life differently and not take it for as granted as we're used to. It really is a whole different perspective to see life through the eyes of someone who knows their death is basically around the corner and it gets you to think about your own views and how maybe you shouldn't wait to do the things you want to do. You need to actually LIVE and to be alive for as long as you can. I could go on and on about how beautiful I think these books are but I'd never finish, so just a huge thank you to Adam Silvera for writing these amazing stories (and also for all the queer and Latino representation in it) <3

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Murder, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Outing, Terminal illness, Violence, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Misogyny, and Gun violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Alcoholism

itsrae03's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Grief

Minor: Blood, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Murder, Homophobia, and Alcohol

sterreks's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny 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

4.75

i teared up, I loved this more than they both die at the end, this was absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful. Adam has a way with words and making me care for these characters and i first was sceptical that it was this long but it deserved to be 550 pages because i spent so much time with the characters which made me love this one more. i also really loved how Adam made me not only care for val and orion but also for the characters who only got a few chapters. he interconnected the stories of so many people and i loved this

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Chronic illness, and Cursing

Minor: Homophobia

ashmak06's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Grief, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Medical content

Moderate: Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Car accident

Minor: Sexual content

teawitchontravel's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is one of the saddest and at the same time most hopeful books I have ever read. It tackles the issue of dealing with knowing the death of a close person or even yourself will occur and how to live your life to the fullest, not only when you know it's about the end. It shows in a heartbreaking and beautiful way how important it is to take control of your own life, be the captain of your own ship if you will. For that it not only uses the two main characters but also the people surrounding them and learning the same lesson. They are included in the story with an amazing  thoughtfulness and their lifes are tied into each other which shows how close and similar we can be to someone without realizing. This book will forever remain in my heart and I am so thankful the author wrote this prequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Homophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Death, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Medical content, Outing, Murder, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

captainrenjamin's review

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Death of parent, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Homophobia