I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I hoped that I would. I was excited to read it, seeing as it had been on so many folks’ “Best Books of the Year” list for 2022. I’ll grant it that these high expectations, as well as the fact that it was marketed to me as “a love story that follows 2 people over the course of their lives”, definitely skewed my reading experience.

There’s nothing actively bad about this book. I’d even go so far as to say there’s nothing bad about this book at all. It’s well written, well structured. The form and prose are exceptionally good. It had an original concept. The format was interesting at points, using gameplay and interviews to convey plot or reveal knowledge that would be important later. It certainly was anything but derivative.

I would say its biggest weakness was that it rarely managed to make me care. And when it did, it was to my own detriment. Marx, my favorite character by virtue of simply being good and kind, was little more than cannon fodder for the plot. Sadie and Sam, the two main characters, are both assholes at different points. I don’t hold this against them. They’ll make mistakes and be immature and downright nasty to each other. They’re human. But as characters, they never won me over. Never made me feel happy or sad, or really feel period.

As a disabled Asian Jew, I had such high hopes for Sam. If I were ever going to connect with a character, it would be him but somehow, I felt nothing but exasperation and a flicker of downright contempt for a guy who says himself that he wants to have ownership over the people in his life and thinks he has an unalienable right to be loved. One internal line of his in particular got to me and I did sympathize with him not knowing how to best help the people he loved and asking himself what others would do. I too, have had my fair share of trauma. I too, spent most of my childhood in and out of hospitals. But for whatever reason, that gave me an entirely different worldview and a healthy dose of self awareness that Sam unfortunately seems to lack.

This is not my usual pick but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Moving between the video game world and the real world and all of the intertwiinging relationships was a great book. It was also so interesting to hear the behind the scenes of game creation and the building of the relationships within the book. It kept me turning pages looking forward to what would happen next.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is the kind of book that stays with you long after putting it down. Zevin artfully weaves a compelling storyline, interesting plot points, detailed character development, and vibrant settings into an engaging, entertaining, and emotional story. Each chapter takes on its own unique energy, approach, and style. Together, like a quilt. the chapters build a detailed, layered story - one full of nuance, heartbreak, and intrigue.

There is one line I find myself ruminating on still, weeks after finishing. I wouldn't dare spoil it by sharing it here but I have no doubt anyone who reads Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will leave with a similar souvenir.

5 Stars.

This is an impressive work that spans three decades and explores the evolution of friendships and business relationships over time. The story covers childhood friendship, the relationships through creation and development of video games and even immersion into the world of the game itself. I enjoyed the clever narrative tools and interesting characters. I think this is a really creative, unique and well-crafted novel.

How I wanted to love this book. Maybe wrong timing for me but I was bored and just wanted to be done. Know so many people that absolutely loved it. Writing is lovely and totally get why it won BOTM book of the year.

I know this book has been loved by everyone, but for me it was just ok. I couldn’t get past all the gaming. Unlike Ready Player One where I didn’t mind the 80s references and games in this book for some reason was distracting. I also didn’t understand a friendship where you didn’t actually talk through issues and just made assumptions that fundamentally changed how you interact. Though I did like the ending.

I loved The Storied Life of A,J, Fikry, and looked for other books by the author. I had decided this one wasn't for me. I'm not a gamer, have no interest in video games, and Pacman is probably the only one I've ever played. But this book has so many stars,,,,so I keep finding myself going back to it. I could kick myself for being so shallow in my thinking, for yes, this novel does take place against the backdrop of video game creation, but it is so, so much more. This is about true friendship, in all of its glory and ugliness. It is about the beauty and failure of being human. It is about selfishness and love so deep it defies explanation, It is about creativity and passion. I found the fluid point of view intriguing (part perspective, part interview, part reporting). I'm so happy to have found this book on NetGalley and deciding to take the plunge!

I loved this book so much. It was such an original read, centered around the early years of video game creation and two characters who dedicate their lives to creating games. It wasn't your traditional love story, but I think that's what made it so wonderful. It wasn't your typical happily ever after romance (I'm not even sure you could call it a romance at all) but the characters were so well created and the scenarios so realistic, I loved everything about it.

This was an amazing read! It totally lived up to hype. I recommend this book to all who wants a book they never will forget. I rate it five out of five stars!

I really enjoyed this book - I liked both of the main characters, enjoyed the many perspectives the novel took - and how each section felt like it was an actual progression of the story. It worked really well, and I really liked it. I don’t have a lot of game history knowledge but my husband is a gamer and I’ve heard him talk about many of the games mentioned throughout the book. But I don’t know if knowing these games is actually necessary for an enjoyment of the book.

I am still thinking about this book, days after having finished it. So many layers, so much depth. I can see why it has so much buzz about it. Fantastically told tale. Recommended for high school and adult libraries

This book was a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience. I believe there is magic when the right book finds the right reader at the right moment, and this was it for me. I think this book can find many of its "right readers" at a lot of different "right moments" because the terms of the story are so human and authentic. There is a lot of stuff about video games in this book, but you don't have to know or like video games to get so much from this book.

The characters feel alive on the page, more like friends than fiction. That is what will stay with me the longest - how I met them, got to know them, and then had to be left behind! I actually grieved when I reached the end of this book.

