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“I’ve spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that’s gotten me. I’m at the finish line but I never ran the race.” 

This is the story of two young people who take on a new perspective of life as they live their last day. In the novel, “They Both Die At The End”, by Adam Silvera, the author conveys a beautiful message as the characters start off as complete strangers and embark on new adventures. After midnight, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio are called by Death-Cast, an organization whose job is to call people and inform them they will die, and given the unfortunate message their death would occur any moment within the next 24 hours. Sadly, they are never wrong. Mateo is eighteen years old, whose sexuality is gay and lived his life keeping to himself. However, everything changes for Mateo in the course of one day after meeting his last friend. Rufus Emeterio, a seventeen year old male, is the complete opposite of Mateo. He is a brave bisexual man with a heartbreaking past. 

Shortly after the call, Mateo does not inform his only best friend, Lidia, a single-mother, about his upcoming death nor his father, who cannot communicate due to a coma. While in need of a companion, Mateo downloads the “Last Friend” app, where “deckers” can find friends on their last day. There, he meets a male who catches his eye. Rufus is from a foster family and after an incident with the cops, he runs away and is forced to leave his ex-girlfriend and childhood friends, only to find himself lonely. After also downloading the app, Rufus and Mateo eventually connect with one another. Through their interactions, Mateo learns to get out of his comfort zone. He agrees with getting on a bicycle with Rufus, despite being cautious about potential threats, and he tells himself to be as courageous as Rufus. Regardless of Rufus’ sad background, he finds his “family,” who are the ones he will fight for, even if it entangles him with the police. While spending time with Mateo, Rufus learns to appreciate small things by feeling fortunate he can spend his last day alive with Mateo. He values the time he is able to spend with his family. The characters begin as friends, but over the course of a day, they fall in love. Rufus and Mateo show their gratitude that they had the opportunity to become last friends, and have their first kiss. Throughout their last day, they spend time with their families and last hours with each other. But the remaining question is, how did they die? Well, it is up to the reader to find out! 

“Entire lives aren’t lessons, but there are lessons in lives.” 

Adam Silvera reaches out to his audience about the importance of mortality, letting us know that death is part of life. We do not exist without death. His novel, They Both Die At The End, is surely the most emotional book I have read. Although our world does not have a Death-Cast, we are told that we must not rely on death to value the time we have left. The author powerfully conveys this in this novel, when the character advises the audience to “treat each day like a lifetime” and that “No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end,” while containing a roller coaster of emotions. Happiness, sadness, uplifting, devastating, and realization all hit you at once because two strangers meet, fall in love, and live on their last day. While death is forecasted for the reader beforehand, the outcome will be hard for one to endure. 

This is easily one of my favorite books, especially since I was able to witness Mateo’s character change because of a complete stranger, as he lives his last day. Even with Adam Silvera’s main purpose of this book is to write one that would ache the reader’s heart, I rate this book 5 out of 5. The relationship between Rufus and Mateo never failed to make me bored, as they cared for each other ever so deeply. The smiles and experience they have with each other, even if they would not be together in the end, is why this book will hold a place in my heart. I highly recommend this book to you, reader, due to the beautifully written book the author has gifted us. 

Checkout They Both Die at the End from the Newport Beach Public Library.