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They Both Die at the End

by Adam Silvera

"They Both Die at the End" is a young adult novel by Adam Silvera, published in 2017. It is set in a version of New York City where a company called Death-Cast phones people in the early hours of the day they are going to… more

First published 2017 · 384 pages · English

25 quotes ★ 3.75 (895,667) Contemporary

Quotes from the Book

You may be born into a family, but you walk into friendships. Some you’ll discover you should put behind you. Others are worth every risk.
Maybe it's better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs.
...stories can make someone immortal as long as someone else is willing to listen.
But no matter what choices we make - solo or together - our finish line remains the same … No matter how we choose to live, we both die at the end.
Entire lives aren't lessons, but there are lessons in lives.
I've spent years living safely to secure a longer life, and look where that's gotten me. I'm at the finish line but I never ran the race.
I cannot tell you how you will survive without me. I cannot tell you how to mourn me. I cannot convince you to not feel guilty if you forget the anniversary of my death, or if you realize days or weeks or months have gone by without thinking about me. I just want you to live.
People have their time stamps on how long you should know someone before earning the right to say it, but I wouldn't like to you no matter how little time we have. People waste time and wait for the right moment and we don't have that luxury. If we had our entire lives ahead of us I bet you'd get tired of me telling you how much I love you because I'm positive that's thepath we were heading on. But because we're about to die, I want to say it as many times as I want--I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you.
Sometimes the truth is a secret you're keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.
There has to be more to life than just imagining a future for yourself. I can't just wish for the future; I have to take risks to create it.
Life isn't meant to be lived alone. Neither are End Days.
Yes, we live, or we're given the chance to, at least, but sometimes living is hard and complicated because of fear.
He didn't say that 'love is within' or 'love is all around you.' (...) love is a superpower we all have. But it's not always a superpower I'd be able to control, especially as I get older. Sometimes it'll go crazy and I shouldn't be scared if my power hits someone I'm not expecting it to.
I kiss the guy who brought me to life on the day we’re going to die.
I always wanted to stumble into someone like you.
Why can't we have a chance?" I ask Rufus. "A chance at what?" He's looking around, taking pictures of the arena and the lines. "A chance at another chance." I say.
It's mad twisted, but surviving showed me it's better to be alive wishing I was dead than dying wishing I could live forever.
A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for. —John A. Shedd
I want us to have history, something longer than the small window of time we're actually sharing...
I guess I could call this energy freedom. No one will be around to judge me tomorrow. No one will send messages to his friends about the lame kid who had no rhythm. And in this moment, how stupid it is to care hits me like a punch to the face.
you definitely don’t need the same blood to lose a part of yourself when someone dies.
Because I refused to live invincibly on all the days
Entire lives aren’t lessons, but there are lessons in lives.
I may not be able to cure cancer or end world hunger, but small kindnesses go a long way.
Have to admit it, I feel a little vindicated in how I’ve lived my life because people can be the worst.

Did you know?

  • The novel opens on September 5, when Death-Cast calls Mateo and Rufus to warn them they will die that day.
  • The two protagonists meet through an app called the Last Friend, designed to connect people on their final day.
  • It was Adam Silvera's third novel.
  • The book surged in popularity on social media and became one of the bestselling young adult novels of 2021, years after its 2017 release.
  • Silvera later wrote a prequel, "The First to Die at the End" (2022), set in the same Death-Cast world.

About Adam Silvera

Adam Silvera (born 1990) is a #1 New York Times bestselling American author of young adult fiction, born and raised in the South Bronx, New York City. His work, including "More Happy Than Not" and "History Is All You Left Me," frequently centers queer characters and themes of identity, grief, and mortality.

More about the author →

About the book

"They Both Die at the End" is a young adult novel by Adam Silvera, published in 2017. It is set in a version of New York City where a company called Death-Cast phones people in the early hours of the day they are going to die. On September 5, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls two teenage strangers, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, to tell them each that this is their last day alive. Seeking connection for their final hours, the two find each other through an app called the Last Friend and set out to live a lifetime in a single day together.

Across that one day the book explores mortality, friendship, and the meaning of a life well lived, asking how a person chooses to spend the time they have left when they know exactly how little remains. It is also a story of queer connection, following two Latino boys as an unlikely bond deepens between them. Silvera pairs the high-concept premise with an intimate, character-driven focus on small human moments rather than the mechanics of how Death-Cast works.

The novel became one of Silvera's best-known works and a major word-of-mouth success, notably resurging in popularity years after publication to become one of the bestselling young adult titles of 2021. Its emotional premise and inclusive cast helped make it a fixture of contemporary YA, and Silvera expanded its world with the prequel "The First to Die at the End" and a later companion novel.

Key characters

  • Mateo TorrezAn introverted teenager who receives a Death-Cast call and reaches out for a companion on his last day
  • Rufus EmeterioA more outgoing teen in foster care, also marked to die that day, who connects with Mateo
  • Death-CastThe company whose predawn calls warn people, called Deckers, that they will die that day
  • The PlutosRufus's tight-knit found-family friend group from his foster home

Book details

First published
2017
Length
384 pages
Reading time
2 hours
Goodreads rating
3.75 (896k ratings)
First line
“Death-Cast is calling with the warning of a lifetime—I'm going to die today.”

Series & reading order

  1. 1 The First to Die at the End
  2. 2 They Both Die at the End
  3. 3 The Survivor Wants to Die at the End

If you liked this, read…

  1. 1
    If I StayAnother emotional YA novel centered on mortality and a life-changing single stretch of time
  2. 2
    Before I FallA YA story that confronts death and how a teenager spends her final days
  3. 3
    What If It's UsSilvera's own co-written YA romance about queer connection in New York City

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