Member Reviews

I couldn't get into this even though I tried a few times. I have heard really good things, I just don't think it's my kind of book.

Was this review helpful?

There is so much to love about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. This book spans a friendship that's so much more between Sam and Sadie who meet at a hospital as children and reunite as college students. They're both avid gamers and highly intelligent and eventually create games together. What happens during their relationship tests their friendship and also makes it more solid.

I read Zevin's previous hit book, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, with my book club, so I thought I may enjoy this one, but you never know. Right away, the way the story is written, the nuanced and original characters, and the surprising twists and turns never get old. I felt fully invested in all the characters--even the supporting ones and felt their pain, their joy, and empathized with them all.

While the book does focus on two gamers, people who do not particularly like video games will not feel left out. It's really not about gaming or designing games although you'll find a lot of the book deals with those pursuits, but it's only a part of the book. And it is easily digested because the story itself is so good. Seriously, this book could have been about any other industry--firefighting, cooking, whatever--and anyone could enjoy it.

I will say being married to a gamer, raising a gamer, and dabbling in games myself did resonate when I read the book. But that only increased my enjoyment. So, it's perfect for people who do love video games of any kind.

As I read this, I thought, why am I not binging on Zevin's other books? These two books that I've read of hers were amazing. It's no surprise that both are being made into movies because the books are both so engaging. And I was even more excited that Kunal Nayyar from The Big Bang Theory is playing A.J. Fikry in the movie, which I believe is coming out soon.

Loved this book and hope to get my hands on the rest of her books. Zevin is an excellent writer who will probably offer even more exciting and appealing books and characters in the future.

Was this review helpful?

“What is a game?’ Marx said. ‘It’s tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It’s the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.” (pg. 336)

Sensational. A true masterpiece, and absolutely one of my favorites of the year!

A coming-of-age character-driven book two people creating video games, but it’s so much more than that. It delves into the complexities of relationships, friendships, family, identity, disability, and love.

It had all the nostalgia paired with the coziest, immersive, and creative writing. Melancholy and complex, simple yet engrossing, a story about connection and feeling connected to one another with flawed and redeemable characters, there was just so much about this story I loved. I simultaneously wanted to savor and devour this book. This is a story that I know will stay with me for a long time.

A brilliant story about two people who love video games and each other.

⚠️ It should be noted that there are many trigger warnings for this one!

Was this review helpful?

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.” Is one of those books that I’m glad I stuck with it in the end. As others have mentioned, it tends to drag, especially in the first half in my opinion, and if you don’t love video games you may lose interest. Yes, it does have a “love story”, but ultimately it almost felt like a character study on how relationships change and grow and disconnect and heal.

Once the pace picks up, I found myself completely invested. I found the later half to be heartbreaking and beautiful.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Thank you, Netgalley, the author and the publisher for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

I really liked this book, especially the character development, representation and friendship plot line. I'm not much of a gamer myself, but could still understand what was going on. I loved the nostalgic vibe, too!

The story follows our main characters, Sadie and Sam, who met in a hospital as kids. They bond over playing video games together and even found their own company/make their own video games later, but that's not without some turbulence throughout their growing years - just like a lot of friendships in the 'real world'.

I feel like the characters were relatable with their complexities and flaws, and that was one of the biggest messages, I think - that people are imperfect, but we need each other. I'm excited to follow this author's career, and would definitely pick up another book written by them.

Was this review helpful?

Story about two friends who reunite after a falling out and end up making a wildly successful game together. Very interesting and I learned quite a bit about the gaming world. What I liked best about this book were the very real, very well drawn characters. There were a couple of sections where I felt the book dragged but for the most part I was always eager to get back to it and find out if Sam and Sadie were going to make it through all of their rough patches.

Was this review helpful?

