They Both Die at the End ~ Adam Silvera

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera is an LGBTQ+ YA novel. In the early hours of September 5th Mateo and Rufus get some bad news. At some point during the next twenty-four hours, they are going to die. Looking to spend their final day with a friend, both of them, for separate reasons, sign up to the Last Friend app and get matched. They meet and spend one last day having a lifetime of adventures. 

I knew this book was going to hurt me and it did. It’s one of those weird ones that even though you know exactly how it is going to end and as I read it in paperback, I could physically see how close that ending was, and yet, I still wasn’t ready for it. Looking back on it, that is the perfect way to write this book, reminiscent of losing a loved one to either old age or a terminal illness. 

Rufus and Mateo are wonderful characters and so very easy to fall in love with. They are introduced as two people who could not be more different to each other and over the course of the day, those differences fall away and we’re left with what is essentially humanity at its best. I also liked that Silvera included a few chapters from Rufus and Mateo’s friends as it gave different perspectives on being left behind. There were characters that got angry, characters that became clingy and others that were silent in their grief and I think it was very beautiful that those perspectives were included.

Strangely enough, I found myself getting more upset reading the chapters from random people in the world that were indirectly related to Mateo and Rufus’ story, a lot of them just going about their normal day. I think it reminded me that the world doesn’t stop spinning for everyone else, that you are just a blip on the radar.

Basically, this book was well written with a gorgeous love story that felt like it took place over years instead of twenty-four hours. It was beautifully sad and if you can cope with reading this type of thing then I really recommend it. I gave it four and a half stars.

C🌙