They Both Die at the End is a young adult novel written by American author Adam Silvera and published on September 5, 2017, by HarperTeen. It is Silvera's third novel and focuses on two teenage boys, Mateo and Rufus, who discover that they only have one day left to live.

They Both Die At The End

Mateo and Rufus meet through Last Friend and decide to spend the day accompanying each other. Rufus agrees to go with Mateo to the hospital so Mateo can visit his father, who has been in a coma for two weeks. Mateo says goodbye to his father and leaves him a note for him to read when he wakes up. Mateo and Rufus then go to see Lidia, Mateo's best friend, and her baby daughter (and Mateo's goddaughter) Penny. Not wanting to make Lidia upset, Mateo pretends everything is normal, but leaves her an envelope of cash before leaving and blocks her phone number. Rufus receives a call from Aimee telling him that Malcolm and Tagoe were arrested when they attempted to hold off the police to give him more time to escape. Rufus opens up about his past, explaining that his parents and sister all received a phone call from Death-Cast on the same day and drowned when their car crashed into the Hudson river, leaving him as the only survivor. Rufus and Mateo discuss the plans they had for their life: Mateo always wanted to be an architect and Rufus wishes he could have turned his passion for photography into a career. As their friendship deepens, Mateo becomes bolder and Rufus begins to take color photos for his Instagram page, @rufusonpluto, as opposed to his usual monochrome posts, to signify his End Day. Rufus buys Mateo some Lego bricks and, as they are leaving, they barely manage to survive an explosion at a nearby gym. Mateo builds a sanctuary while they are on the train using the bricks. Rufus and Mateo head to the cemetery so that Mateo can visit his mother's grave, only to find a groundskeeper is in the process of digging Mateo's grave beside hers. Mateo leaves his Lego sanctuary at his mother's grave and sits down inside his own with Rufus, talking about the afterlife and debating what will happen to them in the near future.

Rufus and Mateo go to Make-A-Moment, a center for Deckers where they can experience dangerous activities without fear, and the two fake skydive. Unimpressed, Mateo asks Lidia to meet them at the Travel Arena. Rufus, Mateo and Lidia go on an "around the world in eighty minutes" tour at the Arena and jump off of a waterfall, allowing Rufus to conquer his fear of the water. Rufus receives a call from Malcolm and Tagoe, who were released from custody, and tells them to bring Aimee and meet him at the Graveyard, a club for Deckers.

The group dance together at Graveyard and Rufus convinces Mateo to sing karaoke with him. After their performance, Mateo finally works up the courage to kiss Rufus, who asks why it took him so long. Rufus is able to say a proper goodbye to the Plutos and Mateo tries to help Lidia comprehend her life without him. Peck and his gang arrive at the club, having tracked Rufus using his Instagram posts, with a loaded gun. Peck tries to shoot Rufus but Aimee tries to talk him down, giving Mateo enough time to cause a commotion, making Peck drop the gun. Mateo and Rufus return to Mateo's apartment and Mateo asks if they can go back to the hospital so that he can come out to his father and tell him about their End Day. Mateo sings and plays the piano for Rufus, who videos the moment before taking a goofy picture with Mateo for his final Instagram post. They lie in bed and confess their love to one another, both wishing that they had met sooner. They fall asleep in each other's arms, agreeing that they will stay together in the safety of their bed forever.

Delilah's story: she receives a call from Death-Cast, but believes it to be a prank. She conducts an interview with Howie Maldonado but he is killed by Peck and his gang when they run in front of his car. The last chapter focusing on her is her at Althea's Diner. She calls Victor, her ex-boyfriend, who says that he didn't prank her with the Death-Cast call. Delilah breaks out in sobs, saying she wasted her last day because she thought he pranked her to get back at her for breaking up with him. Victor tells her to stay put and rushes to the diner. This diner is across the street from where Rufus went to spend his final hour. It is implied Victor is the one that hits Rufus with his car. Her fate remains unknown.

Adam Silvera uses his ample skill to force readers to examine how they live life now and how they want to live it. They Both Die at the End is a prime example of his skill at asking the most relevant questions of all of us.

