Definitely a sweet story for almost anyone, although I have a hard time understanding why it has been chosen as Book of the Year for various groups. The story is centered largely on a triparte friendship between Sadie Green, Sam Masur, and Marx Wanatabe. The three are video game developers who eventually end up owning their own developing firm. Sadie and Sam have been friends for decades, stemming back to Sadie's 600+ hours of visiting Sam in the hospital as he recovered from a serious injury. Marx comes into the picture much later to fund development of one of Sadie and Sam's games. The story is a very slow burn. Although you need not know anything about video games to enjoy it, the description and development of various games will not be for everyone and seems to drag out. I wanted more of the personal stories and relationships between the three characters than development of the games. The chapter regarding Marx's reflection on life (no spoilers!) was one of the best chapters I've ever read in a book - I wanted more of that!

I find it hard to care about video games. I study computer science at university, and with awareness of the intricacy of their development, I still find it difficult to care. Thus, an entire book centered around the significance and art of video games was never really going to emotionally resonate with me. It’s also practically daring me to fact check it on its game dev content. This book makes game dev look spectacularly easier than it actually is. The video game industry is one of the most brutal of an already brutal sector; it’s a money-making factory that, due to the demand of constant upgrades, is known for working its employees cruelly and unjustly. It does make a conscious effort to depict it accurately, and some of the ease can be accounted for by its time period, but it's still doomed to be frustrating. Also, if such is going to be used to justify it’s stilted portrayal of the industry (“it’s not like today!”), then I would have expected much more nostalgia. Instead, I frequently forgot that this was historical fiction, technically.
Beyond my somewhat unsubstantiated dislike of video game centered novels, the other confounding influence to my opinion is the fact that this book is essentially the prequel to Ready Player One that no one asked for. It could, with little modification necessary, be a novellization of the three people who start the RP1 VR world–even down to the sexual envy one of the founders feels for the other. Ready Player One was a deeply flawed novel, and its sequel was quite possibly one of the worst books I have ever read. Perhaps the ties to this book have tainted my reading experience–truly, this reads as the fanfiction origin story of the creator’s of Ready Player One’s universe.
Video games aside, RP1 comparisons aside–the strength of this novel is in its characters, and this, at least, I have little to gripe about. The two characters that carry us through the novel are deeply flawed. I would also like to credit the female characters for where said credit is due; gaming women, more so than many other female demographics, are reduced to manic pixie dream girls with impeccable trigger fingers (I glare, pointedly, at Ernest Cline). She was so truly flawed. Horrible, so frequently. Selfish, so frequently. Still, in the dichotomy between her and Sam, the author allowed her to be annoying and unlikeable in a genre that rarely allows its characters to do so. The response I had to her as a reader was so strong; stronger than a character had inflicted on me in a while, try as much recently released literary fiction might. Some of the choices she made, especially regarding her abusive teacher relationship, could have been clarified (currently, I’m having to give the author the benefit of the doubt on a couple points), and I think the writing fell flat when the characters moved out of their heads and interacted with each other. But, it still stands that Sadie was flawed in a literary space and metaphorical one where that isn’t usually allowed.
Since receiving this ARC, this book has been launched to stratospheric popularity–one of the biggest books of the year. While for one, this is a sad reminder that I should be on top of my Netgalley reviews or face the consequences, it also demonstrates how I could never predict literary trends if I tried. I didn’t think this book would be big–as aforementioned, it's a rewrite of RP1 with actual character development–and I don’t really think it deserves the astronomical acclaim it's wrought. It’s not the worst book the internet could have picked to be its darling, but I’m, once again, left a little confused as to what made it so.

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but it was masterful written. Wistful, sad, and full of questions about how our relationships contain layers of meaning. It got me interested in the technology behind video games. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, because at its core this book is about the power of friendship and forgiveness,

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for this ARC! I’m very behind on reading this, but I’m so glad I did read it.

This is beautifully tragic and raw coming of age story. I really enjoyed all the video games and Shakespeare references, two things that you would never think would work together, but did. This was my first read by this author, but I’m looking forward to reading more.

This book tells the story of Sam and Sadie who meet in childhood and bond over a shared love of video games at a time when they both needed a friend. Zevin weaves a story taking them into their late 30's as they navigate life through its ups and downs. There are many poignant moments in the book with some lines I will reread. Though this book has the backdrop of the video game industry, it is a book about relationships. I would recommend this book to most anyone except those that desire a fast page burner suspense.

As a lover of video games and stories about the complexities of friendships that sometimes might be more, I knew I would love this book.

It surprised me, made me cry, and made me think about life and art and how we find meaning.

Agreeing with the hype here. This one is fantastic. Heavy and heartbreaking at times, with some clumsy linguistic choices in the first chapter or so, but well worth a read.

I had heard a lot of glowing reviews for it beforehand. Maybe I went in with too much expectation because of those reviews, but this one was just ok for me.

Sadie and Sam become childhood friends at a hospital where Sadie’s sister is being treated. They share a love of video games and a friendship that lasts a lifetime ensues. The book has well developed characters and relationships, but left me wanting something more from it.

Amazing, amazing, amazing!! Easily my favourite book of 2022, and I’m still thinking about it months on. I truly don’t have the words for how much I loved this book.

Such a powerful story. Really enjoyed it. This book made my heart ache. It’s my first time reading a book by the author Gabriel Zavin and I am very impressed!

I went into this book completely blind, and I'm glad I did.

Saw it everywhere and decided to give it a shot and requested it on NetGalley. They accepted, and now here we are.

This book has a bit of a slow start, but once you get through the hump, you are captivated.

