We All Cry at the End
There are so many things to say about “They Both Die at the End” by Adam Silvera. The premise of the book alone is enough to consume pages and pages of content full of people answering the question of what they would do if they got a call from Death-Cast telling them they were going to die within the next 24 hours. I would tell you what I would do, but Death-Cast did not call Alicia Charron today because she is not going to die.
The mind of Adam Silvera must be a fascinating one if it can come up with how society would change and function due to the ability to Death-Cast. Like a weather forecast, people’s deaths are estimated— with enough accuracy to let someone know that they will indeed die by the end of the day, just not how or where or exactly what time. While my teeth are baring to sink into the prequel “The First to Die at the End,” I am still recovering from Mateo and Rufus’ story.
In my opinion, it’s not an accident that we don’t have Death-Cast in real life. People are not meant to know when they are going to die. That is what a large amount of literature, movies, tv, and other such media tries to tell us: Not knowing is what gives life meaning. I think it is wonderful that Mateo had the chance to take chances, but it took being told he was going to die to get him out of the house, literally. On the flip side of this, someone who wanted to commit crimes would go out and do so if they were called by Death-Cast because then they wouldn’t have to face imprisonment because they were going to die anyway. To me, that is a fair and rather daunting oversight. I mean, this very idea is probably the explanation behind some of the happenings in the story, but realistically, I do not see society remaining intact at the development of Death-Cast.
Setting aside this thought was difficult but necessary in order to read the rest of the story. Mateo and Rufus meet as Last Friends and they try to make the most out of their Last Day. They struggle with goodbyes, break comfort zones, and go through all the stages of grief.
I am struggling not to spoil anything, but the ending is what makes reading this novel worth it, for someone who cannot get behind the what-would-you-do-if-you-knew-you-were-going-to-die prompt.
What I can say is that critics were correct to praise the piece for LGBT+ content because it is one of few that I have come across to handle non-heteronormative storytelling without using every cliche and stereotype under the sun. I was very pleased about the casual narrative.
Final thoughts: Mateo deserved better, and Adam Silvera deserves more for being able to write Mateo’s story; Rufus deserved better, and Adam Silvera deserves more for being able to write Rufus’ story; and “They Both Die at the End” is an excellent example of outstanding characterization in a novel that easily could have dwelt too much in setting and world-building.
