Posts
Synopsis (From Goodreads):
On September 5, 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 and to live a lifetime in a single day.
Review:
Please excuse me. As I write this, I am rather tired as I stayed up late (again) reading this amazing novel.
via GIPHY
I found it a little hard to commit to the premise of everyone getting an alert on the day of one's death. But once I jumped that hurdle, I was rewarded with a book that was both inspiring and heart-wrenching.
What I Liked:
Characters:Both Mateo and Rufus are characters that will stay with me for a long time. Mateo, almost a shut in, is faced with the fact that this is his End Day. I love that while he laments the reality that he is not going to experience many of life's big milestones, he thinks of his loved ones first. He is so kind and considerate he to others. This made him having to die so difficult for me to accept. I was hoping for a miracle so he could continue to live.
Rufus, has had a challenging life, but he has been able to create a family for himself with his fellow foster kids. Although he makes some serious mistakes, he also worries about his friends. He doesn't want the people he loves most to see him die. Rufus uses photography to see the beauty in life. He is driven to document everything, even when he is about to die. I think this is a way for him to make sure he will be remembered after he is gone. Again, I was crying over the the lost potential of this creative young man.
When both guys reach out over an App called, Last Friends, both teach each other lessons about living. They quickly become intensely attached to each other. Rufus is listed in his Last Friends profile as Bisexual. Mateo doesn't list his romantic leanings. I loved the lingering question of whether or not their bro-mance would blossom into a romance, or not. Either way, they made a great pair.
Side Characters:
I really enjoyed all the little characters in the book. It was exciting to see how so many people's lives intersected. When I think of New York, I picture it as a city where people are anonymous. But the author shows all kinds of small decisions that lead to some of the character's interacting with each other, and sometimes causing their deaths.
Story:
The story moves well, and is a nail-biter. The premise is that people are notified that within the next 24 hours, that person will die. So the characters (and the reader) realize that they may have hours, or minutes, to live. This forces each character to condense their actions into only what is most important to them. What would you do on your last day on Earth? Party? Have sex? Say goodbye to your family?
Each person is also, understandably, a river of emotions, alternating from depressed to enraged. Even when they think they are "ready" to face the end, each person's instinct to live is fierce. The idea of knowing you are going to die is terrifying.
Ethical Questions:
The book brings up the real question of whether or not you would want to know if you were just about to die. While it would be wonderful to get your life in order, I think I would be too paralyzed with fear to do anything productive on my End Day! But that is just me.
Should people get such knowledge, would the actions they take actually cause their deaths? Were these self-fulfilling prophesies?
And, this leads to all kinds of morally ambiguous situations in the book. A game is created to cajole deckers (people on their End Day) to enter a contest where the person with the most creative suicide wins cash for their loved ones. Some people would do this as a final gesture to help out their family. But, would they have died anyway, or is this another case of pushing people to die? I almost wonder if these notifications are a form of population control...
What I Didn't Like:
via GIPHY
Would you want to know if this was your last day on Earth? Let me know in the comments.
Rating:
Release Date: September 5th, 2017
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Publisher: Harper Teen
Length: 384 pages
Source: Edelweiss
Format: E-Book
Recommendation: I loved this book! This is a reminder that life can be gone in an instant and to cherish every moment.
I’m waiting impatiently for this book to come out so I can read it. It sounds so good! I’m glad you liked it.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
This sounds really good! I can't even imagine what I would do if I knew that it was my last day. I am so glad that you enjoyed this one!
ReplyDeleteCarole @ Carole's Random Life in Books