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A review by inkerly
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-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
3.75
This was a very sweet and heartfelt book about an unlikely pair who find friendship and love after learning that they will be dead within the next 24 hours. There is also commentary sprinkled in about the value of Life, treasuring the little things and what Matters most, and the implications of living in a technologically advanced society where Death can be predicted —or in grim cases, manifested.
It took me way longer than I’d like to admit to finish this book - 6 months on and off? - and I can’t say if it was the first person pov switching or the pacing of the book that waned my interest. Every chapter switched the narrator pov just as I was starting to like them and get into who they were. The first 1/3 of the book is a lot of prolonged goodbyes , that let’s be honest , could have been whittled down so we could dig into the characters? After the 50% mark I think things got faster paced and things weren’t just a slog of “they visited x, they went to z”. There didn’t seem to be any real direction in the plot in the first half but in retrospect I think it makes sense that two teens who’ve learned they only have 24 hours to live would be pretty aimless in their direction of “End Day” activities.
There’s a beautiful butterfly effect that unfolds in this book when you realize how each character connects to each other and directly or indirectly influences the trajectory of the story. I am still in shock at the ending , even though I knew it was coming. Dang. Rufus and Mateo created a beautiful friendship and what’s great is they both overcame their fears and did the things that they’d wished they could do because they now had each other. I think this book had a lot of potential in fully weaving together the casts’ stories because although there was an attempt, it came in bits and pieces. This really is a story that only works well written once so I’m wondering what the other book(s) in the Deathcast universe hold. But I recommend reading this one for sure.
It took me way longer than I’d like to admit to finish this book - 6 months on and off? - and I can’t say if it was the first person pov switching or the pacing of the book that waned my interest. Every chapter switched the narrator pov just as I was starting to like them and get into who they were. The first 1/3 of the book is a lot of prolonged goodbyes , that let’s be honest , could have been whittled down so we could dig into the characters? After the 50% mark I think things got faster paced and things weren’t just a slog of “they visited x, they went to z”. There didn’t seem to be any real direction in the plot in the first half but in retrospect I think it makes sense that two teens who’ve learned they only have 24 hours to live would be pretty aimless in their direction of “End Day” activities.
There’s a beautiful butterfly effect that unfolds in this book when you realize how each character connects to each other and directly or indirectly influences the trajectory of the story. I am still in shock at the ending , even though I knew it was coming. Dang. Rufus and Mateo created a beautiful friendship and what’s great is they both overcame their fears and did the things that they’d wished they could do because they now had each other. I think this book had a lot of potential in fully weaving together the casts’ stories because although there was an attempt, it came in bits and pieces. This really is a story that only works well written once so I’m wondering what the other book(s) in the Deathcast universe hold. But I recommend reading this one for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Moderate: Car accident and Fire/Fire injury