There are some books that you have to step back from reviewing for a while to get your thoughts in order but then there are those that leave you so breathless by the riotous thoughts and feelings a story evokes in you that you need to get it down on paper (well in type anyhow) whilst you are still riding the high. This is one of the latter. A surprisingly life affirming book about the importance of love and death.
The blurb
This is a story set in an alternate present, one where you find out that you are entering your last 24 hours on Earth by a call from a Death-Cast herald. Mateo and Rufus don’t know each other yet, their only connection is that they’ve both had the “The Call” and both only have up to 1 day left to live. The exact timing of your death is rather like ads on T.V. where “up to” is the catch- it might be 5 seconds into the period or you might make it to 23:59.
The alternate world is utterly believable, of course a whole industry has built up around catering for Deckers (that’s what people who have had the call are called). So there’s an Tinder-esque app to find a Last Friend to spend whatever time you have left with. And just like on Tinder and Twitter, there are those who are trolls or rubberneckers .There are experience venues that let you virtually hang-glide, swim with sharks or embark on a round the world trip. There are Decker Discounts at the restaurants for that last meal and lots of hashtags on Instagram revolving around #EndDay. You can go to Clint’s Graveyard club & wow the crowd with a final karaoke (bet you’re now thinking about what your song would be, aren’t you?😉). The mixture of the familiar and the fantastical make this an immersive and compulsive read.
The up to 24 hours period is told through first person view, time stamped snippets, alternating between the 2 main characters and others directly or indirectly involved in their lives. When Mateo & Rufus connect through Last Friend you know that you are in for something special. On the surface they couldn’t be more different, Rufus is a seize the day, act first, think later boy whilst Mateo is a cautious, think before you act type who is reluctant to leave the house. But together they set out on their last adventure, their impending end forging a bond like no other. The author expertly unpicks their innermost thoughts, fears and hopes as they meet their greatest and final life challenge. Warmth and humour shine through the tale and you will be rooting for the boys to make the most of End Day. You find yourself nodding as they choose to take the stairs rather than the lift, why take chances? It seems perfectly obvious that they make decisions based on the relative risk. I’ll leave it to you to see how that goes though.
So what would YOU do if you got the Death-Cast call? Each part is separated by quotes ranging from a Roman emperor to Oscar Wilde through to Steve Jobs, all about living rather than existing. Makes you think doesn’t it? Perhaps we should all be a bit less cautious and a bit more carpe diem in our outlook? You never know what tomorrow may bring and there’s something to be said for living each day as if it’s your last.
An easy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating for this book
Off to start on the prequel now 😉
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