This book made me feel like I was alongside Sadie and Sam going through their rollercoaster of friendship. If you are expecting a friends-to-lovers trope, this is not for you. This book is raw, messy, and complicated. Sam needs to learn how to communicate better, and Sadie needs therapy, lol, but I love them. The trauma they went through, and the way they have always been there for each other in one way or another.

I hope everyone has a friend willing to go to the other side of the country for you, I know I do, and just like Sam and Sadie, I am fortunate.

Thank you, NetGalley, Gabrielle Zevin, and Knopf publishing, for my e-arc.

This was a change-up from my usual read, and wow. I didn't think I would be interested in the story, but a friend told me to ignore the video game thing. The story was worth it, and she did not lie. This was a story over decades about friendship, trust, grief, and becoming comfortable with yourself. Be prepared to sob. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but Tomorrow x3 did not live up to the early glowing reviews for me. It’s now been a few months since I’ve read this, and while I thought maybe I’d grow to appreciate the book more with time, I haven’t. I’m not saying I disliked it, but it didn’t feel *special* to me the way it was hyped up to be.

The beginning of the book did a great job of getting my attention, but as I approached the middle, it mostly lost its appeal. I loved seeing the beginning of Sam and Sadie’s friendship and their strides toward making video games. While their relationship was touching, it was also toxic. I wasn’t a fan of either character individually, so that made it difficult to get through a 400+ page book about them. The sections of the book written as video games detracted from the story for me, and the love triangle was predictable and didn’t make sense.

Overall, I think this was just too melodramatic and long for me, but I commend Zevin on her beautiful writing and originality.

⚠️ CWs: suicide, death, gun violence, pregnancy, grief, racism

I struggled with this book. I was extremely interested in reading a book about video games creation and I learned a lot. The plot was fairly original, but I really disliked almost all of the characters. Mostly, I found myself disagreeing with almost all of their personal choices. These characters, were they real people, would probably not be close friends in large part because of their self-destructiveness and inability to see that their choices were really hurting themselves rather than liberating them. The one character I did like didn't make it through the book, but I could feel his presence throughout.

I did appreciate the writing, however, which sent me to a dictionary more often than I realized, and created a story I will certainly never forget. I also appreciated the restraint Zevin exercised in not writing explicit scenes for the parts I found objectionable, which would likely have resulted in me not finishing the book. In the end, I am reluctant to recommend this book to my students, though I have discussed it with a few of the more mature ones.

This book was a "must read" according to Goodreads. Unfortunately it was just "meh" for me. I think it was the relationships that bothered me- the self destruction. I see why people enjoyed reading it, the writing was good. It just wasn't for me.

I absolutely loved this one. From start to finish I was engaged and enamored. Even with all of the video game talk, which is not my thing, I was never bored or felt like I was in over my head. We were just enough in the world to make it real but the language didn’t bog down the story. I was near tears at points and thought it was so beautiful. What a story about growth, love and friendships. This was a five star read for me.

A book for gamers which I am not. A relationship extending back to childhood falls apart after a shooting.

There are not enough words for this book. I loved this book so much and since I have a background in gaming, it appealed to me even more. But the characters were well thought out and the twist at the end had me crying my eyes out. This is probably my top book of 2022.

I absolutely positively loved this book. Despite it being about a topic I’m relatively uninterested in (video games) I found the store and friendships captivating. This book has stuck with me for awhile and I’ve recommended it to many friends. Highly recommend!

One of the most beloved books of the year is this sweeping story of friendship, love, grief, recovery, and video games.

Sadie and Sam meet in the hospital when they are 11 years old in the late 1980s. Sadie is visiting her older sister and Sam is recovering from one of several surgeries to repair his foot, which was crushed in a car accident. She finds Sam in the hospital’s game room and she is impressed with his skill at Super Mario Bros.

Even though Sam hasn’t spoken to anyone since he came to the hospital, he and Sadie strike up a friendship, mostly bonding over video games. She even comes to the hospital to visit him after her sister is released, and they spend a great deal of time together until an argument ends their friendship.

Years later, Sam spots Sadie on a crowded subway platform in Boston. He knows she’s a student at MIT, while he attends Harvard, but they’ve not seen each other since they were 13. But quickly it’s as if no time has passed, and that encounter is the spark that leads to their partnering on developing a video game.

The story follows them over the next 15 or so years, as they become famous video game developers, and deal with personal and professional ups and downs. Their friendship is tested time and again, with jealousy, misunderstandings, ambition, and tragedy affecting them. It’s a powerful and emotional story, which meandered a bit too much for me, but it definitely kept me invested in the characters’ stories.

While you don’t have to know much about video games to read this, it would help. But I enjoyed the portrayal of their creativity and genius, as well as the commentary about video games’ effect on society.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for the complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review!

I loved Zevin's The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, and I love a good coming-of-age story, so I was very interested in giving this book a try. And I loved it just as much as A. J. Fikry. It's a story about three brilliant kids who start a videogame company, and yes, videogames are a big part of the story - which scared me just a bit because I've never been a gamer, at least not these type of role-playing games. But like most of my favorite books, the gaming is just the background against which Zevin has set a story about so much more - friendship, love and loss, success and failure, betrayal and forgiveness, loyalty, family and the different ways we learn about and deal with all those things and more. At the heart of the book are Sadie and Sam, who initially meet as kids in a hospital and bond over their shared interest in videogames. They're extremely close for a few months, but after a falling out, they don't see each other again until they're both college students. Ultimately they start a successful gaming company with Sam's roommate, Marx. And the things that happen along the way - well, it's all the beauty and heartache of life. It's just a lovely book.
Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday for providing a copy for an unbiased review.