aliveandnotlovingit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Car accident, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Chronic illness, Gun violence, and Terminal illness
amyhasel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
9/11 contentlucyford's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Spoiler
and I’m ready to live for all the Valentinos that haven’t lived enough.Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Medical content
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Homophobia
lovelymisanthrope's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
"The First to Die at the End" follows Valentino and Orion, two young men who meet on the day Death-Cast launches, technology that alerts you if you will die within the next 24 hours. Valentino is excited to start his life over in New York City with his twin sister. He was not super interested in signing up for Death-Cast, until his sister almost dies in a car accident. Now he wants to know if his end is coming. Orion does not want to sign up for Death-Cast because he needs a heart transplant, so he already knows his death is imminent. When Death-Cast goes live at midnight, one of them gets a call, and they decide to live one more day together, even though they know how their story will end.
It was really interesting to get more of an origin story for Death-Cast because I think it opens up more discourse about whether this technology is really as great as the creators hope it is. On the one hand, knowing when you will die will definitely light a fire under you to live like it is your last day. However, it can also make your last day completely unbearable because you will inevitably keep waiting for death. I think this idea makes for a great story, but I definitely hope this technology remains as fiction.
Adam Silvera has an amazing ability to write characters that I absolutely swoon over. Both Orion and Valentino are such good-hearted people, and even though I knew the ending from the beginning, I held out so much hope that their story would be happy. Maye Death-Cast has some errors and will be inaccurate at launch.
Orion and Valentino were perfect for each other. They were the person the other needed and I loved seeing them support each other through 24 hours. Their's was a love story that I ached for.
I 1000% will read more from Adam Silvera in the future, and I hope he writes more of this Death-Cast world.
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Homophobia, Death, Murder, Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content
_happilyeverafter_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Medical content and Terminal illness
robinks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Cursing, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Sexual content, Car accident, Infidelity, and Medical content
silver_lining_in_a_book's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I understand that the person who gets the Death-Cast call isn’t the only one dying. If you really hold someone in your heart, you die too.
Adam Silvera is such an excellent writer; I cannot get over how creative and touching his storytelling is. I went into this novel with fairly low expectations because I did not enjoy They Both Die at the End as much as I wished I would, but it was so much more than I could have wished for! It was raw and beautiful and so exceptionally painful - I just kept hoping that the story would not unfold as I thought it would. However, you can always trust Silvera to leave you heartbroken with every one of his books.
Unlike the first book, I found that the disparate stories were woven together very well and I was interested in all the different perspectives. I also found that the characters had distinct interests and relatable feelings. I loved the dives into Orion's writing and the videos from Valentino. As one would expect from a love story that unfolds over the course of less than 24 hours, the love was very instant and some moments dragged a little bit. Overall though, I absolutely loved this and am so happy to have a physical copy of it on hand - I will definitely be rereading it!
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Car accident, and Gun violence
sage_alexandra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death, and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content and Terminal illness
scifijunkie21's review
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Cursing, and Physical abuse
rebeccabryson21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was heartbreaking good, I can’t even out into words how much I loved this.
Ten out of ten
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Blood