“Maybe it’s better to have gotten it right and been happy for one day instead of living a lifetime of wrongs.”
Knowing when you are going to die is the ultimate spoiler. Knowing a character is going to die is one of the best tools a writer has for hooking a reader’s attention. Adam Silvera taps into both formulas in his beloved bestseller, They Both Die at the End. The story follows two total strangers, Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio, as they are told that they are going to die today. Both keen to make a new friend on their last day, they meet up through an app and embark on an adventure of condensing a lifetime into a single day. If you loved this devastating but ultimately uplifting story of life and loss, join us at What We Reading for the best YA books like They Both Die at the End! These books are all a mix of M/M YA love stories with speculative, dystopian and ultimately uplifting themes.
The First To Die At The End – Adam Silvera
First up on our list of books like They Both Die at the End is its prequel in the Death-Cast series by Adam Silvera, The First to Die at the End. The story is set the night before Death-Cast goes live with everyone in the world wondering whether it is a grand hoax, or whether it can predict when someone will die.
Orion Pagan has a serious heart condition and has been waiting for years for someone to tell him when he is going to die. Valentino Prince is restarting his life in New York following his sister’s death in a car accident. Both have signed up for Death-Cast, crossing paths in Times Square and immediately feeling a connection. Yet only one of them receives a call, completely upending how they plan to spend what may be their final day on the planet. Once again delivered with Silvera’s bittersweet touch, The First to Die at the End is the natural follow-up for anyone who loved the formula of They Both Die at the End.
Aristotle And Dante Discover The Secrets Of The Universe (Aristotle And Dante #1) – Benjamin Alire Saenz
Both growing up in Texas in the 1980s, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe follows the story of two boys growing up. Dante is articulate, and self-assured and can lose himself in poetry and art. Ari is riddled with self-doubt, struggles with words and gets lost in the thoughts of his older brother in prison.
It seems unlikely that the two would ever get along. Yet, when they meet, they develop an intense bond that teaches them the most important truths and helps them forge the identities they want in their lives. But, there are plenty of obstacles lying ahead and only through the strength of their friendship can they emerge stronger on the other side. Perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s 2012 bestseller is a coming-of-age tale that is a touching tale of friendship and the richness of life.
Early Departures – Justin A. Reynolds
Jamal’s best friend, Q, doesn’t know he’s about to die. Again. He also doesn’t know that Jamal tried to save him from drowning, only to watch him die later in the hospital. To make matters even more complicated, the pair haven’t been friends for two years – not since Jamal’s parents died in a car accident. An accident that Jamal blames Q for. But, what if Jamal had a second chance to say goodbye?
Thanks to a miracle healthcare invention, Q is resurrected and brought back to life exactly like his previous self. The only catch is that Q will only be reanimated for a short time before dying again. Permanently. Q’s mother won’t allow Jamal to tell his friend that he died, so how can he begin fixing his friendship if he can’t tell him the truth? Justin A. Reynolds’ Early Departures is a smart, funny and powerful book similar to They Both Die at the End that delivers a gut-punching portrait of the power of connections and friendship.
The Temperature Of Me And You – Brian Zepka
Sixteen-year-old Dylan Highmark assumed his winter was going to be full of boring shifts at Dairy Queen. What he didn’t expect was to fall in love with a boy who was too hot to handle. Quite literally. Jordan is a completely normal, albeit impossibly cute, boy who just so happens to run at 110 degrees Fahrenheit. As the boys begin spending time together, Dylan picks up a fever that makes him start coughing flames.
As Dylan grows more and more distant from his friends and family to keep his symptoms a secret, he presses Jordan for answers over who he is, why he is the way he is and who is on the hunt for him. After realising that his crush is out of this world, love can only keep them together for so long.
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Denton Little’s Death Date (Denton Little #1) – Lance Rubin
If you’re looking for a book like They Both Die at the End that’s a little more on the funny side, Lance Rubin’s Denton Little’s Death Date should undoubtedly be on your TBR list! Set in a world where everyone knows what day they’re going to die, Denton’s time is sooner than most: in just two days, on his senior prom.
Despite wanting to live a normal life, his final days are filled with dramatic firsts. His anxiety begins to grow when a purple rash starts sprouting across his body, and then a strange man shows up at his funeral claiming to have known his long-deceased mother. As Denton’s thrill ride comes closer and closer to the dreaded day of prom, he begins to wonder what is truly important to him in his life.
All That’s Left In The World (All That’s Left In The World #1) – Erik J. Brown
When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s starving, injured and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has ravaged the world and claimed the lives of everyone both boys have ever loved. If this post-apocalyptic land has taught them anything, it’s to be fearful of what desperate people will do. So, why does it seem so easy for them to trust one another?
Erik J. Brown’s debut novel All That’s Left in the World is a dystopian story perfect for fans of They Both Die at the End, following Andrew and Jamie as they venture south together in search of civilisation. To survive the long journey ahead of them, the two of them will have to shed their secrets and find the courage to face their feelings and fight for the future they both desire.
If I See You Again Tomorrow – Robbie Couch
For some unknown reason, Clark has woken up and relived the same dull Monday 309 times in a row. That is until Monday 310 turns out to be different. Suddenly, his usually arduous maths lesson is interrupted by the arrival of a boy he has never seen before. When shy and introverted Clark decides to venture into the unknown and follow Beau on a series of errands across Chicago, he never would expect to fall for someone so hard in just a single day.
Robbie Couch’s LGBT 2023 romance story, If I See You Again Tomorrow, is a speculative YA book like They Both Die at the End about a teen stuck in a time loop that asks: how do you build a future with someone if you never get to tomorrow?
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The Darkness Outside Us (The Darkness Outside Us #1) – Eliot Schrefer
Another one of the best M/M YA books like They Both Die at the End, The Darkness Outside Us is a 2021 sci-fi story by Eliot Schrefer. After the first settler on the moon of Titan trips her distress signal, no nation on Earth can afford to send up a rescue on their own. Instead, two enemies are sent up in the same spaceship.
Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of the launch. There’s evidence strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating voice belongs to his mother, and his handsome brooding crewmate has barricaded himself away. Nevertheless, nothing is going to stop him in his mission to rescue his sister. But, to unravel the mysteries of the Endeavor, the two boys on board will need to work together, especially once they discover what it is they are truly up against.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
