Hi friends, happy Monday! I hope you’re all well. Today I’m posting my review of The First to Die at the End by: Adam Silvera.

Read my review of book one: They Both Die at the End

The First to Die at the End by: Adam Silvera: Valentino has just moved to New York City from Arizona, getting away from a life where he’s not wanted and ready to start the life he’s always dreamed. Orion, has always lived in New York City, but only half living because of his heart condition. It’s the night Death Cast is to go live, and everyone has gathered in Times Square. The two meet, form a bond, as one of them gets the call that night. Now they have to make the best of their last day, so they spent it together running through the streets of New York. The prequel to They Both Die at the End, is a novel the reader was excited about, but ended up thinking they didn’t need. This novel had cute moments with beautiful sentiments about life sprinkled in, but in the end this felt like a redo of the first novel. The reader was really excited to get the origin story of Death Cast, but it didn’t really feel like we got that. We got the first day that it went live and all the complications that ensued, but the reader felt like they still had questions about how it all worked. The reader really liked getting to know about the creator of the program, but again, we wished we had gotten more from his point of view and the reasoning’s behind why he created it. Instead, this novel focused on a love story between two boys who meet for the first time the day Death Cast went live. As much as the reader thought their love story was cute, it also felt really unbelievable in how it progressed; the reader gets that it had to progress as quickly as it did because this takes place in twenty-four hours, but still. The one gripe that this reader had, that is really specific, is the amount of times Valentino kept mentioning food and how he didn’t want to ruin the surgery, yet he clearly wanted to have a last meal because of the amount of times he talked about linguine – the fact that the reader can remember this proves how many times it was mentioned. Also, we don’t understand how he and Orion could have done everything that they did without anything in his stomach and no sleep; it made no sense and this frustrated the reader because it stood out like a sore thumb each time it was mentioned. We get that we’re supposed to suspend our belief a bit here because clearly this a futuristic world, but it was like, get this man some food! Anyways, that aside, the plot was good, it was fast-paced as we followed the two on their journey through New York City and we did feel for both of these characters. It was sad to know that they wouldn’t be able to get to know each other more, and yes the sentiment was cute. It was also sad knowing that Valentino was just starting to live his best life, but the fact that he found someone who could let him live out his last wishes was really beautiful. But as mentioned above, this just felt like a repeat of what happened in the first novel; two boys who never knew each other, spend their last day together and create a strong bond. Silvera tried to create that suspense again on whether or not they would actually die, but after reading the first novel, you can kind of guess where the end is going to go. The reader appreciated the misdirects here and there, but in the end, this had a predictable ending. The reader also didn’t care for all the multiple points of view in this. Yes, there was a nod to the characters from the first book, which was a nice little homage, but all the other ones, especially the really far removed characters to the story, didn’t need a POV – not everyone needed a voice because it didn’t enhance the story much. Instead, it felt longer and dragged out. As for the characters, they felt developed and well rounded, we truly got to know them, sometimes a little too much because when we weren’t spending time in third party characters’ POV we were with these two. The reader was really interested in knowing more about Rosa, the creator, but we just didn’t get more than he had a family and he’s stressed about this program; the reader would read a book just on him. All that to say, this novel was good, it had delightful and charming moments, but it felt too much like the first novel to feel original as we’re still left with questions about this world.