![]() ![]() It’s another standout from Silvera ( History Is All You Left Me, 2017, etc.), who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived.Įngrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises." "Valar Dohaeris". FACELESS BOOK WINDOWSFleeting third-person chapters give windows into the lives of other characters they encounter, underscoring how even a tiny action can change the course of someone else’s life. Present-tense chapters, short and time-stamped, primarily feature the protagonists’ distinctive first-person narrations. Mateo and Rufus set out to seize the day together in their final hours, during which their deepening friendship blossoms into something more. The two meet through Last Friend, an app that connects lonely Deckers (one of many ways in which Death-Cast influences social media). Rufus needs company after a violent act puts cops on his tail and lands his friends in jail Mateo wants someone to push him past his comfort zone after a lifetime of playing it safe. The End Day call comes for two teenagers living in New York City: Puerto Rican Mateo and bisexual Cuban-American foster kid Rufus. In an alternate present, a company named Death-Cast calls Deckers-people who will die within the coming day-to inform them of their impending deaths, though not how they will happen. What would you do with one day left to live? Familiarity with the original book provides additional context and depth but isn’t essential to understanding the plot. Despite the presumed inevitability of a fatal end to the central romance between Orion and Valentino, Silvera subverts the trope of punishing gay characters with violent tragedy. The story confronts heavy topics like grief, abuse, and religious faith with complexity and care. Apart from Valentino and his twin sister, who are presumed White, most of the characters are Latine, including White-passing Orion, whose family is Puerto Rican. Silvera crafts a web of intricately interconnected character perspectives and conflicts around Orion and Valentino. ![]() This heart-pounding story follows the final day of the first Decker, or person who is going to die, and the national chaos of Death-Cast’s premiere. By coincidence or fate, their lives collide at a party in Times Square, and a single, historic phone call alters the courses of their futures. Unlike Orion, Valentino Prince, a model on the verge of his national debut, has no reason to anticipate Death-Cast’s call and isn’t sure if he believes the company’s claims. Orion Pagan, an aspiring author with a heart condition, hopes his phone won’t ring at midnight, but he knows Death-Cast’s call is coming soon. As the story progresses it becomes almost a textbook explanation of psychological progression through anger and grief into acceptance, giving the story a distinctly problem-novel feel.Ī problem novel, yes, but an absorbing oneĬrowds gather across the United States for the launch of Death-Cast, a company that promises to change the world by predicting the deaths of everyone who subscribes in this prequel to They Both Die at the End (2017). Her depiction of a disfigured adolescent girl, already searching for herself and now suddenly forced to accept this new enormity, is compelling. Sheinmel writes in Maisie’s present-tense voice, focusing on her internal anger, fears, and grief. FACELESS BOOK HOW TOOnly when she reluctantly joins a therapy group for disfigured accident victims does she learn how to cope with her plight. She dreads returning to school, where Chirag and her best friend try to protect her, but they too struggle with the changes as Maisie flares with anger and lashes out. Chirag tries to stand by her, but she believes everyone sees her as a freak, and she won’t allow him to touch her. ![]() She gets the chance for a face transplant, but she will still be permanently scarred. While running one morning, she’s too near a tree when it’s struck by lightning, and the resultant fire burns much of her face away. Sixteen-year-old Maisie loves to run track, and she secretly loves her boyfriend, Chirag, although she hasn’t yet told him. When a pretty, athletic girl loses her face in a fire, she gets a face transplant and struggles with the permanent changes in her life. ![]()
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