This is an instant classic. I feel that I can confidently recommend it to almost anyone.

I didn’t think this was going to be my type of book at all but I honestly couldn’t put it down. The mix of individual growth, romance, and friendship drew me straight into this book. I would recommend this to anyone

Loved this one! It's not my usual genre but I'd heard such good things I wanted to give it a try. From beginning to end this book kept me entertained, I loved the characters and really wanted good things for them.
Don't overlook this just because it might not be your normal genre, or typical read. Give it a chance, and I'm sure after 50 pages you'll be fully immersed!
Thanks Netgalley for this absolute treat

Sometimes I read a book that I cannot find the right words for the perfect review; this is one of those books. It has taken me many weeks to write this review because I was having a hard time putting my feeling into words. Mostly because this is a book full of feelings. There is love, friendship, betrayal, grief, racism, vulnerability, loneliness, success, guilt and many more. There are many references to video games but it does not matter if you are a daily gamer of do not have a clue about gaming because this book is about human emotions and interactions, not video games.
Sam and Sadie meet when they are 11 in a hospital. Both are having a hard time for drastically different reasons but they quickly bond over video games. Their friendship helps them through their difficult times but ends abruptly over a small misunderstanding. They run into each other while in college and easily restart their friendship due to the video games that Sadie is creating. They are flawed characters that have a terrible time accepting their flaws. They both try their best to seem invulnerable and yet the other friend easily sees their vulnerabilities, though they tend to not call the other friend out about their issues and this makes their friendship weak at times eventhough their business partnership is strong.
The supporting characters add important pieces to the lives of Sadie and Sam. Especially Marx. Marx is Sam's wealthy college roommate that joins the pair in their business venture by financing their first video game. He has a way of making Sam face his problems head on without making him feel forced or indebted to him. While Marx brings confidence to the extremely unconfident Sadie by encouraging her to leave an abusive relationship and believing in all of her video game creations. In many ways Marx is the glue that holds Sadie and Sam together.
This is an emotional coming of age journey that will have you feeling a full range of emotion. It is extremely well written, covering almost 30 years flawlessly with superb character development. Being told in alternating points of view helps the reader truly get to know each character and how they each feel when in certain situations. I highly recommend this book about life and the people, places and things that influence the direction that our lives lead for better or worse.
I am extremely grateful to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and Netgalley for the opportunity to read a digital copy of this beautiful contemporary fiction book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a great coming of age novel that would fit well into a choice book unit. The characters are well developed and the focus on friendship and its limits presents a meaningful theme for students. The book would probably fit best with juniors or seniors, but nothing in the book is inappropriate for ninth grade students and above.

I will admit, I am not a gamer--I have never played a real computer game or anything like what is described in this book. That being said, I absolutely loved this book, the characters, their ups and downs and the way they interacted with each other. The use of Asian characters had a purpose unlike other books where diversity is just thrown in, this book would have not been the same without the ethnicity of Sam and Marx. I did feel the Pioneer part of the book was a little long, I got the idea, but maybe to someone who plays games it would make more sense. I will confess that I cried and cried throughout the end of the story, I could really feel Sadie's pain, even though I could see what happened to Marx coming. However, the tears at the end were cathartic tears, I think the book didn't end exactly how I would have liked, but it had the right ending. I probably will never read it again as there is a lot of pain for Sadie and Sam, I would definitely recommend that it be read!

Two kids meet in a hospital when they are 11 and 12. This one meeting of playing games in a hospital waiting room will forever change their fate. The book spans around twenty-odd years of their lives. They fight they make up they are always challenging each other through the years. The beginning of their start of making video games together is near the beginning of video gaming becoming a big deal in society. So they are on the ground floor of gaming with only a few people coming before them. If you stay with the book you will need to think about it.

I honestly don't know what to say about this book. I'm a little overwhelmed. I get what the author was trying to do and I think they pulled it off, but like many of the games in the book, I have to sit and think about this for a hot minute before I talk about it. <spoiler> I will say that I figured Sadie and Sam would become more then friends in the end, but that is not the case. </spoiler> Overall the book is one that I'm glad I read.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a book outside of my normal comfort zone but I am definitely glad I gave it a chance. Zevin does an amazing job at bringing readers into the world of video games, both how it feels to be a gamer and the opposite side of things and how it feels to be the creator behind the scenes. In this book we are introduced to the world of Sam and Sadie, and later Marx, as they navigate the world from childhood to adulthood. The story is told from multiple point of views, and at the end of the day you are left feeling like you know everything and nothing at all about our main characters - which at the end of the day is how real life relationships with people work. The characters weren't perfect and as the reader you are center stage to all of their inherent character flaws and the ways that they do, or don't work through them. The book does a great job at describing the different layers to people, and their relationship, and how two people can love each other but never be in love with each other. Several of the chapters were haunting and gave me goosebumps at the way the emotional topics were handled. I strongly recommend reviewing the topic warnings before diving into this book, as there are a few unexpected topics that may be hard or triggering for some people including domestic abuse, death of a parent, gun violence, death of a loved one, car accidents, and medical trauma.

Thank you NetGalley and Knopf for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Love it! From beginning to end this book kept me entertained.
I cheered for the characters and wished them all well.
Do not pass on this because it might not be your normal genre. Give it a chance.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.