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They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Review: A Gut-Punch YA Romance Built to Last
Adam Silvera's third novel — originally published September 5, 2017, by HarperTeen — is a young adult romance that follows two teenage boys, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, through the single day they have left to live after receiving calls from Death-Cast, a company that predicts its clients' imminent deaths. A #BookTok phenomenon that returned to The New York Times Best Seller list in 2020, the novel earned four starred reviews and a wide sweep of year-end honors, cementing its place as one of the defining YA novels of its era.
LuvemBooks Verdict
Best for
Readers aged 13 and up who want a character-driven YA romance that uses a high-concept speculative premise — a company that predicts the day you'll die — as a vehicle for emotionally precise exploration of mortality, identity, and LGBTQ+ love.
Worth it if
You're willing to surrender conventional suspense (the ending is in the title) and invest in a single-day, deeply interior story about what kind of people two teenagers become in the hours they have left.
Skip if
You need plot momentum and propulsive pacing to stay engaged — the novel unfolds one emotionally weighted day across more than 400 pages, and that deliberate rhythm is a feature, not a bug, that not every reader will welcome.
What readers & critics say
Kirkus Reviews, whose own page is in the retrieved list, called the novel "engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises," naming it a Best Book of 2017; the book's Wikipedia entry further relays critical consensus praising Silvera for "grappl[ing] gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived," and notes that a BookTok surge in April 2020 returned it to The New York Times Best Seller list years after its original publication.
“Engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises.”
— Kirkus Reviews4.6from 42,367 Amazon ratings— reader ratings, not a LuvemBooks score
In This Review
- What Works & What Doesn't
- What the Novel Actually Is
- The Premise and Its Emotional Architecture
- Significance and Cultural Reach
- Strengths: Character and Connection
- Who the Book Is For — and Where It Challenges
What Works & What Doesn't
What Works
- A richly imagined speculative premise — Death-Cast and Last Friend — that serves genuine emotional and thematic purposes rather than existing as mere gimmick
- Mateo and Rufus are drawn as distinct, fully realized protagonists whose individual backstories deepen the novel's central relationship
- Exceptional cultural staying power, returning to The New York Times Best Seller list years after its original publication through organic reader enthusiasm on BookTok
- Earned four starred reviews and a sweep of year-end honors from major YA outlets, reflecting broad critical consensus
- A supporting cast and network of intersecting minor characters that expand the world beyond its two leads
What Doesn't
- The single-day, character-driven structure unfolds at deliberate length; readers who favor plot momentum over emotional interiority may find the pacing demands sustained investment
- The title discloses the ending before the first page, a deliberate authorial choice that trades conventional suspense for thematic depth — a trade not every reader will welcome
A devastating and celebrated young adult romance, They Both Die at the End earns its reputation on the strength of its premise, its characters, and the emotional precision with which Adam Silvera executes both.
What the Novel Actually Is
They Both Die at the End is a young adult romance novel built around a single, unflinching concept: a company called Death-Cast can predict the day a person will die, and it calls them just after midnight to let them know. Mateo Torrez, introverted and cautious, receives such a call and downloads an app called Last Friend — designed to connect lonely Deckers, as the soon-to-die are known, with companions for their End Day. Rufus Emeterio, caught mid-altercation with his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend when Death-Cast reaches him, flees a police response and downloads the same app so he won't face his final hours alone. The two teenagers meet through Last Friend and spend the novel navigating one city, one day, and a lifetime's worth of unfinished business — visiting Mateo's comatose father, saying goodbye to his best friend Lidia, and reckoning with what it means to have truly lived.
“another standout from Silvera who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived.”
The Premise and Its Emotional Architecture
The novel's central hook — grief pre-loaded into its very title — could easily tip into manipulation, but Silvera structures the story to resist that. Rather than withholding suspense about the outcome, he directs all of the narrative's energy into the texture of the day itself: the small decisions Mateo makes to push past his fear, the way Rufus channels his grief for his own parents (killed before the novel begins) into loyalty to the found family he calls The Plutos. Silvera has noted that witnessing his mother undergo cardiac failure influenced the work. That biographical weight is channeled into a story that, as Wikipedia's reception summary notes, drew praise from critical coverage as "engrossing, contemplative and as heart-wrenching as the title promises" — a publication that also called it "another standout from Silvera who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived."
Significance and Cultural Reach
Few recent YA novels have had a trajectory quite like this one. Originally published in 2017 by HarperTeen, the book found a second, even larger audience when #BookTok took hold in April 2020, returning it to The New York Times Best Seller list years after its debut. A later paperback reprint was issued under the Quill Tree Books imprint. Beyond sales, the novel accumulated four starred reviews, a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year designation, a Kirkus Best Book of the Year nod, a Booklist Editors' Choice selection, and recognition from outlets including Book Riot, BuzzFeed, Paste Magazine, and BookPage, among others. An adaptation is in development with Bridgerton creator Chris Van Dusen attached to executive produce and write, with Silvera also serving as executive producer.
