They Both Die At The End

SYNOPSIS:

On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but for different reasosn, they're both looking for a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day.

REVIEW

(3 STARS)

This was my first Silvera book and I have to say I truly enjoyed his writing: simple, yet meaningful, he found the perfect way to make the reader think about life, death and the afterward.

In a world where receiving a phone call telling you, you'll die within the next 24 hours is normal, not much else changed, thanks to Humans' nature. People keep living their lives like it's going to last forever and when it doesn't, it's a surprise.

Would you like to know when you're going to die? Would it change anything? Should we live our whole lives afraid of the ax above our heads? Should that fear be the thing that moves us forward and makes us want to get up from bed? Or is ignorance bliss?

I liked this book because it made me think about the human condition. I like books with philosophical questions and sometimes it's very simple to write such.

However, I must tell you that I didn't enjoy the plot and the way things unfolded.

First of all, the fact that Rufus was a sidekick annoyed me immensely. He was always chasing after Mateo, helping him live his Last Day and in turn, Mateo did nothing for his Last Friend (he may have tried, but the things he did only made me roll my eyes at their simplicity and ridiculousness).

Secondly, I found their Deaths incredibly anti-climatic. I thought I would cry my eyes out once one of them died, but I could only sigh at Mateo's death. If I want to be truthful, I can't even pin-point this book's climax, for I always felt like there was something amiss.

There were too many pointless characters, some moments that felt forced and unnatural and others that lacked soul.

That's why I only gave this book 3 stars: the writing was good, but the story itself did not surprise me or move me.