hey both die at the end
Author : Adam Silvera
Reviewer : Franz - Grade 11
Rate : 5/5
Death-Cast, a death alert service, unfortunately called Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to tell them that they had 24 hours or less before meeting an untimely death. Mateo, having only his dad (who was in a coma), his best friend Lidia and her little daughter Penny, decided it would be a good idea to spend his remaining moments with a “last friend”. Rufus, on the hand, beat up Aimee’s (his ex-girlfriend) current boyfriend, Peck, and is now running away from the cops after Peck reported him. At a gas station, Rufus decided to try out the “last friend” app, and that’s how he stumbled upon Mateo. They both set a goal to spend their last moments to the fullest together as Deckers (people who are about to die), while they continue to build their one-day friendship.
The title, “they both die at the end”, is the biggest spoiler of this book. I was expecting Mateo and Rufus to somehow beat the system and continue to create new memories and live happy lives, but nope, the book was true to its title. It was disappointing, and it caused me to cry a waterfall. Despite having a depressing ending, this book was absolutely amazing, and it was very difficult for me to put down. I loved that the author gave the supporting characters their own chapters. For example, the man that Rufus bumped in the street (who was also a Decker), the bloodied boy Mateo met in the past and gave the shoes off his feet to, and even the Decker from the last friend app that Mateo never responded to because he already met Rufus. It allowed me to have an insight of the feelings and inner thoughts that those characters had. Overall, it was just amazing, and I would definitely recommend it to everyone, especially teenagers.