They Both Die At The End
written by Adam Silvera
Mateo and Rufus live separate lives and may have never encountered each other if not for Deathcast. Deathcast is a new service that will call up any person to tell them that they will die within the next 24 hours. Deathcast is not threatening people with assassination; they are merely sharing a fact. If you receive that fateful call there are no if, ands, or buts, you will die, and soon. Some try to use the knowledge of their death to attempt to evade it, but it never works. The way Deathcast gains this intel is left in mystery, but their call leaves nothing but certainty for the receiver. From this new technology came others. Apps emerged to supplement Deathcast, and one in particular called “Last Friend” came into being to help match up Deckers (those who have gotten the call) with either another Decker or someone sympathetic and looking to be there for someone. This is how Rufus and Mateo find each other. They are both Deckers. And they will die today.
You read me right. Rufus and Mateo are two young adults in their late teens who for one reason or another need a Last Friend for their last day, and this book starts with their Deathcast call and ends...well... just read the title. That’s the thing about this book. You meet and grow to care about both of these boys, but unless you’re reading this in one go, you’ll put your bookmark in, close the book, and look once again on the cover. A cover that reminds you that “They Both Die at the End”. I avoided reading this book at first because of that. I knew Adam Silvera had an ability to pull the heartstrings, especially in this book. How did I know that? I watched this book sucker punch my roomate in the chest last summer when she read it. And nearly a year later I decided it was time to take the hit and shined up my chest plate armor for the occasion.
I expected this book to be a hopeless and depressing reminder of my own mortality and the unfairness of a life cut short. I was correct but only to a certain extent. As it turns out, as the two characters get closer to the end of their last day, things get more, not less, hopeful. Even before you truly get to know Mateo and Rufus or they get to know each other, Slivera makes you watch them each learn they are going to die. It’s a direct hit. You feel their terror, grief, and anger as the reality settles over them. You close the book because it’s all too much thinking perhaps they might survive after all. They’re the main characters so shouldn’t they be the exception? *See cover* You read on and watch them tell their families and friends. This is too sad, it can’t be true, right? *See cover* You watch them meet each other and accept they won’t graduate, marry, see certain family members ever again, and that they’ve made their last friend. They speak frankly of their death, mourn the people they could’ve been, and then work together to make the most of their remaining time. This book is tough to get into for these reasons, but then something slowly changes.
These boys start bonding and trying new things, and though they have the dark certainty of their death hanging over them, their full dedication to living the best they can that final day, brings amount of happiness that will catch you off guard as your remind of the truly great things in life that retain their wonder always. Take a deep breath and plunge into this book's frigid water. You'll get used to the temperature, and you'll be happy you did it. Just don't forget They Both Die At The End.
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