A review by skyhigh_99
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera

5.0

I won’t spoil anything in this first paragraph, but I absolutely loved it and recommend everyone to read it! We know the ending, yet it still shocks you how everything plays out in this book. Mateo and Rufus gave me hope that it is never too late to live the life you wanted, even in 24 hours. It was a little slow at first, but it picks up quickly. The book has short chapters and I loved the different POVs for each one. There were so many full circle moments, it really made the book for me.


Spoilers:

I was so confused at the beginning with some strangers POVs, but once we saw how those strangers interacted with Mateo and Rufus or how someone’s choices became someone else’s end (or non-end) it really impacted me. We all are so caught up in our own lives and we will never comprehend just how our existence can effect someone else’s life. If you haven’t heard of the Butterfly Effect and you enjoyed this book, I highly recommend you look into it. It’s an idea that I kept comparing different interactions to. The map at the end also helped, because I completely forgot Mateo gave Kendrick his shoes and that’s why he didn’t punch Mateo.

As mad as I was that Mateo made that damn tea, it also made me think he would’ve died a lot earlier in the day had he not met Rufus and they decided to leave the apartment. He probably would’ve made tea that morning.

At first I was a little upset about how it ended; us not knowing exactly how Rufus died. We could’ve had the POV of someone nearby, but after a few minutes I really liked it. Since it was Rufus’ POV, he wouldn’t be able to describe what happened, especially if he died instantly. I also love that the next page is black, because we don’t know what’s on the other side. It could just be black nothingness. In my head, Victor Gallaher is the one who ran over Rufus because he was in such a rush to get to Delilah. I guess we won’t know how Delilah dies, but hopefully nothing too traumatic.

This book was amazing and really is giving me a lot to think about. I hope everyone reads this book at some point.