Synopsis:

When Mateo received the dreaded call from Death-Cast, informing him that today will be his last, he doesn’t know where to begin. Quiet and shy, Mateo is devastated at the thought of leaving behind his hospitalized father, and his best friend and her baby girl. But he knows that he has to make the most of this day, it’s his last chance to get out there and make an impression.

Rufus is busy beating up his ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend when he gets the call. Having lost his entire family, Rufus is no stranger to Death-Cast. Not that it makes it any easier. With bridges to mend, the police searching for him and the angry new boyfriend on his tail, it’s time to run.

Isolated and scared, the boys reach out to each other and what follows is a day of living life to the full. Though neither of them expected that this would involve falling in love.

Review:

After the lovely Maxine loaned me this book with a note saying this was her favourite reads so far this year, I knew it had to be a bloody brilliant book. Oh If you didn’t know Maxine has brilliant taste in books and she has such a wide range of wonderful books as well!

Anyway, I should stop chatting about Max otherwise we could be here all day.

They Both Die in the End was well worth the hype and spoiler they both actually die in the end. I did expect to have tears streaming down my face by the end of this book but I didn’t. It would have be because I have no soul, because this book is brilliant and gives you all the feels and apparently al the tears. I love that this YA book features character race and orientation without shoving it in your face. But then again Adam’s writing style is very unique and after finishing this book I needed more. Not only did you feel the connection and bond with the characters but also the teenagers actually acted like teenagers, with humour, swearing, slang and the mood swings. It was fantastic! You also get the POV of the two main characters as well as a few of their friends, which builds your relationship with the characters as well.

I found myself wanting to protect Mateo, with his lack of social skills and his heart full of fear and worry. Moreover, the fact he was more concerned about how his family and friends would react to his death rather than the fact he was going to die really pulled on my heartstrings. What a cutie! However, in the space of a day you do find Mateo growing and developing as a character with Rufus’ influence.

Rufus, has the impression of a rough head from the hood, that had a hard life and is rough as nail, but he is actually a selfless and compassionate human. Reading about this character opening up about his life, thoughts and feelings throughout the book was pure amazing, yet so heartbreaking. You really fall in love with these characters, even though you know they are bother going to die in the end,

The only thing that brought this story down for me was that I needed to know more about the Death Cast and more of their history and why the Death Cast existed. This is more my brain needing more information but when you compare this book to Scythe (purely just the organizations that kill people) there was not nearly enough information about Death Cast. I needed more.

Overall, this book is fantastic! It pulls on your heartstrings and throws your emotions are like a basketball. Never has a book moved me so emotionally since A Monster Calls. Though I do advise, do not read this book while you are already upset, only read this when you are emotionally strong already.

Rating: 4 / 5

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

ISBN: 9781471166204