They Both Die at the End
YA novel by Adam Silvera set in a world where Death-Cast calls people on their “End Day” to notify them they’ll die within 24 hours. Mateo and Rufus, two strangers, meet through an app and spend their last day together. Published in 2017, it became a BookTok crying phenomenon in 2020.
The Premise & Execution
The title spoils the ending—the book’s power is in the journey. Mateo (cautious, anxious) and Rufus (reckless, grieving) fall in love over one perfect day in New York City. They sing karaoke, visit the cemetery, go to a nightclub, and make peace with their deaths.
The book tackles:
- Mortality: How would you spend your last day?
- Queer love: Mateo and Rufus’ romance is tender and natural
- Regret: Living authentically vs. playing it safe
- Found family: Their Last Friend connection
BookTok Sob Fest (2020)
TikTok creators filming themselves ugly-crying while reading became the book’s marketing:
- “The title TELLS you and you’re still not ready”
- “I knew it was coming and I’m devastated anyway”
- “Why did I do this to myself?”
The book climbed to #1 on the New York Times YA bestseller list three years after publication, selling millions of new copies.
Adam Silvera’s LGBTQ+ YA Empire
Silvera became the king of sad queer YA:
- More Happy Than Not (2015): Memory-erasing conversion therapy allegory
- They Both Die at the End (2017): Queer love story about death
- Infinity Son (2020): Fantasy duology
- The First to Die at the End (2022): Prequel to TBDATE
His books normalized LGBTQ+ protagonists in mainstream YA and proved “bury your gays” trope could be subverted (their deaths aren’t punishment, just fate).
Hashtag Usage
#TheyBothDieAtTheEnd for:
- Crying selfies with the book
- “Why did Adam Silvera hurt me like this?” rants
- Fan theories about who dies first
- Last day bucket list posts
- Mateo/Rufus fan art
The book’s lasting message: Make today count, because tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.