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A review by loveforwords
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I was hesitating between 3 and 4 stars because I read the whole book with a feeling of unease in my stomach. Which, I suppose, was the purpose of the concept. (I had a nightmare that I was told it was my End Day after finishing to read the story...)
Characters
Rufus reminds me a lot of Julian from Cemetery Boys because of how fiercely he loves and looks out for his friends-family and how protective he is of his love interest (for lack of a better word). He was my favorite main character.
I didn't really like Mateo. He was very passive (and I know that was the point, he then got a character arc) and very goody-two-shoes (if I looked at it in an unbiased way, I would say honest and generous). My biggest problem with him was that he reminded me of someone I've known and who had a toxic impact on my life, so my relationship with Mateo was doomed from the start.
IMO, the romance lacked chemistry, and it developed very late, which didn't make it better. I really saw Mateo and Rufus as great friends, but not love interests to each other.
I loved Lidia, and I think the Plutos are (first of all, an amazing group name) very sweet, but many of the side characters felt a bit 2D.
Pacing and Mood
Because the romance developed veeery slowly, the pacing felt off to me.
As for the mood... Like I said, I had a nightmare about having an End Day of my own, so eh.
There is a lot of talk about death, which is kinda obvious considering the concept , and it can get disturbing. I got anxious thinking about how life is unpredictable and we take time for granted, most of all when we're young, when really everything could come tumbling down.
Also, I got irritated by the whole Death-Cast concept. Many characters thought they could somehow cheat/avoid death by not going places, not living experiences, or just thinking they would be the exception to the D-C no-fail predictions.
What Rufus said about how his family went about their End Day bothered me as well, it was unsettling.
The fact that a book is meant to be disturbing and does a good job at it doesn't mean I have to like it for it, which I don't really.
Writing, Plot and Worldbuilding
The thing I loved about the writing is the different POVs. I know some people hate when a story is told from different POVs, most of all if some random characters get a chapter to themselves and never gets seen again. Or if they get two pages and we have no backstory on them and then they *puff* disappear. So if that's not something you dislike, be warned it's used in TBDATE.
I, however, dig that stuff. I think it's fascinating to get to see into as many character's lives as possible. And it also helped for the next point I'll talk about:
The thing I loved about the plot is how all the characters are somehow connected, either because they meet each other on the day, or because they've met each other in the past briefly, or because they've left a mark in a place another character visits. It reminds me of Blackout.
The world building was not explored enough tbh. I have so many questions about Death-Cast.
Characters
Rufus reminds me a lot of Julian from Cemetery Boys because of how fiercely he loves and looks out for his friends-family and how protective he is of his love interest (for lack of a better word). He was my favorite main character.
I didn't really like Mateo. He was very passive (and I know that was the point, he then got a character arc) and very goody-two-shoes (if I looked at it in an unbiased way, I would say honest and generous). My biggest problem with him was that he reminded me of someone I've known and who had a toxic impact on my life, so my relationship with Mateo was doomed from the start.
IMO, the romance lacked chemistry, and it developed very late, which didn't make it better. I really saw Mateo and Rufus as great friends, but not love interests to each other.
I loved Lidia, and I think the Plutos are (first of all, an amazing group name) very sweet, but many of the side characters felt a bit 2D.
Pacing and Mood
Because the romance developed veeery slowly, the pacing felt off to me.
As for the mood... Like I said, I had a nightmare about having an End Day of my own, so eh.
There is a lot of talk about death, which is kinda obvious considering the concept , and it can get disturbing. I got anxious thinking about how life is unpredictable and we take time for granted, most of all when we're young, when really everything could come tumbling down.
Also, I got irritated by the whole Death-Cast concept. Many characters thought they could somehow cheat/avoid death by not going places, not living experiences, or just thinking they would be the exception to the D-C no-fail predictions.
What Rufus said about how his family went about their End Day bothered me as well, it was unsettling.
The fact that a book is meant to be disturbing and does a good job at it doesn't mean I have to like it for it, which I don't really.
Writing, Plot and Worldbuilding
The thing I loved about the writing is the different POVs. I know some people hate when a story is told from different POVs, most of all if some random characters get a chapter to themselves and never gets seen again. Or if they get two pages and we have no backstory on them and then they *puff* disappear. So if that's not something you dislike, be warned it's used in TBDATE.
I, however, dig that stuff. I think it's fascinating to get to see into as many character's lives as possible. And it also helped for the next point I'll talk about:
The thing I loved about the plot is how all the characters are somehow connected, either because they meet each other on the day, or because they've met each other in the past briefly, or because they've left a mark in a place another character visits. It reminds me of Blackout.
The world building was not explored enough tbh. I have so many questions about Death-Cast.