Reviews with content warning for Cursing - The First to Die at the End

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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sterreks's review against another edition

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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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ashmak06's review

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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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teawitchontravel's review

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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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kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This book is touching and sweet and incredibly sad all at once. I enjoyed this prequel as it provided some clarity for things that happened later on down the line. I felt like the characters are all written very distinctly so the shifting perspective is never confusing.

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strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-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

Literally bawled my eyes out like a freaking baby! First time crying in my dorm while my roommate was there. This book with claw out your heart and replace it with its own.

I only wish we were able to learn how deathcast works. I feel like the way this was written where it tried to involve you in the creation of deathcast but still keep you separate didn’t work. It made me think that Adam Silvera doesn’t actually know how deathcast is supposed to work.

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