Book Review: They Both Die at the End

My independent reading book is They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera, written in 2017. They Both Die at the End is a book written from the perspectives of the two main characters and a few other side and background characters.  In this story, Scientists have found a way to tell when people are going to die, so at the beginning of every day, a company called Death casts calls everyone who is going to die and tells them the news. They Both Die at the End tells the story of two boys who are told on September 5, that by the end of the day, they are going to die. Mateo and Rufus are strangers but are both looking for a friend to spend the day with. They find each other using an app called Last Friends and meet up for one final day of Adventures, to live a lifetime in a day.

Mateo Torrez is an 18-year-old boy who currently lives alone in his dad's apartment, his dad has been in a coma for the past few months and his mother died giving birth to him, Mateo suffers from anxiety and keeps to himself as much as possible, he spends most of his day inside and only has one real friend, until meeting Rufus. Rufus Emeterio, a 17-year-old boy has been living in a foster home for the past few months after his family died. He has a few friends that he met in the foster home, they call themselves the plutos. 

The best part about this book is that one is almost living with them in real time, since the book is set in the span of less than 24 hours, one really feels like they’re with them throughout the whole ride, getting closer to the characters as they get closer to each other. I have connected to this book in the way that me and Mateo are very similar. Not in the way that he is told that he's going to die but more the stuff that makes Mateo, Mateo. We're very similar in the way we only have one or two good friends, we are both introverts who would rather stay inside and be on our computer then go out and meet new people. and a lot of the times we blame ourselves for what's happening to other people.

“The best thing about dying is your friendship,” (pg. 308). This quote is said by Mateo around 8 p.m. after a full day of Adventures. They went from being complete strangers, to growing really close to each other and becoming really good friends. They bond over one of the only things that they both have in common, dying, and use that to help each other grow and really live. 

For all the readers who love Sci Fi, Adventures, powerful friendships, and well written YA novels, They Both Die at the End is the book for you. Warning: if you don't want a book that will make you cry or even sob, maybe find a different book.