I absolutely loved this novel and found it to be such a special portrayal of friendship as well as artistic craft. I've heard so many readers say "I loved this book even though I'm not a gamer". Well, gaming is far from a requirement because it's more of a means to capture the excitement of creativity and that all encompassing feeling of a passion consuming your heart and soul. It has a nostalgic, comforting quality and brought me back to what ignited that spark in me when I was younger. I also found it to be an incredibly aspirational read in that creative brainstorming has this almost magical, blissful, ideal quality for me because it's a personal weak spot; on the rare occasion that I have a lightbulb moment and I'm flooded with ideas it's a sort of euphoria... Sadie and Sam's design sessions put me in that brilliantly exciting space. This book also made me want to take up gaming; it's rare that a novel gets me so interested in a topic that it ignites a new interest to live on in my real world outside of its pages but whenever it happens it's a testament to the story.

The usage of gaming metaphors and symbolism throughout was truly fantastic. They really added to the cleverness and depth of the book and always felt natural versus forced. I particularly enjoyed the structure of the Both Sides section coming at a time when Sam & Sadie weren't close. It parallels and heightens how separate they are at the time and that the game is a flop shows they're better together. The phantom limb pain mimicking Sam's pain without Sadie... it was all wonderful. It's such a fantastic and layered story about friendship.

There's something intangible about the writing that drew me in... the plot was slower and I didn't feel overly attached to the characters but the writing drew me into this world and made me want to constantly cozy up into it. I really savored this one and did not want it to end.

Was this review helpful?

WOW sometimes you start a book and immediately know it's going to sit with you for the rest of your life. This is one of those. Will now need to read every book this author has ever written because... wow.

Was this review helpful?

This book has had a lot of hype, but I was still a little unsure going into this book because I am not, nor have I ever been a gamer. I mean, back in the day I played some Tetris or Pacman, but that's the extent of my gamer-ness. But just know - you do NOT have to be a gamer to enjoy this one!

Our three main characters are Sadie, Sam and Marx. I found them all to be likable and quirky in their own way. Sam and Sadie met when they were pre-teens over, you guessed it, a video game in a hospital, where Sam was after a horrific car crash and Sadie's sister was undergoing cancer treatment. They formed a deep friendship, but then a bit of a misunderstanding had them going years without seeing each other. Years later, as they are both finishing up college, they run into each other and reconnect. They then end up joining forces with Marx to create a video game.

The relationship between these three was complicated. Their friendship runs deep, but not without bumps in the road, as is with real life and friends.

Tragedy strikes, things change, and I felt this portion was so well done by the author. It made you feel all the range of emotions.

More a coming of age and friendship story than a gamer story. If the gamer aspect has you hesitating, ignore that and pick up this book!

Thank to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Was this review helpful?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin was such an interesting read. It was like going back in time but also going forward in time. I didn’t really know what to expect about a book all about playing and making video games- but I liked it. It was nostalgic (hello Oregon Trail) and it was very central to today’s gamers (my own son included). I found it very interesting to see behind the scenes of how a video game is created. I found that the author used quite a lot of obscure words that I had to look up. Did anyone else find that interesting? I also really enjoyed, for the most part, the friendships/romance between Sam and Sadie and Marx in the story. I didn’t like Sadie’s professor at all. I thought those parts of the story didn’t really fit in to the theme of the book. But, that’s just my opinion. Maybe other readers feel differently.

If you’ve read it, what did you think? Love? Hate? Indifferent?

Thanks to @netgalley and @aaknopf for the arc.

Was this review helpful?

I don’t usually read books so long and so slow paced but I loved this so much, although it did feel like it kept going on at parts, there isn’t a single thing I’d cut out of it. It felt so nostalgic to me and written as if i was there experiencing the whole adventure with them, interview style. Not as much drama as Daisy jones and the six but the same kind of multiple people from the story giving their commentary throughout reciting how the past events occur. The relationships between the characters were beautiful and the gaming aspect isn’t something i personally read about alot but really enjoyed so would love to read more of in the future.

Was this review helpful?

Sam and Sadie became friends when they met at a hospital as tweens. Video games brought them together. Throughout adolescence, they had their ups and downs and lost touch. When they have a chance encounter during college, the story really begins. When Sam and Sadie reunite, they form a powerful, creative team working together to design video games. I am NOT a gamer - at all - but I loved this book. It's about so much more than video games. It was long and had a lot going on with more than its fair share of tough stuff, but so far it's one of my favorite reads of 2022.

