As children, Sam Masur and Sadie Green met under the most unfortunate of circumstances- Sam in the hospital from a horrific car accident, Sadie there visiting her sick sister. One day Sadie and Sam cross paths, seemingly bonding over their mutual love for gaming. For a preoccupied Sadie this meeting is fleeting, but for a bedridden Sam, the meeting is everything. The hospital staff notices a marked difference in Sam’s behavior after meeting Sadie, so they ask her to continue to visit him as a community service of sorts. Sam, however, doesn’t know about the arrangement.

And the game begins.

Although they drift apart as children, it quickly becomes clear to the reader that they were destined to meet. As the story unfolds, we visit with Sam and Sadie in different points in their lives. As teens in the 90s, they could never know the influence they would have on the gaming world, or on each other. Opposites in many ways, their love for gaming is what keeps them connected. Spanning decades, we see the evolution of their Lennon and McCartney like relationship, set amidst the backdrop of the ever evolving world of technology and video games.

If you were a gamer in the nineties, or even if you love books that deep dive into video game culture, Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow might really resonate with you. In the beginning of this story I was drawn in by the Super Mario, Frogger, Duck Hunt references. Heck, even the Magic Eye stuff got me (although it brought back memories of not being able to see the images despite my best efforts). In a nutshell, as someone who played video games in the nineties and loved the likes of books like Ready Player One, I am, in many ways, this book’s core audience.

And yet…I had a hard time connecting with this story. At times, I think the literary aspect of this seemed too drawn out and unnecessarily verbose for my tastes. In the first half I nearly DNF’ed because I found myself equal parts confused and bored. The second half, however, grabbed my interest again. I suppose this is not unlike a video game itself. Some levels are really exciting, others you struggle to get past.

For the most part I’ve seen rave reviews about this book, so I suggest taking the controller in your own hands before forfeiting this game completely.

📚Book Review📚
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow
Genre: contemporary fiction
CW: gun violence, suicide, death, toxic relationship, drug use, abortion, cancer, cultural appropriation
Thank you @netgalley and @aaknopf for the digital ARC. I loved it so much I had to buy a physical copy immediately.

Obviously, you have seen this book making the rounds on the internet and know that everyone is loving it. Ashley Spivey put this one on my radar early which prompted me to request it on @netgalley. It is incredible.

This book is beautifully written. We see the characters grow, mature, learn some of life’s hard lessons, experience heartbreak, thrive, and go through everything else life has to offer. I honestly cannot express why this book is so good - it’s just a feeling. As I discussed briefly with a fellow reader, it’s a vibe. And I am here for it.

I’m already looking forward to discussing this book with my book club in September!

3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was a slow but interesting book. I really enjoyed the ever-changing story of the friendship between Sam, Sadie, and Marx. I thought the book did a good job of giving each of the characters a lot of depth and backstory, as well as portrayed a very realistic look at friendships that span decades. We've all had relationships in our lives that ebb and flow, and change over the years - sometimes you grow together, other times you grow apart. This book delves into that beautifully, and shows how important it can be to fight for those relationships that mean the most to us.

I also enjoyed some of the throwbacks to Oregon Trail, Donkey Kong and other 90's pop culture references. It definitely made it easier to relate to for me. I also loved the descriptions of the games they created - I felt they were described well enough that I could get a clear picture in my mind of what it would be like to play those games.

That said, the focus on games and gaming is extensive and may not be for everyone. If you have never taken an interest in video games, I think it may be a bit boring for you at points. For the most part, I did not mind it, but also grew up in the era of games being referenced in the book. For those of you that love gaming or have always had an interest in the behind-the-scenes of the gaming world, I'd expect that you'll really enjoy it!

I also found the timeline to jump around quite a bit without blatantly letting the reader know it was jumping to a different time (this was an ARC, so I'm not sure if the finished copy is the same in that respect). I had a friend ask if it would be a good one to listen to on audio, and honestly, unless the audio version lets the listener know about the changes in timeline, I think it could be quite confusing. Just something to keep in mind if you are consider the audio (to be clear, I have NOT listened to it and am only reviewing the ebook at this point).

I'd probably rate the overall book as a 3 star (which in my rating system, means I liked it), but I'd rate the friendship plotline as a 4 (I REALLY liked it), bringing my overall rating to 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the e-arc of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This one is tough to rate for me because I know a lot of people will love it, but it's not the book for me. This novel follows the lives of two avid video gamers whose lives intersect several times in meaningful ways. It's a raw depiction of the course that relationships sometimes take and how some loves can be fraught. I loved all the gaming references and the way that the games were woven into the narratives. Fans of Ready Player One will really enjoy this book for its references to classic games and creative descriptions of fictional video games. Why wasn't this the right book for me personally? I don't enjoy reading about relationships that fall apart, or characters who you just want to take their shoulders and shake them saying "why did you do that?!", which this book is filled with (in my opinion). I know some enjoy the realness of that dynamic = it's just not for me.

