Published: 5th September 2017 Pages: 368 Amazon India Price: Rs. 209
“Sometimes the truth is a secret you’re keeping from yourself because living a lie is easier.”
I picked it up just because of the title. Subtle much, huh? It’s later I discovered how fantastic this book is and the other titles written by the somewhat new author. His first book came out in 2015.
Plot (You know the end)
I knew it too, but I just wasn’t ready for it. And yes, my heart did break into a million pieces if not less. So, this is a world where people get to know the day they are going to die. They get a call from ‘Death-Cast’. I don’t know if that’s any good. Getting to say goodbyes? Knowing that you will die today but you don’t know when and how.
Its 5th September, a little after midnight when Mateo Torrez gets a call from Death-Cast. He tries to ignore the call, but there’s no escaping death. Mateo is an 18-year-old loner. He plays video games and doesn’t live life. Always trying to play it safe. He just has one best friend, Lidia. His mother is dead, and father is in a coma. And now he is going to die in his apartment alone without being able to talk to his father.
It’s 5th September, and Rufus is beating the shit of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, Peck. That’s when Death-Cast decides to call him. At first, he and his friends think it’s peck’s phone, but it’s not. Rufus is not new to this ringtone. Four months back his mom, dad, and little sister also got a call that left him an orphan. He was finally adjusting to the guilt of being left behind and his foster family, the Plutos he calls them. He asks his foster family for a funeral, and in the middle of it, the police arrive. Prison is the last place Rufus wants to spend his last day, so he runs away.
Both don’t want to be alone, so they download an app,’ The last friend’ and find each other. What happens after that is a life lived by two teenage boys in a day, and it’s beautiful. Sometimes a day is enough to learn all the life lessons.
My Review:
It started a little slow, and I wanted to put it down, but I am so glad I didn’t. Rufus and Mateo are both lovable characters, and so are the others who are not dying. I loved Rufus’s calm attitude and how he doesn’t give up on Mateo, no matter what. And Mateo is paranoid, shaken up, sorry for not living his life. But he learns to let go and teaches Rufus to hold on to small good things. Rufus loves photography, so there are a lot of Instagram pictures and hashtags. So relatable.
My favorite line “Take me home, Mateo.”
PS: The book is not about death. Read it now!