Thank you to Knopf and NetGalley for a review copy of this book.

Was this review helpful?

I had such high expectations from Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin because I loved The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry so much. When I tell you not only did T3 meet my expectations, but surpassed them, I am not exaggerating. The way this story spans time is perfectly executed and I ended the book feeling I knew Sam and Sadie very well. The video game references were nostalgic and made me remember some good times. There were times when I wanted to yell at Sadie and Sam but I appreciated that they had their flaws. T3 is a great coming of age story.

Was this review helpful?

Sadie and Sam and Marx are characters that will stay with me a long time. This book is about video games but that's just the vehicle through which we learn about these characters and their lives and relationships. I grew to care about each character and I loved going back to the late 90s and watching them grow into adulthood - so nostalgic for me. And LA Koreatown/Venice/Silver Lake was also bringing me back - I could've bumped into these characters back in the day! I hadn't read anything by Zevin before but now I will be reading ALL her books. This lightweight reminded me of A Little Life without as much trauma, trauma, trauma. And that's one of my all time favorite books so that's quite a comparison. But I loved this book so much, I predict it will be my #1 book of this year and we still have 4 months to go.

Was this review helpful?

This was an absolute five star read for me! In the beginning, I wasn't so sure--it moved a bit slowly, but I was still loving it so of course I kept going. By about 45% I could NOT stop reading! I absolutely adored these characters, even when though they annoyed me sometimes. They were SO well developed and so REAL. After I finished the book I had a huge book hangover because I missed them. Marx was without a doubt my favorite character. This book gave me all the feels. You do not need to be a gamer to love this book--it's so much more than that. I did love the 90's and Oregon Trail references though!

Trigger warnings for suicide, mass shooting

Was this review helpful?

This book is a hidden gem that you don't want to miss. Beautifully written, poignant, and inspiring while still being so much fun. Gave me some nostalgia even though I'm not big into the gaming scene, I could still enjoy and appreciate the world of gaming in this novel.

Was this review helpful?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautiful novel about love, friendship, and the connective power of video games. This is my first taste of author Gabrielle Zavin, and I have to say I was impressed, this is beautifully written and smart storytelling that goes back and forth in time, embedded in the world of gaming. I loved this book, despite not being a video game person at all. The writing is exceptional and the characters are very real. This book was utterly unique and beautiful.

Was this review helpful?

This deserves all the hype! The intimacy of the relationships and incredible character development are one of a kind. Gabrielle Zevin really delivered.

Was this review helpful?

I didn't know what I expected when I first started this book. This wasn't even a book that I was looking forward to this year, but wow. This is one of the best books of the year. It was so emotional and so satisfying.

Was this review helpful?

I have a hard time knowing how to review this. There were points I LOVED this. There were also points I hated enough that I was legitimately considering a DNF. I can see why it’s so popular. It reminded me a bit of a better Normal People in some intangible ways(another Booksta sweetheart, which I absolutely hated 🤣).

There were many beautifully poignant and thought provoking passages. Of course there was also a lot of the typical refusal to communicate that annoys me to my very core usually, but here it was more realistic.

I really appreciated how the tension and turmoil of collaboration with a beloved friend was portrayed. I have been there and it can be so freaking hard when your goals and ideas of success are so vastly different. When there isn’t a right opinion or answer, how do you choose what path to take? How do you compromise without betraying yourself?

I think where this book got me was that our two protagonists, Sam and Sadie, ended up going from lovable and relatable to being completely unlikeable, insufferable narcissists. Luckily this was not the end of the story, but wow the going got tough there for a spell.

I have also read so many reviews saying that people wanted to play video games after this. I definitely did not at all 🤣 For whatever reason, my brain went straight to Pixar, and how the story was always as important as the visual aspects of animation.

This is getting long winded. So in conclusion, I liked this book. I may have loved it but parts made me mad. I think Taylor Swift put it best: “Like any true love, it drives you crazy but you wouldn’t change anything.”

Was this review helpful?