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julianhtc 's review for:
The First to Die at the End
by Adam Silvera
4.5 Stars
Ahh where do I begin!!
I read They Both Die at the End a very long time ago and loved that book. It broke me to pieces and I was left an ugly mess at the end, but I loved it nonetheless. I’m just now remembering that after finishing that book, I told myself to never read another Adam Silvera book because my heart couldn’t take it. I guess I forgot about that because here I am, heartbroken yet again, reviewing the prequel.
I’ll start off by saying that if you enjoyed They Both Die at the End, you will very likely enjoy this one. It’s a different story with different characters, but the same general idea is there: two young guys meet, a romantic connection is born, and there is death at the end as promised by the title of the book. So read this knowing you’ll likely end up in tears and with a broken heart.
I’ll try to keep this review spoiler-free (at least regarding major spoilers) but read with caution! I’m just going to list the things that I loved and some of the things that didn’t work for me personally:
What I loved:
There are a lot of characters in this novel and it was easy for me to keep track of each one and not confuse their stories. Having so many characters is usually problematic for me for 2 reasons: 1) The characters and their stories get confusing and I usually don’t know who is who. 2) The story usually tries to connect all of the characters and their stories in one way or another, but usually it’s not in a very meaningful way. This book had none of the issues above. Every character and every story and substory is important and ends up connecting to the major plotline. It’s all clear and it’s fascinating to see how in a big city like New York, each major and minor character is related in one way or another.
This leads to my next point of the relation of this book to the first one (mini spoiler up ahead!). Again, I read the first book a long time ago so I forgot pretty much everything that happens in it (including the names of the characters). When I realized some of the characters in this prequel are the same characters in the first book I was in shock. It was a very emotional moment and a beautiful nod to the first book and its characters. I love how the prequel complements the first book and it’s done in a way that doesn’t feel like an after-thought. It flows and connects well, and I think people will love the connections between both books.
The majority (if not all) of the characters are Hispanic, and I love that the author wrote them this way. Hispanic culture isn’t a huge part of the novel, but as a Latin-American myself, it’s refreshing and exciting to read a book where the characters are people like me.
Art/creativity is a very important theme in the novel. I myself don’t really care too much for art, but I know a lot of people do and I think they will appreciate the importance that the characters and story give it. I think the story could be very inspirational for people wanting to pursue their artistic dreams since so many characters, both young and old, are related one way or another to their artistic passions.
I don’t want to talk about the story itself too much since I don’t want to spoil it, but I couldn’t put the book down. Like the first book, this one forces you to keep reading because you need to know what’s going to happen. You’re hopeful that death isn’t imminent and you need to know how everything ends. It’s an insta-love story and I think many will have an issue with that. It may be unrealistic for some, but if you’re going into this book expecting young romance, then you’ll be fine. Everything that happens in the book is so beautiful. Everything is so heartbreaking. There are moment when you celebrate things and moments when you sob and say “no, no, no” and you still keep reading.
This book punches you in the heart real hard. There were several times when I said “F you Adam Silvera” because of what he wrote for the characters. There’s even a few moments that “break the fourth wall” where the author basically admits to being an asshole for punishing his characters. I don’t know if being heartbroken because of a book is a good or bad thing, but I’m including this point in this list because the book succeeds at it.
Things that didn’t really work for me (in no particular order):
I mentioned earlier how the majority of the characters (including the leads) are Hispanic, but I was a bit disappointed to learn both of the main characters have white features. Yes, there are white Hispanics, but we already have a lot of gay romance books with characters with white features, so I wish this had been different in this book.
Both characters are stereotypically good looking. One of them has sharp facial features, and the other is basically a hunk. I just wish they had been more “ordinary” since we also already have a lot of books with conventionally attractive people.
The story of the book gives “The Fault in our Stars.” It’s obviously not the same story and there’s a lot that’s different, but there’s also several fundamental similarities. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s a trope that has been done before and maybe isn’t the most original.
Both the prequel and the first book are essentially the same type of story (insta-love with the promise of death at the end). I didn’t really mind this, but I think it would have been interesting to maybe see the story of a gay couple who has been together for a long time. This would make it an even more heartbreaking story.
There’s some young/gen Z/millennial words here and there and they just didn’t do it for me. I found it a bit cringey and could’ve easily been left out.
I wish Scarlett would’ve had a bigger role at the end. I feel like the character was built up a lot and then at the end she was almost inexistant. I was expecting her to have a much bigger role at the end considering the events that take place.
The ending!!! Or more like the events that lead to the end. It felt like a Hispanic telenovela. It was very hard to believe, very fast, and almost too dramatic. It felt like I was reading a totally different book.
To conclude my thoughts: I loved/hated this book. I loved it because it’s a beautiful story and the book sucks you in completely. I hated it because of the heartbreak I was left with. I will now remember to not read another book by Adam Silvera because I cannot keep doing this to myself.
