They Both Die in the End - Adam Silvera

They Both Die in the End by Adam Silvera follows Mateo and Rufus after they receive a phone call from Deathcast informing them that they only have one day left to live. How will they choose to spend their last day on Earth? How would you spend your day if you knew it was your last?

Teachers

Genre: Young Adult Fiction Drama

Pages: 384

Age Range: 14-17

Lexile: 870L

Themes: LGBTQ+, friendship, mortality, government, grief, etc.

Questions for discussion:

1. Would you want to know when your last day was if you were able?

2. If you knew it was your last day, would you do anything differently? Why or why not?

3. Do you think knowing they are both going to die ruins the story for you? Why or why not?

4. What did you think of the romantic storyline between Mateo and Rufus?

5. Most of the story is told from Mateo or Rufus’ point of view, yet some of the chapters switch to seemingly “random” other characters. Why do you think the author did this? Did it enhance the story for you at all?

6. Despite knowing he’s going to die, Mateo doesn’t want to tell Lidia when he goes to see her one last time. If you knew you were going to die, would you tell anyone? Why or why not?

7. How did the story challenge you to contemplate your own life and death?

8. How did you feel about the ending of the book? Were you hoping for something different?

Parents

They Both Die in the End can be a difficult book for inexperienced or ill-prepared readers. It's important that if your student is going to tackle this book, that they have an understanding of death and the emotions that may follow as well as how important their life is. Some people may be going through a hard time, and that's okay! Make sure to validate their feelings and talk through the book with them.

Students

Do you use TikTok? Then you may have seen this book on BookTok and thought it sounded interesting. Now is your chance to pick it up and read it!

They Both Die in the End tackles some tough themes of grief and death so if you find those topics aren't suitable to you, keep that in mind. On the other hand, it also includes a romantic relationship to follow as well as the idea of living life to the fullest.

If you enjoy this, check out Silvera's new book to be released in October 2022 which introduces the Deathcast system and a new set of characters!

Carpe diem, young readers!