This is one of my favorite love stories. Yet, it's not a conventional one. Rather, it's a story about soul mates that are platonic, something that is so rare and coveted. It is about art. It is about connection. It is about failure and beginning again. And it is phenomenal.

This book starts with Sam and Sadie happening to cross paths again after they had a falling out as children when they became fast friends. They both have a past and present of loving video games and Sadie is now in school as a programmer, and Sam wants them to have a future in gaming as collaborators, just the two of them against the world. What they create from their creativity and limited resources launches them into legendary status with plenty of money and success, but also with this brings them stress, sorrow, and betrayals as well the joy. This story spans 30 years as you see parts of the past and present as Sadie and Sam navigate this success and what they truly want from their lives going forward, both together and separately.

Even through the trials and tribulations of the cast of characters, Zevin does insert tenderness and warmth throughout the story and I think the ending was wonderful. To me, this is the perfect type of ending that makes you feel like you really lived a whole life with these characters that jumped to life from the page, and it becomes a bit hard to say goodbye to them. That is really the highest kind of praise I can give a book—when I just simply do not want to leave it. I loved Sam, Sadie, and Marx, and the latter really took me by surprise with how much I came to care about him. The characterization is excellent, and Zevin knows her character’s souls and it shines through the pages. Sam and Sadie made downright frustrating choices throughout their lives, albeit human ones. They all contain so much depth and complexity, and I think the book elevated to an even higher level because of the characters themselves.

Zevin created a story that packs an emotional punch. You feel pain, you feel euphoria. You get your heart broken and then feel your spirits lift again. It’s a wholly inspiring story of what it takes to maintain a lifelong friendship, especially one as creative partners, something that to Sadie and Sam is even more intimate than anyone realizes.

And the nostalgia! The video games! The descriptions of the games that Sam and Sadie make—just wow. I truly feel like I could picture it exactly in my head, and it made me wish I could play the games that they made because they sound so fun.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a triumphant and moving piece of storytelling and one that I will always think of fondly. This is a new all-time favorite. 5 stars.

Tomorrow ✖️3

You know I was not sure about “Tomorrow, Tomorrow, Tomorrow “simply for the fact that I detest video games. However, on the other side of the coin I kept hearing all of the raving reviews. So in the end, how could I resist right? Well, I’m glad I didn’t listen to my first mind because if I had passed on this book I would have missed out on an incredible and inspiring reading experience!

Gabrielle Zevin presents us with a lot of themes to unpack in her thought provoking novel. One that resonates the most with me is the theme of love and friendship.

Take Sam and Marx for example. Marx enters Sam’s life when Sam is just a shy and quiet college freshman. From the moment Marx meets Sam he takes him under his wing and cares for him just as he would a brother. Aside from sharing Korean heritage on their respective mother’s side, these two men are as different as two people can be. While Sam comes from a poor working class background Marx is much higher up in the socioeconomic totem pole. Marx is a gregarious social butterfly sort of fellow while Sam is a self-proclaimed misanthrope.

I’d say the obvious question is how on earth did these two vastly dissimilar people become such good friends? The short answer is their mutual love of games. During one point of the story Marx even notes the intimacy that can be built between two grown men when they’re playing Dungeons and Dragons.

Sam and Marx’s love of games lasts throughout their entire friendship. It takes on many different forms including a partnership with Sadie where they create their groundbreaking and innovative video game company Unfair Games.

While Sam and Marx have a relatively easygoing relationship the same cannot be said about Sam and Sadie’s friendship. Their friendship has spanned decades and many of those years are marked by a series of misunderstandings, hurt feelings, and sometimes outright hostility. At the center of their often tumultuous relationship is their respective love of gaming, which is interesting because as previously stated gaming is what cemented Max and Sam‘s love and respect for each other.