Disclaimer: I won an advance copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway.
Ahh where do I begin!!
I read They Both Die at the End a very long time ago and loved that book. It broke me to pieces and I was left an ugly mess at the end, but I loved it nonetheless. I’m just now remembering that after finishing that book, I told myself to never read another Adam Silvera book because my heart couldn’t take it. I guess I forgot about that because here I am, heartbroken yet again, reviewing the prequel.
I’ll start off by saying that if you enjoyed They Both Die at the End, you will very likely enjoy this one. It’s a different story with different characters, but the same general idea is there: two young guys meet, a romantic connection is born, and there is death at the end as promised by the title of the book. So read this knowing you’ll likely end up in tears and with a broken heart.
I’ll try to keep this review spoiler-free (at least regarding major spoilers) but read with caution! I’m just going to list the things that I loved and some of the things that didn’t work for me personally:
What I loved:
There are a lot of characters in this novel and it was easy for me to keep track of each one and not confuse their stories. Having so many characters is usually problematic for me for 2 reasons: 1) The characters and their stories get confusing and I usually don’t know who is who. 2) The story usually tries to connect all of the characters and their stories in one way or another, but usually it’s not in a very meaningful way. This book had none of the issues above. Every character and every story and substory is important and ends up connecting to the major plotline. It’s all clear and it’s fascinating to see how in a big city like New York, each major and minor character is related in one way or another.
This leads to my next point of the relation of this book to the first one (mini spoiler up ahead!). Again, I read the first book a long time ago so I forgot pretty much everything that happens in it (including the names of the characters). When I realized some of the characters in this prequel are the same characters in the first book I was in shock. It was a very emotional moment and a beautiful nod to the first book and its characters. I love how the prequel complements the first book and it’s done in a way that doesn’t feel like an after-thought. It flows and connects well, and I think people will love the connections between both books.
The majority (if not all) of the characters are Hispanic, and I love that the author wrote them this way. Hispanic culture isn’t a huge part of the novel, but as a Latin-American myself, it’s refreshing and exciting to read a book where the characters are people like me.
Art/creativity is a very important theme in the novel. I myself don’t really care too much for art, but I know a lot of people do and I think they will appreciate the importance that the characters and story give it. I think the story could be very inspirational for people wanting to pursue their artistic dreams since so many characters, both young and old, are related one way or another to their artistic passions.
I don’t want to talk about the story itself too much since I don’t want to spoil it, but I couldn’t put the book down. Like the first book, this one forces you to keep reading because you need to know what’s going to happen. You’re hopeful that death isn’t imminent and you need to know how everything ends. It’s an insta-love story and I think many will have an issue with that. It may be unrealistic for some, but if you’re going into this book expecting young romance, then you’ll be fine. Everything that happens in the book is so beautiful. Everything is so heartbreaking. There are moment when you celebrate things and moments when you sob and say “no, no, no” and you still keep reading.
This book punches you in the heart real hard. There were several times when I said “F you Adam Silvera” because of what he wrote for the characters. There’s even a few moments that “break the fourth wall” where the author basically admits to being an asshole for punishing his characters. I don’t know if being heartbroken because of a book is a good or bad thing, but I’m including this point in this list because the book succeeds at it.
Things that didn’t really work for me (in no particular order):
I mentioned earlier how the majority of the characters (including the leads) are Hispanic, but I was a bit disappointed to learn both of the main characters have white features. Yes, there are white Hispanics, but we already have a lot of gay romance books with characters with white features, so I wish this had been different in this book.
Both characters are stereotypically good looking. One of them has sharp facial features, and the other is basically a hunk. I just wish they had been more “ordinary” since we also already have a lot of books with conventionally attractive people.
The story of the book gives “The Fault in our Stars.” It’s obviously not the same story and there’s a lot that’s different, but there’s also several fundamental similarities. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but I think it’s a trope that has been done before and maybe isn’t the most original.
Both the prequel and the first book are essentially the same type of story (insta-love with the promise of death at the end). I didn’t really mind this, but I think it would have been interesting to maybe see the story of a gay couple who has been together for a long time. This would make it an even more heartbreaking story.
There’s some young/gen Z/millennial words here and there and they just didn’t do it for me. I found it a bit cringey and could’ve easily been left out.
I wish Scarlett would’ve had a bigger role at the end. I feel like the character was built up a lot and then at the end she was almost inexistant. I was expecting her to have a much bigger role at the end considering the events that take place.
The ending!!! Or more like the events that lead to the end. It felt like a Hispanic telenovela. It was very hard to believe, very fast, and almost too dramatic. It felt like I was reading a totally different book.
To conclude my thoughts: I loved/hated this book. I loved it because it’s a beautiful story and the book sucks you in completely. I hated it because of the heartbreak I was left with. I will now remember to not read another book by Adam Silvera because I cannot keep doing this to myself.
Disclaimer: I won an advance copy of this book from a Goodreads giveaway.