They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

3/5 Stars

Did not live up to the hype. I am so sorry to say it because I wanted for it to be good so badly but alas no tears shed, no heart-wrenching emotions. I actually felt nothing as the inevitable death of the two main characters took place. Hence, zero emotional impact.

It was a really existential book, as it should be when the main characters spend the day wondering when in the next 24 hours they are going to die.

This book was excruciatingly slow and I'm super surprised that I finished it as fast as I did. Many parts of this novel really dragged and I felt myself having to push through so I could finish and write this review.

The message behind this novel is the classic "carpe diem" and "don't take any day for granted". Extremely overused but I thought maybe it would hold some resonance with me this time, alas it did not. For some reason, I also was not completely sold on the "love" between Mateo and Rufus. Up until the last quarter of the novel I was completely under the impression that their relationship was totally platonic. Their conversations felt a bit unnatural and didactic and because of those 2 reasons, I think that is why I felt no pain to see these characters go. The concept kind of reminded me of The Sun Is Also a Star, except in that case I felt some emotional attachment to the characters even though I have always felt a little skeptical of one-day love stories.

The book is written in chapters that take place in different character's perspectives, even if those characters seem a bit irrelevant to the plot. I thought that was super interesting and I thought it was going to hold some sort of significance towards the ending. I really was holding out for a whole Crazy, Stupid, Love, or a Valentines' Day, or a Love Actually type of ending where all of the characters somehow connect towards the end, but I was disappointed.

I am truly sad I didn't like this more than I did because of the presence it has held over my for you page. Despite my past criticisms, the ending really does pack a punch, even when you know what is going to happen. It's really an awesome premise and a great ending, but the middle chunk is a bit of a letdown. Nothing amazing really happens from start to finish that we didn't already know.

Here is yet another disclaimer that if you refuse to read this book, or any other book that centers around an LGBTQ+ couple or characters, soley because they are LGBTQ+ then you need to get over your homophobia and take a look at what you're missing in any great book.