They Both Die at the End

Reviewed by: Kara Reiman - Walker Memorial Library, Westbrook, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 21, 2018

Review

"They Both Die at the End" by Adam Silvera takes an interesting premise: what if everybody got a notification 24 hours before they were going to die in order to let them know it's their last day, and has you follow the last days of several people, but focuses mostly on teens Mateo and Rufus. Mateo is an introvert who prefers to stay in his apartment and play games; Rufus is a tough kid living in a group foster home with other teens who have lost their families. Rufus gets the Death-Cast call as he's beating up his ex-girlfriend's current boyfriend. Mateo gets his while he is at home in his apartment. Both of them get matched through a Last Friend Finder and meet up to get the most out of their last day. The book is funny, smart, emotional, and made me cry a bit. I'm not sure if it's really a spoiler if it's the title, but they do both die in the end. I really wanted to know more about how the Death-Cast system worked, but this book focuses on the people. A great addition to the YA section. ~Reviewed by Katherine Radke

Overall Book Score: very good