I also had to look up words in the dictionary a lot for a novel. It felt like the author wanted to show off a few times with a thesaurus and a French dictionary. I don't necessarily find vocabulary like that off-putting, but it often brought me out of the narrative and had me thinking why they chose an term that hasn't been used in 200 years instead of just saying the more common word.

I barely know how to review this one except to say READ IT! I feel that what I’m about to write isn’t going to convey just how much I loved this book or how much it made my heart happy so let me say this: I truly didn’t want this story to end, I could have stayed with these characters forever. I don’t often re-read books but I think I would pick this one up again as I have a feeling that it’s one of those books that you learn a different life lesson every time you read it and if that isn’t magic, then I don’t know what is.

To me this book is truly about love in all its different forms and how that love can transform over years. It’s about the love of friends, family and lovers. The love we have for our careers and hobbies and the things we create. But it’s also about grief and loss, which also are demonstrators of our love.

You’ll also be confronted with the topics of disability, power, sexism within the workplace and recognition of work; who created which bit, who gets the respect and adoration from the industry and media, does it matter, does it create resentment?

I also appreciated the social and cultural aspects the Zevin was able to weave into the games Sam and Sadie created as well as the overall story - cultural appropriation, same-sex marriage, gun violence.

Gaming is a character in itself within the book, and this made me a little nervous going in as I really know next to nothing about the community, but you don’t need to! What is written didn’t go over my head and the elements that were there truly served a purpose and made me understand the characters better but also the gaming world. What I took away is that it’s much like the book community, it is a hobby that helps you escape and take a break from the real world, sometimes allowing you to go off and live somewhere that we all wish was possible.

Thank you to Netgally and Knopf Doubleday for the review copy.

DNF at 47%. I’ve seen so many five star rave reviews for this one from friends - I suggest checking out other reviews! This may be a case of I came into it with too much hype from the other reviews and how much I adored one of the author’s other books - but this just isn’t working for me. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley and Libro.fm for the free reading and listening copies.

Friendship, gaming, and a complicated history. I wasn't drawn to the cover or the description, but I kept seeing this book pop up everywhere, so I decided to give it a try. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! The writing was effortless to read, and that made it such a joy to get to know the characters. The complex relationships that take place between all of the characters was interesting to me, they were vividly described and I can recall more about each minor character than I usually can when I finish a book. (Great character development for sure).

Sadie and Sam meet as kids in the hospital game room. They play video games together at a time when Sam is ready to give up on life completely, it's life changing for both of them. They find a true friend and equal in each other in a world that is otherwise lonely for them. The magic of gaming and escaping reality sparks something in them that returns years later when they run into each other in the subway after having a falling out as kids.

Sam and Marx are roommates and Marx thinks of Sam like a brother. He watches out for him and takes him under his wing.

When Sam and Sadie decide to make a game together, they go all in. Marx lends them his apartment to use as their "base" and appoints himself their producer. The three of them run like a well oiled machine and their lives revolve around making a game.

The relationships change and evolve over the next 25 years and there is a lot of self reflection. I'm not sure what made me keep turning the pages, but it was compelling and I really came to love Sam, Sadie, and Marx. Definitely worth a read!

Thanks to netgalley for a review copy.

This will absolutely be one of my top reads this year. It's a novel about friendship, video games, family, work, and growing up; all based on a young man and a young woman of the Oregon Trail micro-generation. It had so many amazing nostalgic references, but mostly it was just an incredible work. I've liked everything this author has written, but this is undoubtedly her best so far. I have nothing to comp it to, but I believe this would appeal to anyone who likes well-written novels (note: this flirts with literary fiction, but I found it super readable).

Wish I could read it again for the first time.

I was excited to read a book set partially in the 90s computing world, as I have fond memories of those early days when it seemed like anything was possible online. This is a sweet trip through time with three unique characters, their creative lives, their loves and losses. Quirky but lovely, this book gave us characters that I'd love to spend more time with.

This book truly was a pleasant surprise. As I started it, I wasn't quite sure how it would go. It started a bit slowly for me. There was a great deal of gaming discussion because that was the world these main characters met in and it was their central focus for the majority of the book. Yet, once the plot started really moving along, you could see that it was about so much more. These characters were people who had real feelings. They had insecurities. They hurt each other and had misunderstandings.

This book is a beautifully written story of friendship, love, forgiveness, loss and survival. It's a story of life. The characters might discuss fictional worlds of video games periodically throughout but they are living through real life experiences themselves. I think the author did a wonderful job of bringing forth real human emotions and how they make us stumble in the real world even when we can seem so infallible in a video game. It really speaks to so much.

