SPOILER ALERT: They both die at the end. No. Really. They do. You would think for having it be the title, this book would not affect me as much as it did, but oh my goodness, that was painful.
How would you feel if randomly, one day, you get a call from a program called Death-Cast. And on the other end of this call was a person, telling you that you will die at some point within the next 24 hours. Would you try to live those last 24 hours to the fullest, or would you stay home, try to stay safe, and make sure nothing can harm you? Or, would you do what Mateo Torrez does and download the "Last Friend" app in hopes of making a friend in a perfect stranger?
Mateo is a homebody. He prefers his room, his books, his videogames. He doesn't enjoy risks. He receives the call at 12:22 a.m. He believes the call is not for him, as the person on the other end says "Matthew" when he first answers the phone, but after correcting the person and insisting it is the wrong number, his world tilts upside down as the caller apologizes and says it is the right number.
At 1:05 a.m., Rufus Emeterio receives the call while he is beating his ex's new boyfriend up. He ignores the call only to receive it again. After having his boys, Malcom and Tagoe, keep an eye on his victim, he answers the call. The voice on the other end informs Rufus he will die within the next 24 hours. Rufus returns to his victim, allowing him to leave, but promising revenge someday, despite someday never arriving.
Both boys install the "Last Friend" app. Mateo is hoping for someone to get him out of his shell and help him to finally start living. Rufus is looking for one last night of adventure before the end. The two are day and night, but upon meeting, Rufus is able to do the one thing nobody has really been able to do with Mateo -- make him start living outside his sanctuary of a bedroom.
With the end in mind, the two embark on a city-wide adventure involving subway rides, bookstore and graveyard visits, saying goodbye to loved ones, facing their fears and, despite it all, falling in love one last time. But even love must come to an end at some point.
I thought "The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue" and "The Little Paris Bookshop" ripped my heart out, threw it on the ground, danced on it, then set it on fire but this one did the SAME. EXACT. THING.
"They Both Die at the End" may have the end in the title, but the story from life to death is an adventure you can't miss out on. It also goes to show that living every day like it is your last may just be the best adventure in the world.
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