They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera
Review by Anar M., Youth Reviewer
The premise of “They Both Die at the End”, by Adam Silvera, requires a bit of a suspension of disbelief. A company called Death-Cast has the ability to predict who will die each day, although they don’t know how or precisely when. Death-Cast calls people shortly after midnight on the day they’re going to die to tell them that it is their last day, or End Day. We don’t know how Death-Cast works, or why, and that’s kind of the point — Silvera is imagining a what-if world where we could know when we’re going to die, so the practicalities of how that works don’t really matter.
It’s an interesting idea to explore. Silvera overall seems to lean towards the opinion that knowing when you’re going to die is a good thing; you have a bit of warning, you can get your things in order and say your last goodbyes, and you have one last chance to check things off your bucket list — but he also acknowledges the argument for the other side. Would you want to spend your last hours dreading the end, wondering which mildly dangerous everyday object is going to be the one to kill you? Personally, I’m not totally sure.
In any case, “They Both Die at the End” isn’t really a philosophical treatise on the pros and cons of Death-Cast. It’s a love story between Mateo and Rufus, two teenage boys who both receive their End Day calls on the same day. They meet through an app for “Deckers” (those who’ve been called by Death-Cast) and spend the day together; the entirety of the nearly 400 page book takes place over the course of that day. I’m personally impressed by how organically Silvera builds the relationship between them; it doesn’t feel rushed, despite the incredibly short timeline.
One big question about Death-Cast is about causation. Is the method of death predetermined? Can the time of death be put off or brought closer by the choices Deckers make? Is Death-Cast a self-fulfilling prophecy, or an inevitable law of the universe? Thinking along those lines, I like the fact that Rufus’s and Mateo’s eventual deaths are the type of thing that likely would’ve happened to them anyway — in fact, they likely would’ve died earlier if they hadn’t met each other.
That doesn’t change how heartbreaking it is when they do die, of course. “They Both Die at the End” is a tearjerker above all else, so if you’re in the mood to cry for a bit, go read it!
Find “They Both Die At The End” at the Kitchener Public Library!