Although I may be in the minority when I say this I really feel that many of the problems that occur between Sam and Sadie are as direct result of Sam’s actions. When it comes to the games that they create Sam tends to have tunnel vision, which is a major problem because it prevents him from truly empathizing with the emotional pain she experiences in life. Sam values the game so much that he performs the ultimate act of betrayal by encouraging Sadie to go back to Dov, her toxic former mentor/ex, so that she can gain access to his trademarked graphic engine, which Sam believes is the important missing element in Ichigo, the very first video game he and Sadie created together.

In the end Sam redeems himself in my eyes by performing the grand gesture of all grand gestures. When Sadie is at her most unreachable emotionally he proves that he is the only one who can breach her walls. Gaming is Sam’s love language and he uses it to create an immersive gaming world where he is able to communicate his feelings for Sadie. This is what finally convinces her that Sam truly does care for her and that he does find value in their friendship. Gaming, which has torn them apart for many years has finally brought them back together. By the end of this story the message is clear: as long as there is gaming there is Sadie and Sam.

“Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” is well-deserving of its many accolades and awards. It will resonate with me for many years to come. I am truly grateful to NetGalley for gifting me this incredible book in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this book. I didn’t rate it right away, because I kept feeling bad about my lack of love- but let’s face it, it was boring. The characters were static, nothing happened. I don’t understand. I kept waiting for it to get good. It wasn’t even that long of a book, and it felt never ending.

One of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. In a blurb featured on the back, Nathan Hill calls it the Great American Gamer Novel and that’s a start to describe it. It’s expansive, it took over a part of my heart that I willingly cede to Sam and Sadie and Marx forever. A rumination on friendship, on the purpose and joy of gaming, and on the power of connection.

You almost want to stop reading so that you delay the inevitable conclusion of this masterpiece. A loving, introspective look at flawed young people. A tale of ambition, loss, redemption.

This book was not for me unfortunately. I wanted so bad to like it because everyone else has loved it. I just found myself so bored and unable to even finish.

As a huge fan of Gabrielle Zevin, I was so excited to read this newest entry and it did not disappoint. I am not a gamer, but the world of these characters completely captivated me. Totally awesome.

Unpopular opinion, but. I did not love this book. I went in with huge expectations and I was quite disappointed. There has been so much hype about this book. What I did like was the deep friendship between Sam and Sadie. I adored Marx and his devotion to gaming and to Sam and Sadie. The characters were well fleshed out. This was touted as a book where you did not need to have an interest in gaming to enjoy and appreciate the book. For me this was not true. I am not a gamer and have zero interest in gaming. The plot revolves around the friendships and that was lovely. However, the gaming jargon and a good part of the last part of the book related to a particular game and it bored me. People have this on their best of 2022 list. Sadly it will not be on mine. Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion of the book

This book is not for me. I ended up not finishing up because I didn’t care for the writing style. The storyline sounded great, but I just could not read it.

Beautiful novel by Gabrielle Zevin! This isn’t a novel I’d expect to enjoy, I’ve never played video games, I’ve never had an interest in computer science either but at the heart of a novel is a young group of friends figuring life out and dealing with unimaginable headships along the way: beautifully written.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

I just finished an absolutely lovely book about ….. gaming. I know absolutely nothing about the subject, but that didn’t stop me from enjoying this world with its rich and interesting characters and a compelling plot.

Apparently I like books about things I know zip about. This joins the terrific hockey books by Frederick Backman and the Walter Tevis’s wonderful book about chess. Maybe this should be a new genre for me.

One of the best books of 2022. This novel will stay with me for a long time. I enjoyed the references to literature throughout the book and just how important the pieces are. As a person who does not really follow vide games, I was still able to appreciate the role video games play in this novel. Such a beautiful book.

This was the best book I have read all year. Like her earlier book, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, I was completely immersed in the story. I love the characters, they are so multi-dimensional and realistic. I voted for this on Goodreads as the best book of 2022;

I really loved this book. It was original and kept me on my toes! Definitely recommend this one to anyone who wants a great story!

