They Both Die at the End
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.
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| Author | Adam Silvera |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young Adult, Drama |
| Publisher | HarperTeen |
Publication date | September 5, 2017 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover and paperback), e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 384 |
| ISBN | 978-1471166204 |
Plot Summary
At midnight on September 5, Mateo receives a phone call from Death-Cast, a company that rose to prominence seven years prior and is able to predict the deaths of individuals, informing him that he is now a Decker, someone with only twenty four hours left to live. Mateo initially intends to spend his End Day in his bedroom but decides to try and push himself to truly live, reluctantly downloading Last Friend, an app developed to help lonely Deckers find someone to spend their End Day with. Rufus is in the middle of beating up Peck, his ex-girlfriend Aimee's new boyfriend when he receives the call from Death-Cast. His friends, Malcolm and Tagoe remind Rufus not to get carried away because of the news and he allows Peck to leave so that he can return to his foster home to say his goodbyes. Rufus, Aimee, Malcolm and Tagoe, collectively known as The Plutos, hold a funeral for Rufus at his foster home but it is interrupted by Peck, who calls the police to have him arrested for attempted murder. Rufus flees from the funeral and goes on the run, downloading Last Friend so that he won't live out his final day alone.
Mateo agrees to meet with Rufus and explains that he wants to go to the hospital to visit to his father who has been in a coma for two weeks and Rufus agrees to go with him. Mateo says goodbye to his father and leaves him a note for him to read when he wakes up telling him that he has died. 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 acts like everything is normal but places a large envelope of cash on her table before leaving and blocking her phone number so she won't be able to contact him. 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 river, leaving him as the only survivor. Rufus and Mateo discuss the plans they had for their life, with Mateo expressing that he always wanted to be an architect and Rufus admitting that he wished 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 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 his 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 centre for Deckers where they can experience dangerous activities without fear, and the two fake skydive. Unimpressed, Mateo decides to take Rufus to World Travel Arena, a virtual reality experience that he believes will be way more fun. On the way, they stop by the Hudson river and Rufus contemplates the death of his family and is able to finally come to terms with it. Realising the importance of a proper goodbye, Mateo uses Rufus' phone to call Lidia and asks her 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, and fall asleep in each other's arms. Mateo wakes up first and goes into the kitchen to make peppermint tea for him and Rufus, but the stove explodes which ends up being the cause of his death. Rufus wakes up because of the smoke eventually ends up dragging Mateo's dead body out of the apartment, lying to the paramedics and telling them he is not a Decker and needs to go to the hospital but Mateo is declared dead at the scene and a devastated Rufus calls Lidia to inform her. Refusing medical treatment, Rufus is determined to fulfil Mateo's dying wish and visits his father in the hospital, telling him all about their day together and saying that his son was brave, fought his fears and was able to truly live. On his way to the park to spend his final hours, Rufus puts on his headphones to listen to the video he took of Mateo singing and steps out into the road without looking.
Sub Plots
Sub plots focusing on minor characters are intertwined with the main plot line.
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.
Zoe's story: she is a Decker who only has one chapter, where she spends the day with Gabriela.
Deirde's story: like Zoe, she only has one chapter, where she contemplates suicide but is dissuaded by the appearance of Mateo and Rufus.
Dalma's story: she only has one chapter too, where she discusses the uses and benefits of her app, Last Friend.
Vin's story: his only chapter is him deciding to murder-suicide with the bomb that nearly killed Rufus and Mateo.
Characters
- Mateo Torrez - a shy, socially anxious boy who has spent the majority of his life staying inside.
- Rufus Emeterio - a street-smart foster child with a troubled past.
- Lidia Vargas - Mateo's best friend and the mother of his goddaughter Penny. Lidia lost her husband Christian a year ago after he received a Death-Cast call.
- Mateo Torrez Sr. - Mateo's father who has been in a coma for two weeks.
- The Plutos - the collective name for Rufus, his two closest friends, Malcolm Anthony and Tagoe Hayes and his ex-girlfriend Aimee DuBois.
- Patrick "Peck" Gavin - Aimee's new boyfriend who has a vendetta against Rufus.
- Delilah Grey - a reporter who receives a call from Death-Cast but is convinced it is a prank set up by her fiancé Victor who works at the company.
- Andrea Donahue - the Death-Cast herald responsible for informing Mateo of his death.
- Kendrick O'Connell and Damien Rivas - members of Peck's gang.
- Howie Maldonado - a famous actor who receives a call from Death-Cast and meets with Delilah for a final interview.
- Vin Pearce - a Decker and former boxer who was prevented from competing due to a genetic muscle disease.
- Deirdre Clayton - an employee at Make-A-Moment who has tried to take her own life multiple times before, even when she hadn’t gotten the alert, however, she decides against suicide when she sees Mateo and Rufus.
- Zoe Landon - a Decker who spends her End Day with Gabriella, a girl she met on the Last Friend app.
- Dalma Young - the creator of the Last Friend app.
Reception
The novel is a New York Times Best Seller and was ranked as one of the best novels of 2017 by Kirkus Reviews, who noted that is was "another standout from Silvera who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived" before concluding that They Both Die at the End is "engrossing, contemplative and as heart-wrenching as the title promises".[1]
Adaptation
They Both Die at the End is in development by HBO as a half-hour television miniseries.[2] The series, produced under Warner Bros. Television, will be written and executive produced by Chris Kelly, with J.J. Abrams and Ben Stephenson attached as executive producers and Rachel Rusch set to co-executive produce.[3]
References
- "They Both Die at the End". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
- "'They Both Die at the End' Series Officially in the Works at HBO". epicreads.com. Retrieved 2020-03-13.
- Joe Otterson. "Chris Kelly, Bad Robot to Adapt ‘They Both Die at the End’ for HBO". Variety. Retrieved 2020-03-13.