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If you want to read a book that gives you closure and a sense of fulfillment, this one is simply not for you, and don’t give me the shenanigans about how “they lived their last day to the fullest” because frankly, I don’t want to hear it. It surprised me how real it all felt, especially towards the end. Silvera didn’t implement some idealistic ending of them beating the odds, nor did they get the chance to die in each other’s arms (which I was expecting would happen). Hell, Mateo died before getting a chance to talk to his dad for the last time, which left me absolutely floored.
My books of choice are usually high fantasy, and I normally don’t enjoy contemporary YA literature because it resembles reality all too well. It is safe to say that I am making an exception for this book. I thought it is important to clarify that I cannot compare it to other books of its genre because I do not have the knowledge to do so.
I love the abundance of character development that Mateo receives. At first, he is introduced as a hermit who wants to live life to the fullest but was merely too scared to do so. But eventually, he comes out of his shell and gets comfortable with new things in a way that did not feel forced or rushed, which I believe is an incredible feat, that not many books succeed in doing. Especially since this book takes place in only one day. When Rufus was introduced while beating somebody up, I already thought he would be the stereotypical “gang member” character I’ve seen many times before. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Rufus was extremely understanding towards Mateo’s qualms throughout the whole story and had much character development himself by facing his fear of water and the death of his parents. I loved him for that!
Call me a sadist but I love how I didn’t expect Mateo’s death. Thanks to the numerous close calls throughout the book, the actual death caught me off-guard, and I found myself praying that it wasn’t real. When it was announced that he died, I couldn’t believe that Silvera would put it at such a bad timing when the boys started having fun only moments ago.
One thing that I found very cliché is when they said “I love you” to each other. Come on, both of them had only known each other for one day. A big pet peeve of mine is when authors put in the three big words too early in the story, making it sound very cringy to read. I think Silvera could’ve left it at “If we had more time, I could’ve loved you”, it would’ve been extremely bittersweet but less cringy.
I’m kind of upset that we didn’t get any closure to Victor and Delilah’s story. It is implied that Victor hits Rufus with his car at the end of the book, but what we didn’t get to find out is if Victor ever found a way to spend Delilah’s last few moments with her. I feel like there should have been an Epilogue featuring them, or even a short bonus story.
I know that this is a story about two boys finally getting a chance to live, but I would have liked to know more about the Death-cast. All we got to know throughout the book is that it's a service that calls people in the early morning/late night to tell them that they are destined to die in the next 24 hours. I think it could have really helped the book feel more realistic if there would have been an elaboration on the workings of Death-cast. In conclusion, I didn’t cry while reading the story. However, tears welled up in my eyes twice and that was enough for me. I felt more angry than sad at the ending because there were just so many things left unsaid. Still, Silvera’s ability to make me feel something through his writing was phenomenal, and the ending packed a punch, even after expecting it.
Article by Layla Wu
Cover Page by Yifei Wang
Edited by Prisha Jain
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