The problem with writing a smash hit where both heroes die is how to follow up. Because the main characters do not survive, Silvera had to come up with a prequel. The First to Die at the End takes readers back into an earlier version of that world.

The title might tell readers what to expect, but there's a heartbreaking, heartwarming journey before the emotional end that will inspire teens to live bigger and better. Adam Silvera is one of YA's most interesting writers, because he doesn't shy away from death, grief, or loss. Like his other books, this one involves LGBTQ New York City teens, and as in his debut, there's a technological feature that changes the way people live. The premise isn't entirely new, but the way he implements it is, because Mateo and Rufus don't spend the precious time they have in their final day trying to find a desperate way around it. As Mateo makes clear early on, even a former president who hid himself in a secret shelter ended up assassinated by the Secret Service. No one can get around death once Death-Cast calls. The title isn't a spoiler, because it's not the point of the book.

They Both Die at the End was first published in 2017 and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. The story centers around two teenage boys, Mateo and Rufus, who discover that they only have one day left to live. While strangers, the two boys find each other through a unique app called Last Friend and end up meeting, hoping to live a lifetime together in a single day.

That realism, and heart, pushes They Both Die At The End into the sort of life-affirming territory we haven't seen from Silvera before. As Mateo and Rufus explore their thoughts on family, love, legacy and friendship, there is sadness, of course, but it is tinged with a hopeful undercurrent that is surprisingly uplifting. Both Rufus and Mateo spend a lot of time working through their fears and emotional baggage; Mateo with his debilitating anxiety, Rufus with his grief and unresolved guilt. But both boys, too, insist on making the most of the time they have left living, not wallowing.

They Both Die at the End tells the bittersweet story of its two main characters, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio. Both are strangers in the beginning but would end up as star-crossed lovers after they both receive a call from Death-Cast, a program capable of accurately predicting when someone will die, that they would die the same day. Luckily for the duo, their world also includes Last Friend, a handy app where folks nearing their "End day" can meet up and make, well, a last friend. With only 24 hours left before they both kick the bucket, Mateo and Rufus are able to find each other via the trusty app where both decide that they want to share more than the same "End day." They embark on a last few hours of adventure that is equal parts distressing and uplifting. Together, the strangers-turned-friends connect on a deep level while crossing off items from their bucket lists.

Van Dusen's first collaboration with Netflix was a massive success that both parties will be hoping to replicate with this latest project - Bridgerton was and still is a one-of-a-kind show that pulled in the kind of numbers that impressed Netflix with the first and second seasons becoming the streamer's most popular English language show for a protracted period. The reward for that success was a third and fourth season order as well as a prequel order. Netflix has practically shown its commitment to diversity and inclusion and a queer love story such as this one accurately aligns with the streamer's objectives.

They Both Die at the End slots perfectly into Netflix's young adult niche. The story centers on Mateo, a young Puerto Rican boy, and Rufus, a Cuban teen, who are both informed that they will die in the next day. Seeking to make a friend before the end, they become acquainted, and maybe more. The novel is the first gay Latino romance to ever hit #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List.

The titular They in this young adult tale are two young men, boys really, who are notified that they are going to die sometime before midnight. In this unusual not too distant future there is a mysterious technology run by a company called Death Cast which can predict death with 100% accuracy. Between the hours of midnight and 3 AM they call everyone who is going to die that day and let them know.

18 year old Mateo and 17 year old Rufus both receive this call at the beginning of the book and the rest of the story follows them through their last day. They meet each other by using an app called Last Friend, designed to allow anyone to not have to be alone on their last day.

The story is phenomenal in its character development. I felt so strongly for both of these characters as well as their friends. I was not only heartbroken for them but for all of those that had to grieve their loss. Anyone who has experienced death and loss will find this book captivating and relatable.

It is also quite the page turner. With short chapters that alternate between Mateo and Rufus with a few other players in between we are drawn into a detailed world with personal connections between anyone and everyone. Each character impacts not only the characters they recognize but people far beyond their social circle as well.

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