What do you do when you get a message saying that “Sometime in the next twenty-four hours you'll be meeting an untimely death”? This was a question two teenage boys had to ask themselves on 5th September 2017. Mateo Torrez, a quiet, insular 18-year old boy who is afraid to leave his room for fear of an accident, and Rufus Emeterio, an insurgent, adventurous 17-year old wanting to make the best of his last day. A lot of plot twists, difficulties, breaking your own boundaries, and the enjoyment of life, this book is full of all of those.
Adam Silvera, who wrote two other books beforeThey Both Die at the End, is an American author of Young Adult novels. All of his books are, as he says, “very personal” and every one of them tells his own stories or is based on what he observed. They Both Die at the End isn't an exception. The story was published in 2017 and became a New York Times Bestseller and is known all over the world. Right now, Adam Silvera is a #1 New York Times bestselling author.
The book is written from a few points of view. We get to know how each person feels, how many attitudes there are to the "Death-Cast", and how each person reacts. It shows how each character thinks, what their attitude is towards life and other people. We meet Mateo when the "Death-Cast" calls him. At first, the boy doesn't want to believe it, he is certain that it had to be a mistake. He can’t bring himself to go outside his safe space and face the dangerous world. He’s not able to gather the strength to live his life like he had never done before. One chapter later, we meet Rufus when he is trying to beat a guy senseless. He, on the other hand, is not surprised but furious. He blames "Death-Cast" for the things he had done. How do these two get to know each other? How do two opposites become friends and spend the last day together?
They Both Die at the End is an amazing, moving, thought-provoking story about friendship, love and breaking your own boundaries. Adam Silvera encourages us to enjoy life as much as we can because we never know what will happen to us. After all, we only live once, and you have to make the best of your life.
Personally, I really loved this book. It beautifully portrays friendship, love, happiness and sadness. I’m pretty sure that I can say that this is one of my TOP 5 books. I read it in one day and I do not regret it. It was an amazing journey to live their last day with Mateo and Rufus, laugh with them, cry with them. I went diving, parachuting, I met the guys' friends and also their stories from their lives. I would really recommend reading this book. It is really gripping. It gives the reader a lot of things to think about in our lives and how we spend time or waste it. After all, we all have something to change.
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