Strengths: Character and Connection
Where the novel earns its most consistent praise is in how Silvera renders Mateo and Rufus as distinct, fully realized teenagers rather than vessels for a high-concept premise. BuzzFeed's assessment, as relayed in Wikipedia's reception coverage, holds that Silvera "not only poignantly captures the raw emotion of facing your own mortality but also creates entirely relatable and authentic characters you'll want to follow on their journey." The novel also weaves in the perspectives of supporting characters — Lidia, the Plutos, figures whose lives briefly intersect with Mateo and Rufus — giving the world of Death-Cast a social and moral texture that extends beyond its two leads. The audiobook, narrated by Michael Crouch, Robbie Daymond, and Bahni Turpin, received favorable notice from critical coverage, which noted that Crouch and Daymond emphasize "how the characters change yet remain true to themselves."
Who the Book Is For — and Where It Challenges
The novel is designed for readers aged 13 and up, and the YA designation reflects both its protagonists' ages and its frank engagement with mortality, identity, and LGBTQ+ love. Readers who come to the book expecting the premise to be a twist or a mystery will find instead that Silvera uses the known endpoint as an invitation: the question is never whether Mateo and Rufus die, but what kind of people they become in the hours they have left. That structural choice is the novel's greatest strength and its most demanding ask. Readers who prefer propulsive plot mechanics over character-driven emotional depth may find the pacing — one day, rendered at length across more than 400 pages — requires patience. The book rewards that patience, but it does ask for it.
Frequently Asked Questions
is They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera worth reading
If you're drawn to character-driven emotional depth over plot twists, it absolutely is. Silvera renders Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio as fully realized teenagers rather than vessels for a high-concept premise, and the novel earned four starred reviews along with a return to The New York Times Best Seller list years after its 2017 debut — largely driven by #BookTok in 2020. The key caveat: it asks for patience, stretching one single day across more than 400 pages, and rewards readers who lean into that rather than resist it.
What is this book actually about
It's about two teenage boys — introverted Mateo Torrez and impulsive Rufus Emeterio — who each receive a call from Death-Cast, a company that predicts its clients' imminent deaths, and connect through an app called Last Friend to spend their final day together. The day involves visiting Mateo's comatose father, saying goodbye to his best friend Lidia, and Rufus reckoning with the found family he calls The Plutos. Silvera's focus isn't on whether they survive — the title tells you that — but on what kind of people they become in the hours they have left.
Does this book have a sad ending
Yes — Silvera doesn't hide it; the ending is literally in the title, and the novel is upfront about that from page one. Rather than using the deaths as a twist, Silvera directs all the narrative energy into the texture of the day itself, which critics described as "engrossing, contemplative and as heart-wrenching as the title promises." Readers going in knowing the outcome tend to find it emotionally devastating in a meaningful way rather than a cheap one.
Is this book too slow or boring
It can feel slow if you're expecting propulsive plot mechanics, since the entire novel covers a single day rendered at length across more than 400 pages. The reviewer is upfront that this structural choice — one day, no mystery about the outcome — is "the novel's greatest strength and its most demanding ask" and that readers who prefer fast-paced plotting may find the pacing requires patience. That said, the novel weaves in perspectives from supporting characters like Lidia and the Plutos, giving the world of Death-Cast a social texture that helps sustain momentum.
What age is this book appropriate for
Best for ages 13 and up. The novel deals frankly and at length with mortality and grief — its entire premise centers on two teenagers facing their own deaths on the day the story takes place — and it also engages openly with LGBTQ+ identity and love. The YA label here isn't just a marketing tag; it reflects content that suits readers with genuine emotional maturity rather than younger middle-grade audiences.
Is this book good for teens who don't usually like romance
Possibly yes — while it is categorized as a YA romance, the relationship between Mateo and Rufus develops within a much larger framework of mortality, identity, and what it means to have truly lived. Critics praised Silvera for "grappling gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived," so readers drawn to those themes may find the romance feels earned rather than central. If you liked the emotional weight of the concept more than the love story angle, the novel still has plenty to offer.
Is there an audiobook for this book and is it good
Yes, the audiobook is narrated by Michael Crouch, Robbie Daymond, and Bahni Turpin, and it received favorable critical notice. Reviewers specifically highlighted that Crouch and Daymond emphasize "how the characters change yet remain true to themselves" across the course of the story. Given that the novel's emotional power lives in its characters' voices and interiority, the multi-narrator format seems particularly well-suited to the material.
Sources & Further Reading
The key facts and claims in this review are grounded in the retrieved, verified sources listed below.
- Cited in this review
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- Further reading
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Adam Silvera, Wikipedia
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en.wikipedia.org
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openbooksummary.com
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thegrizzlynews.org
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- 13
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thestorysanctuary.com
- 15
barnesandnoble.com
- 16
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