I COULD HAVE LOVED YOU IF WE HAD THE TIME; A BOOK REVIEW

Title: They Both Died In The End
Author: Adam Silvera
Publisher Information: Harper Teen 2017
Format: Hardbound; First Edition
Genre/s: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, LGBT
Page Count: 368

Ratings

Overall Rating: 🌈🌈🌈
Feels Rating: 💔💔💔

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FIRST IMPRESSIONS

To be totally honest, I’ve been seeing and hearing about the book way before my sister gifted it to me last Christmas. It was one of the books I kept passing by or passing the opportunity to buy, the book I always leave behind whenever I had to choose between this or another. It’s not because of its genre, I believe it because it’s one of that book that will wreck me, and wreck me - it did.

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MAIN ACTS

MATEO TORREZ. Mateo - too pure for this world - Torrez is one of the protagonists in They Both Died in The End. He’s a very likable character, a classic good boy. Sweet, sensitive, caring, and selfless. Selfless enough to clean the house so that his father wouldn’t wake up from his coma with a filthy house; like that’s something his father will care about after he wakes up with a dead son. Even on his end day, he took care of his people first before anything else. Sometimes I felt like he’s too nice, which makes it hard for me to connect with him. It took awhile for me to love him, but I did - in the end, I did.

RUFUS EMETERIO. Rufus - tough cookie but cinnamon roll - Emeterio. He’s good but rough around the edges. The kind of edge to expect from someone who went through tragedy and lived to tell the tale. Personally, it was easier for me to connect to Rufus because of his bad boy attitude. He acts tough, acts like nothing faze him but his heart is a big and golden as Mateos’.

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EVERYTHING AT ONCE

'They Both Died In The End' is very easy to read; format and language-wise. It’s written simply and is fairly easy to understand. The book showcases multiple POVs of characters - characters the boys encountered along the way that gives you a glimpse of other arcs and how they affected Mateo and Rufus’s timeline and vice versa.

You wouldn’t imagine how a young-adult book such as this could be thought-provoking. The book features a refreshing take on dying. What if you never need to wonder when you’re going to die? What if you get a phone call informing you, you only have twenty-four hours to live instead? I imagine receiving a phone call from Death Cast doesn’t make such news easier but you did, now what?

Jack Kornfield’s Buddha’s Little Instruction Book includes a quote that said, “the trouble is, you think you have time.” We often live our lives like we have forever, but the truth is we don’t. Armed with the knowledge that you only have a day to live, how would you spend it? I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for Mateo and Rufus; cramming an entire lifetime in a day.

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EVERYTHING AT ONCE

'They Both Died In The End' is very easy to read; format and language-wise. It’s written simply and is fairly easy to understand. The book showcases multiple POVs of characters - characters the boys encountered along the way that gives you a glimpse of other arcs and how they affected Mateo and Rufus’s timeline and vice versa.

You wouldn’t imagine how a young-adult book such as this could be thought-provoking. The book features a refreshing take on dying. What if you never need to wonder when you’re going to die? What if you get a phone call informing you, you only have twenty-four hours to live instead? I imagine receiving a phone call from Death Cast doesn’t make such news easier but you did, now what?

Jack Kornfield’s Buddha’s Little Instruction Book includes a quote that said, “the trouble is, you think you have time.” We often live our lives like we have forever, but the truth is we don’t. Armed with the knowledge that you only have a day to live, how would you spend it? I couldn’t imagine how hard it must be for Mateo and Rufus; cramming an entire lifetime in a day.

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ALL THAT I AM; ALL THAT YOU WERE

There are books I loved from the get-go, They Both Died In The End though took a bit of time for me. Not because it wasn’t good, it is but it’s the type of story that takes time to grow on you. Another reason might be because I was a little cynic. The title itself painted the story - how it’ll go, and how it’ll end; so I held it at arm's length thinking it would hurt less when I came to that point. In the end, I still fell in love with Mateo and Rufus, and their story.

Rationally, we all know we’re going to die. It’s the only thing we’re sure of in this life but to die at a young age is really unfair. Mateo and Rufus are only teenagers, they have so much to live for. My heart aches for all the things they weren’t able to do. I wanted more days for them, separately and together but the book wasn’t about that. It’s about making the most out of every day in your life, because as Mae West said, “you only live once but if you do it right, once is enough.”

I think Mateo and Rufus could have had more time (if it was up to me I would have given them a lifetime) but their time together was enough for them; to breathe again, to love, forgive, and live - even for one last day.

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Hi friends! Thanks for dropping by and taking the time to read. 🙃

If you've read the book and want to just rave about, just let me know over the comment section. I'm also open to book recommendations. 😺

See you again next time. Stay bright friends! ✌