by Adam Silvera
First published 2025
Paz Dario lies awake every night hoping Death-Cast will finally announce his last day. He's tired of pretending his way through an empty existence. When the call never comes, Paz decides to take matters into his own hands. He won't wait for permission to die anymore. But just as Paz prepares to end it all, a stranger intervenes. Alano Rosa carries the weight of the Death-Cast legacy on his shoulders. His father built the empire that tells people when to say goodbye, yet Alano feels powerless over his own fate. The Death Guard wants him dead, and their threats grow more violent each day. Two boys from opposite sides of the same system find each other when they need it most. Paz wants to die but keeps getting saved. Alano wants to live but faces constant danger. Together they must navigate the forces trying to destroy them while learning what it means to choose life over death.
Genres: fiction, drama, contemporary, young-adult, psychological-thriller
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, introspective, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family, second-chance-at-life, slow-burn-romance
Period: 21st-century
707 pages · Paperback · Quill Tree Books
Content warnings: death, mental-illness, suicidal-ideation