Narrated through the perspectives of various characters, They Both Die at the End tells the story of an unlikely friendship beginning in the early hours of the morning to what seems like a lifetime. Released in 2017, the novel served as author Adam Silvera’s next breakthrough book after his first book, More Happy Than Not, which was released two years prior. 

When two young boys get the call from DeathCast, a company informing them that their lives will be over within the next 24 hours, they both have different ideas on how to spend it. Mateo, being the story’s resident wallflower, prefers his time in solace, away from the dangerous streets that may cause his death to be more painful than it should be. Meanwhile, his polar opposite and risk-taker, Rufus, would prefer to live his life to the fullest—setting out on one last impromptu adventure around the city.

Their meeting was prompted after the two signed up for a social media application entitled Last Friend. Here, “deckers,” the slang term for the people who will be dying within the day, are able to communicate with each other and possibly make one last connection with someone before their curtain call. Skeptical of meeting a random stranger for the first time, Mateo is hesitant when invited to Rufus’ last hurrah. However, his reservations subsided as he finally stirred up the courage to take the chances he never got to take in his life.

Silvera narrates the scenes through a multitude of lenses capturing the waking lives of the characters. Separated into three parts, each section of the book begins with a quote foreshadowing the events of the chapters that follow—starting off each page with a countdown to the end of the day. As the reader is immersed into the streets of New York City, they are able to experience the same joy and emotional turmoil characters between the pages go through.

Showing a lifetime of blissful ignorance within the few hours the story takes place. Silvera keeps the lingering anticipation of their deaths in suspense—enticing the reader to stay invested in seeing the story unfold, leaving a bittersweet taste in the mouths of those theorizing the eventual end of their tale.

They Both Die at the End represents the haunting, yet inevitable truth, of the uncertainty of life’s end. While the terrifying thought of carrying one’s own expectations is heavy on its own, the story prompts its readers to seize every opportunity as if it was their last. Mateo and Rufus, while being opposites in many ways, find their common ground in their End Day, wanting to make the most of what life could bring—what was only a day in their time, served as a series of events that could have transpired over the course of a lifetime. 

They Both Die at the End, and Silvera’s other books, are available in bookstores nationwide.