They Both Die at the End

by Adam Silvera
Scott County Library hardcover 368 pages
genre: YA dystopian

I saw a student at NPMS reading this and made note of it. I don't read as much YA (Young Adolescent) lit as I used to . . . but this one was distressing. The premise is that an entity (DeathCast) knows what day people will die and they receive a call informing them of their death day. There's an entire industry that caters to the "Deckers" who have less than 24 hours to live.

Though this premise is never really explained, the focus on one's last day and how to spend it was really sad to me. Obviously, they conclude that relationships are more important than the things we spend most of our lives doing and thinking about. But I still thought the characters' journey made this a depressing and empty book.

The jacket blurb calls it "Uplifting and devastating, charming and haunting," but I think it's bleak and awful. I don't think I could recommend it to any teen readers I know and care about. I may need to go back and read my review of Daniel Ehrenhaft's 10 Things to Do Before I Die . . . because it had a similar premise (without the omnipotent entity that actually told you your death day) and I have a more positive memory of that book.