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They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera #bookreview #Han

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera #bookreview #Han
Release date: 7.9.2017
From Amazon: On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they’re going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they’re both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there’s an app for that. It’s called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure – to live a lifetime in a single day.

Initial thoughts
Another competition win that I very gladly received. Having read History is All You Left Me as part of Zoella’s book club, I was very excited for the release of this. Not only does it not fail to disappoint, it surpasses History in its engagement and concept.

It kept me calm while waiting for my first counselling session on Thursday. Believe me, when my anxiety is high it is hard to keep my attention so that is a true testament to Silvera that not only did he keep my attention, his words soothed my soul.

Plot
I have to talk about the plot first, as it is ‘high concept’. This is a world in which you are informed the night before that you have 24 hours left to live. No other details or specifics are given; just that you will not be around for the day after and that you should get your affairs in order.
I love that there is no explanation about how the system works. I don’t need to know, it exists and that’s all good to me.
Social media has hooked into this phenomenon and have introduced apps to help people through their last day, and that’s how two boys, on the cusp of adulthood, find themselves meeting. The are each other’s Last Friend and they do amazing jobs in helping the other live for the day.
You know how it ends; the clue is in the title. However, you don’t ever find yourself wishing it wasn’t true. At least I didn’t, it would have cheapened the experience.

Characters
I loved the joint protagonists; Mateo and Rufus. Not only were they able to pull me into their lives and make me care, they helped me live along with them. I liked the approach both took towards their deaths.
As I said before, I didn’t want them to survive. That sounds harsh and makes it sound like the deserve it. They don’t, but for me there is still hope at the end of the book for both of them and that’s the important part.
With death, it’s very rarely about the people who die, but those left behind. I found it an important factor to have chapters from their perspective, it’s what some of the recent books I’ve been reading have lacked because you don’t identify with those people and they’re left feeling a little flat. Not here, you find yourself identifying with those people. A subtle touch, but it makes all the difference.

Writing
The writing was addictive. The chapters were a perfect, digestible, length and had circumstances been different, this would have been a one sitting read.
There were subtle differences between the voices of the characters participating within the narrative. There’s nothing worse than having a book that requires a different font to distinguish between characters. For the two protagonists, you didn’t even need the chapter titles to keep up with who was speaking.

Without being specific, Silvera was able to convey the emotions of both boys clearly. I found that quite a refreshing read and makes me want to read more with male protagonist.

Final words

It is a book that will leave you thinking about what you would do and how you would live your life each day; whether it be because you know you are not set to die that day, or even more importantly, you knew any minute it could be your last.

It’s a book that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. Slvera has done an amazing job once again, and I look forward to reading more from him.

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera #gemreviews #bookreviews

Han’s Review

I haven’t read any of Adam Silvera’s books before so I wasn’t sure what his writing style was like, but I was instantly captivated by Rufus and Mateo’s stories. The main dual narrative was excellent; they were each well defined and easily distinguishable yet blended together seamlessly.
The plot itself was scarily plausible given today’s advances in technology and I loved the idea of the Last Friend app.
The story could have edged towards depressing given the subject matter, yet it wasn’t at all, in fact it was the complete opposite; it was full of hope, friendship, love and really seizing the day. It genuinely made me think what I would do if I knew I had 24hrs max to live and whether I would indeed live my best life.
The book is insanely quotable and I can see people getting passages tattooed on them they’re that brilliant.
The writing is so descriptive I could see the action playing out and as it counted down towards the ends of the 24hour down of the book I couldn’t imagine how it would end.
I can see this being an incredible film if it was cast well.
I am now going to seek out any other AS books!
Absolutely totally amazing and I will recommend this to all my book geek friends 🙂

Otherworld Written by Jason Segel and Kristen Miller

https://www.change.org/p/yalc-uk-get-jason-segel-and-kirsten-miller-at-yalc-2018?recruiter=752308687&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=share_twitter_responsive – Please sign this petition to get Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller over to the UK for YALC.

Release Date: 31.10.2017
Buy it Here
Goodreads
Description:
For fans of Black Mirror and HBO’s Westworld, and readers of James Dashner and Veronica Roth, Otherworld is the first book in New York Times bestselling authors Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller’s new YA sci-fi-thriller series. The future is now. And the future is terrifying.
There are no screens. There are no controls. You don’t just see and hear it–you taste, smell, and touch it too. In this new reality, there are no laws to break or rules to obey. You can live your best life. Indulge every desire.
It’s a game so addictive you’ll never want it to end. Until you realize that you’re the one being played.
Welcome to Otherworld, where reality is dead. Step into the future. Leave your body behind.
The frightening future that Jason Segel and Kirsten Miller have imagined is not far away. Otherworld asks the question we’ll all soon be asking: if technology can deliver everything we want, how much are we willing to pay?

“They forgot nothing real can be perfect.”

Slated for a Halloween release, I couldn’t think of a better time for this pre-dystopic world building cyber novel to enter reader’s lives. Yes, it will make for a spooky read for those inclined during the evening of trick or treat. Yes, it will make for a good Christmas present and yes, you will most likely get a copy from me for Christmas.

To write this review I went back to my Good Reads progress comments thinking that would give me a basis and prompt to write. There were so many quotable moments and I knew I didn’t move from my comfy spot to get some post-its. Alas, I didn’t have much written. In fact, I only updated it 3 times. That’s because I was unable to put the book down long enough to update. Only comfort breaks and the need to appear sociable stopped me from devouring it in one sitting. I guess that just means I’ll have to pick it up for another read shortly.

I came to the novel hoping to have it compete for my love of Ready Player One. What I got was so much more. While Ready Player One is consumed by 80s nostalgia and the society is already accepting of the gaming platform in which the storyline is based, Otherworld is less reminiscent, much more relevant and loaded with foreboding and fear of what this technology could bring. It is a fable and Simon is not the only person on a journey of social and technological discovery.

The thing I love most about this book is that stylistically this is a book that has been missing from my reading life for a long time. It’s a cinematic techno-thriller, worthy of sitting on myself alongside the master of the genre and my favourite author, Michael Crichton and his counterpart Robin Cook. (Interestingly enough, Crichton directed the film Coma, which was written by Robin Cook.) I hope I’m right in thinking that Segel was a fan of the original Westworld growing up. I’d even go out on a limb and say he’s seen Coma. There’s too much passion and a labour of love around the creation of this book for there not to be.

The world building, pace and ‘Coma’-like jeopardy and moral ambiguity all make this a must read that will keep you on tenterhooks right until the last line. It reads like it could be lifted right from the pages and placed onto the screen. Its a story that is inclusive, despite its focus theme. I’m the furthest from a gamer and at no point did I feel Otherworld, Segel or Miller were isolating me from the plot.

There are secondary characters that some may feel are underdeveloped. I would agree to a certain degree; I want to know more about them. However, I would argue that this is realistic of some people we meet online. There is also enough hints to prompt people’s imagination and to also feel for the characters. I suspect the two characters in question will prompt many a fanfic over the next few years.

As the book comes to a close, there is enough of a resolution to satisfy any reader, while the set up for the follow up novel is a nice touch and one that should promote many chats, both online and in person while we wait, as patiently as we can for that second book.

In the year that you are waiting for the sequel, you might like to try the following:

Jurassic Park- Michael Crichton
Disclosure- Michael Crichton
Coma- Robin Cook
Maze Runner- James Dashner
The Special Ones- E M Bailey