Medhawee Thapa
The novel They Both Die at the End is a young adult fiction novel written by American author Adam Silvera in September 2017. The book is about two teenage boys who set off on an adventure for their last day of being alive.
The book follows two main characters Rufus Emeterio and Matteo Torrez. They both get a call from “The Death cast” which informs them that it is their last day. Despite being the same age Rufus and Mateo live distinctive lives. Rufus lives in foster care where he has many friends while Mateo lives by himself. While Rufus is said to be bold and courageous, Mateo is described as shy and anxious. However, on their last day, they both end up alone, so they decide to search for a friend and discover a website called “last friend” which was designed to connect deckers (the people who receive calls from death casts are deckers). And miraculously, they both get connected through the website. Together they spend the rest of the day to the fullest and quickly create an unbreakable bond.
In my personal opinion, the characters are quite engaging to look at, as they are well sketched. This book bridges the gap between myself and those fictional characters as I feel a connection with the characters. This book evokes the realization of life and informs how you can best spend it. A wave of emotions overcame me while reading it. The story has a perfect mixture of heartwarming characters along with a heart-crushing plot. This book forces me to reflect on my life and think how I would spend it because no one knows when our time ends. It is for me a poignant reminder of time and catharsis to my soul at the same time, as it is quite congenial to my tastes.
Overall, I rate this book 4 out of 5 stars because I somehow feel that some fundamental elements are missing in the story like how we never get to learn anything about “death cast” and all other mysteries about it. There were also many plot holes. When the book nears the end my pacing is a little fast; contrary to that, I love how the book introduces new characters out of the blue but in the very end, all of their stories get compiled into one.
I strongly recommend this book to whoever is interested in a little bit of sci-fi.
[Reviewer Medhawee Thapa is a young book reviewer. She studies in Grade 11 at Global School of Science, Kathmandu, Nepal. Her interests lie in singing, orchestra and craft. She plays violin, keyboard and ukulele. Song of Achilles is the next book which she has been reading and she is looking forward to reviewing the book soon and share.]