For this blog entry, I want to write a review of Adam Silvera's They Both Die at the End. I got the idea to read this book from the Instagram account Six Frogs Book Review. While reviews are kind of Six Frogs Book Review's thing, and I know that they've reviewed They Both Die at the End already, I wanted to write about this book, because it's a fantastic LGBTQ+ YA novel.
Mateo and Rufus-the protagonists of They Both Die at the End-each receive a call from Death Cast, a futuristic corporation that call everyone at midnight on the day they will die, letting the people they call know that they have fewer than twenty-four hours to live. Mateo has lived his life with anxiety, and he regrets that he will not have the time to become the person that he wants to be. Rufus is an orphan who watched his family drown and who now lives with survivors guilt. The two meet on an app called Last Friends which connects those who have received a Death Cast call with one another.
Mateo and Rufus help one another reflect on and learn about what it means to live as they spend their final day together. The title spoils the ending, and Mateo and Rufus do die at the end, but that's the point of the novel. Silvera creates a story that does reflect life. We all die at the end, but what matters is how we live in the time before the end. They Both Die at the End is powerful because you watch as two teenagers choose to live and make their lives worth living even as they know that they are doomed.
My biggest issue with the novel is that the story shifts from Mateo and Rufus to side characters who are dramatically impacted by seeing Mateo and Rufus choose to live. The idea behind those moments is powerful, because it's clear that the point is that we have no idea how much we will shape the world around us as we choose to live, but a few of those moments were hard for me to suspend my disbelief.
It's a powerful read, and I strongly recommend it. I'm not as well read as I should be, when it comes to LGBTQ+ YA novels, but this is my favorite.