3.5 stars

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow took me almost 2 months to get through. It was a meandering story, and very character-driven. However, I hated almost all of the characters because they were extremely selfish. Each had their own traumas and depressive states, which perhaps explained some of their egocentric behavior, but these facts didn't really help me like them any more. Dov was the worst person ever.

I was leaning toward disliking this book, but around 75% ("The NPC"), it took a turn that really gutted me. And Marx became my favorite character, and the only one I found really tolerable throughout the book. There were some beautiful passages, but overall I found Sadie and Sam's relationship really dysfunctional and they were often really cruel to one another. This is unlike any book I've read, but I'm not sure that I recommend it.

I loved this so very much. AJ FIKRY was my only previous experience with Zevin's work and while I enjoyed that immensely, it also felt like a candy-treat designed for me -- fun, yummy, and quick. This book is so much more, so much bigger, so much *better* (and I loved FIKRY) while retaining that intimate for-me quality. A moving story of friendship and collaboration and love, with audacious formal experiments tucked inside. I cried, I laughed, I loved.

Thank you to the publishers for sending me this ARC through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review!

There were some really great moments and scenes in this novel, yet unfortunately, I found the writing style to be on the mundane side. There is a lot to be appreciated in the characters and their development throughout the story. The plot on the other hand was overdrawn to the point of causing boredom. The characters are what kept me going.

The way that video games are used and described in this novel is quite clever. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy contemporary fiction, character-driven stories, and video game development.

Great book! I would highly recommend adding it to your must be read list. All the characters were interesting and relatable. The gaming vibe was an outstanding idea and made the book a five star for me!

From the very first chapter I knew this book was not for me, but I pushed on because of the hype.

Sadly, it just got worse. Sam is one of the worst characters I have ever read. He is a misogynistic asshole from the very beginning and had some very concerning behavior when speaking or thinking about Sadie. I guess I can't just place all blame on Sam, almost all the male characters had concerning behavior and feelings toward women including a creepy professor.

I thought I would enjoy the parts about gaming and they were fine, but it did not help with the distaste I already had against the characters. I held out to see if I would get emotional at the end of this novel like most people do, but although sad, I did not care enough for any of the characters to be upset.

Overall, this book just fed into the misogynistic nature of the gaming industry and tried to hide under the guise of being woke. The book did not seem to care about any of the bad behavior happening and the characters just let things go without caring how it hurt others. I just felt like I was reading about the most toxic people ever.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Historical fiction and friendship and gaming and Shakespeare references galore.

where did ya come from? Received this as an eARC from the publisher and I kept hearing about it. I didn't choose it as my Book of the Month only because I already had it digitally, but BOTM making it book of the year made me excited to finish reading it.

the good stuff: Sadie and Sam and Marx. I loved these three characters so so much. They go through so much of life together and apart in this book. Sadie's struggle with her abusive relationship with her former professor, her struggle within the gaming world/tech world as a female, and her complicated friendship/frenemyship with Sam made her fascinating and relatable and lovable all at once. Marx is easy to love because we meet him once we already care about Sam and anyone who cares about Sam is immediately lovable. Marx has this kind soul that wants to take care of people and experience life to its fullest and his death shattered me. Sam is the underdog. He refuses to be the underdog, though. His disability that he refuses to acknowledge and his drive to be something make him lovable. He doesn't want his past to define him and he refuses to allow it more presence than necessary in the present. His relationship with his grandparents softens him, as does his friendship with Sadie and his friendship with Marx. Without these people he cares for, Sam would be difficult to love.

my complaints: I actually don't think I have any specific complaints. I was worried that Sam and Sadie would become a couple at some point and I was thrilled to find that wasn't the case. So many books feel the need to make an opposite sex pair into a romantic relationship and I really enjoyed that this never crossed that line. It was so good to see this genuine friendship between a man and woman.