They Both Die at the End

About They Both Die at the End

They Both Die at the End is Adam Silvera's third novel, published by HarperTeen in 2017. It became his breakout book — a #1 New York Times bestseller that earned four starred reviews from major trade publications and placed on a remarkable number of year-end best-of lists. It has continued selling steadily in the years since, building the kind of long-tail readership that usually belongs to much older books.

The novel takes place in a version of New York City where Death-Cast exists: a service that calls you before midnight if you are going to die in the next twenty-four hours, giving you a full End Day to do with as you choose. The morning the book begins, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio both receive their calls. They are complete strangers. They find each other through the Last Friend app, a service specifically designed for people in their situation — people who need company for their last day and don't want to spend it alone.

A Day That Contains Everything

Writing a novel where the reader knows from page one that both protagonists will die requires a particular kind of trust between author and audience. Silvera earns it by making Mateo and Rufus fully themselves within that constraint. Mateo is cautious, tender-hearted, someone who has spent much of his short life avoiding risk and is suddenly out of time to change course. Rufus is louder and more externally confident, and his End Day begins with him beating up someone who was cheating with his girlfriend — a moment that could be played for shock but is instead rendered as grief in a different register.

The book is about what it means to show up fully for your own life. It is about the connection that can form between two people given a single day and a reason to be honest with each other. The fact that they are both young men, and that the connection between them becomes something romantic, is part of who they are rather than the entirety of what the book is about.

Why It Has Been Banned

They Both Die at the End has been removed from school districts in Iowa, Florida, and Tennessee — 5 districts total. Challenges cite the novel's LGBTQ+ content and, in some cases, the book's handling of death and dying. The novel's premise requires its readers to confront mortality directly, which some school boards have characterized as inappropriate.

The novel has also been removed as part of sweeping book challenges targeting LGBTQ+ content, where the same-sex romantic storyline — one aspect of a book about much larger themes — becomes the stated reason for removal. They Both Die at the End has been embraced by millions of readers worldwide precisely because it talks about death, love, and identity in a way that is direct and emotionally honest. That honesty is what makes it a target.