They Both Die at the End - A Fantastic Story Ever Wriiten

This book focused on the idea of what would you do if you knew you were going to die. In this world there is a program called Death Cast that calls up people between midnight and 3 and lets them know that they are going to die that day. Rufus and Mateo both receive the call and need someone to spend their last day with. Neither of them is without people in their lives but because of outside forces they can't spend their Last Day with those people. They use the Last Friend app and find one another. Throughout their last hours they find a connection in each other and find a way to release their true selves.

I adored both Mateo and Rufus. They were these two teens who were dealt a bad hand. Fate had it out for them. Both are trying to find a way to find a reason to live. Mateo lost his mother when she gave birth to him and his dad is in a coma. Rufus survived the accident that killed his family. Both of them are reeling from horrible events and both have lost themselves inside their own fear and tragedy.

In one day they find each other and realize that they are not doomed people. Yes, they are going to die but their spirits and souls don't have to die. Mateo learns how to live without fear and Rufus finds the side of himself that he thought he lost when he lost his family. Both boys find a deeper connection then just friendships in each other.

I loved the way life was examined in this novel. The way the idea of living for yourself and finding a way to make life count was talked about. It was a beautiful way of showing that life is never over if you can find the right ways to live it. Rufus and Mateo had only one day but they made it mean something and found love in the process.

I also loved the way small other stories were told throughout the novel. These were people that had some contact with Mateo or Rufus. Some was good interactions and some weren't but in the end it showed how connected everyone is. You don't realize the impact you have on people you barely interact with on a daily basis. A simple smile or tap on the shoulder could change things. Or it may not change anything but what matters is that no one lives in a vacuum. All lives are connected for better or for worse.

I desperately wanted this to end in a way that made me more happy than sad, in the end it gave me hope. Hope that life is always worth living no matter what. Hope shown through these two boys who found a way to make a day matter like a lifetime. Adam Silvera really does know how to write a poignant and meaningful tale.

It has been a long time since a book has made me ugly cry. Like truly uncontrollable sobs. This book made me ugly cry twice and sniffle up at least four additional times. If you're the type to run from anything that makes you feel, I promise you, you won't want to miss this book.

In a world where Death-Cast can call you to inform you that sometime in the next twenty-four hours, you'll die -- Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio get the call. These two teenagers find each other via a Last Friend App, where 'deckers' (the dying) can find a friend for their end day. If you had one day to live, what would you do? Mateo and Rufus go on one last big adventure discovering what it means to live, love, and leave no regrets.

This was a haunting, emotionally charged, ride. A page-turning easy read about the power of friendship. I couldn't put it down. Must read.


Truly, this is one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. It is heart-wrenching, and although the reader is aware that they "both die at the end", it is impossible not to fall totally in love with Mateo and Rufus. The complexity of the plot, the world that Silvera has crafted, and the depths into the human psyche that he explores turn this book into a portal into the Last Day. Hope, pain, tragedy, love, karaoke, this story has it all and more besides.

I began this book at 7pm, and finished it by 10pm. I sobbed from approximately 50 pages in until the end and now my partner is worried about me. I immediately bought Silvera's other book, and have been waiting for a few free hours stretch as I'm sure I will need to read it in one sitting. I recommend this book wholeheartedly to anyone who needs a good cry, though not to anyone who is dealing with grief at the death of a loved one. The language isn't hard to parse, but this book is not easy to read.


To preface, I am a high school English teacher, always on the hunt for novels for my students. Without giving away spoilers, this novel is exactly what the title offers. They both do die at the end. What I especially enjoyed were the little glimpses you would get into the lives of the people the two boys would encounter.

In some ways, I found this novel similar to the collection of short stories titled 'Machine of Death' which explores a world where a machine print out will tell you how you will die but nothing else.

If you are looking for a novel of young adult rebellion, overcoming a sheltered life, or love and loss, this is the novel for you. The subtle way the author crafts the ever short relationship between the two main characters was well written and in ways, unexpected.

And if you're thinking, 'Old English teacher likes it? Young adults must hate it!!', think again. This novel has not stayed on my shelf for longer than a day. It has been passed around more times than any other novel I've brought into the classroom.

Mateo lives a quiet life, too afraid of stepping out of his comfort zone to have done much living when he gets the call saying he's going to die. With his father in a coma and his best friend being a single mum to his goddaughter, Mateo feels alone and turns to Last Friend in the hope of finding someone to help him live his life in twenty-four hours.

Rufus on the other hand lives the opposite of a quiet life, we meet him in the middle of beating up his ex girlfriend's current boyfriend and then he gets the call. It isn't the way Rufus saw things going, he'd already lost his parents and older sister to the Death-Cast, now it was his turn. As events unfold Rufus finds himself on the run from the police and separated from his friends, so Rufus also finds himself on Last Friend.

"No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end."

I was really intrigued by the idea of Death-Cast, is life better when you know that you'll get a call on your End Day? Does it eliminate fear and encourage you to make the most of life? For Mateo it didn't, he spent his days indoors playing video games and following the last moments of others who got the call. Rufus says that it doesn't matter and that he and Mateo just need to accept what is happening and live.

"...I think you should post your life in colour."

Rufus and Mateo share their final hours together through Rufus' Instagram (so Gen Z, so relatable), sharing new experiences, getting to know each other and living as full a life as you possibly can in a day. For such an upsetting book there was some really touching moments that I don't want to ruin for any potential readers, but Mateo and his lego house made me very warm and fuzzy.

"Twelve hours ago I received the phone call telling me I'm going to die today, and I'm more alive now than I was then."

Throughout the book there are stories from other characters, one of those characters is Deidre Clayton, who goes through a tough time dealing with the whole premise of the Death-Cast and has suicidal thoughts because of it. Honestly one of my first thoughts about the subject when I read about it was how could anyone deal with the knowledge that one day their phone will ring and there's nothing you can do to change things? In life you like to think that death can be avoided, if you get in an accident that you could be helped, you can get treatment for illness and get better. The call is a unavoidable death sentence, and that's scary.

"You can't go around telling people you wanna be a tree and expect them to take you seriously."

Something I really liked about the book is the different conversations and opinions about the afterlife. For someone who is afraid of death, yes that's me -and I'm reading a book about so much death, it was really comforting for me to think about what could happen after death, some things I've never thought about. Death is so uncertain and there's no way to ever know what really happens, so we can choose to believe whatever we want if it helps us to navigate the world. It does help, or at least it does for me.

"I will make it so easy for you to find me. Neon signs. Marching bands."

Mateo and Rufus really were the most perfect characters to lead me through this story. Of course it's a curse that they didn't meet sooner but the time they did have together was made so special by their willingness to go all out and just be themselves. The two of them lived out what would have been months of a new friendship, in a single day, and it was beautiful.

I could go on and on about this book, there's characters I haven't covered who are amazing but I want to leave something for anyone reading this who is going to pick up the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA/LGBTQ+ reads, obviously there is some sensitive topics in this book so please read at your own discretion and do so in the comfort of your own home with a partner or pet or stuffed animal nearby for all the cuddles -you're going to need a lot.