They Both Die at the End Review

*Spoilers Obviously*

This was so tragically beautiful, I definitely got emotional.

I really enjoyed this book. I was a little sceptical and hesitant going in because when a book is just super hyped for me I find myself not wanting to like it for some reason. But lo and behold I loved it! It was witty and effervescent and even though you have this event looming over their head it doesn’t become too dark and macabre.

We follow the perspectives of Mateo and Rufus and they live in a near futuristic world where they are able to pinpoint the day that someone is going to die. Mateo and Rufus have both just received their calls that they are going to die sometime within the next 24 hours and we join them as they make their way through their final day.

Mateo and Rufus as the two main protagonists in the book were wonderful. I like how they complement each other and grow this bond over the course of the day and finally bloom into this relationship they both needed. I like that we are given a backstory for each of them and we see how they eventually make contact through the app, I thought it was very up to date and connected to the present.

I also enjoyed that we get a multitude of small different perspectives from people throughout the book and we see little by little how they all link back to Mateo and Rufus. I thought it was very well done and it really helped to expand the world outside of the two boys and how everything seemed destined to happen the way it did.

The concept of the book is so unique and interesting; it did have me invested from the start. It was also a very fast paced book that I found quite easy to read. Knowing what was going to eventually happen really kept the stakes high and kept me turning the pages. I found myself towards the end trying to predict how they were going to die. The foreshadowing was definitely there but it was subtle enough that you didn’t notice until the very end and then everything comes flooding back to you. It was not pandering in any way and kept true to the concept. I thought for a second one of them might get miraculously saved and I’m happy that wasn’t the case.

⭐️4.5/5 stars I loved it, it was different, it was unique and the fact that we are not given a happy ending really topped it off for me.