Long story short, I started this book thinking I might not like it and ended up really enjoying it. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to read and review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautiful and complicated story of friendship. When Sadie and Sam meet in a LA hospital, little did they know that their meeting would intertwine their lives forever. Their shared love of video games and a chance encounter in a Boston subway station paved the way for their future. Gabrielle Zevin writes characters you that make you feel like you're part of their world too, and in such an interesting way! Her use of games and the gaming industry is a fresh backdrop, and it's not at all intimidating to us non-gamers. Plus, she integrates games into her storytelling as a way to propel the story forward. Cannot recommend enough!

While this book synopsis didn't totally call to me, raving reviews do! I wasn't sure where I would land but I don't like to miss a hyped read!
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While the story does come together quite beautifully, it took a little too long, at least for me! The narrative includes many important and timely topics but I felt totally inundated with the book being based around video games.

The writing is beautiful and layered, and the storyline packs an emotional punch, but I just felt too disinterested by everything else going on.

The pages felt tedious because I was wading through a topic that just didn't connect, even though the characters themselves are real and imperfect (my favorite kind!) ⁣
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All in all, this just didn't totally work for me, but it doesn't mean it won't work for many other readers…And I do have to do a shout out for the cover, because it's stunning!!

As always, I am super appreciative to the publisher for allowing me to read this book and share my genuine thoughts.

I am enchanted! I fell in love with these characters and their stories. After spending childhood to adulthood with them I feel like I know them personally. We moved back and forth across the country, we went to college, we got jobs. This was a beautiful story about love and friendship and how messy and wonderful both can be. It was a longer book, but I devoured it. I felt the pull to keep picking it up. This one is going to stay with me for awhile. I’m glad to have met Sam and Sadie.

This is very much one of the best books I have read this year, and in my short list of favorite books of all time. Since finishing it two days ago, I can't stop thinking about the characters, and want to re-read it immediately. It is very much one of those books I wanted to rush through to find out what happens, but also wanted to savor so I could spend more time with the characters.

I loved two previous books by Gabrielle Zevin, so I was very excited for this one - and I quickly fell for both Sadie and Sam. I adored watching all the dynamics of their relationship, and their relationships with others. Gabrielle Zevin did such an amazing job of depicting friendships, and friendships that feel like family.

My only criticism is that the games they make aren’t real! I so badly want to play them and can visualize them so well. I hope someone endeavors to make some of them, the imagination and world building of them was incredible.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

An exploration of love told with care and compassion. When the most important person in your life is your partner in work, art, and life the traditional love story won't do and this is not a traditional love story.

What a profoundly beautiful novel! I cried when I finished it; not because I was sad, but because I already missed Sam and Sadie. I have not read such a striking novel about platonic love in quite some time. A perfect story in every way!

I found this book to have depth that I did not expect.
Before I read it, I saw somewhere "you don't have to be a gamer to enjoy this".
That both intrigued me as well as made me wonder if this was the book for me.
(I hate to waste my time; you know - so many books, so little time.)
I'm glad I read this book.
Yes, there were a lot of references to real video games. I'd heard of some of them.
The story was about a girl and a boy who meet under what seemed like unusual circumstances. They "click" with each other, they enjoy each other, they understand each other.
Then, they meet again as college students and begin creating video games together.
There are other characters; some I liked and some I didn't.
Their business is a major character as well.
But the two characters and their relationship are the real story.
So, yes, I would recommend this book, even to non-gamers.

This book felt very long, and I eventually started to skim. It is about 3 young people who develop a video game business and, eventually, an entirely predictable love triangle. I am not the intended audience for this book. All of their games sounded alike to me, and none of them sounded like fun. Maybe that’s why, despite their success, these three never seemed happy. There is a lot more here than gaming, including an abusive relationship, friendship, friction between partners, competition, living with pain and dealing with death. But so much of this book is about game development that my eyes just glazed over. This just wasn’t for me.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

“Tell me I don’t know you, Sam thought. Tell me I don’t know you when I could draw both sides of this hand, your hand, from memory.”

This is the story of Sadie and Sam, two childhood friends who team up to make games together, following them from their preteen years until middle age. As I’m sure hundreds have already said, I don’t even play video games and I still absolutely loved this book. Like any great novel, TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW will be adored by many and for an infinite number of reasons.

These are mine:
-- The celebration of creativity, from the energizing and grueling work of building to the thrill of experiencing the finished product
-- That specific mind meld of finding someone you work so perfectly with
-- A LITTLE LIFE vibes (exploring the beauty and tumult of friendship over decades) without quite as much devastation (though be warned there’s a hearty dose still)
-- The way Zevin leans into the intimate messiness of a long-lasting friendship: the joy of connection; the slights and grievances that warp and grow over time; the deep feeling of recognition and later, its opposite; the indescribable kind of love that is more than friendship, or romance, or family
-- “The NPC” and “Pioneers” sections MY GOD I AM UNWELL
-- I felt Sam’s relationship to his chronic pain and disability to my core: the internalized ableism, the fear of someone seeing your weakness, the desire to feel nothing, and the learning of this lesson: “There is no purity to bearing pain alone.”
-- So much good representation in general, that leans into the intersections of identities and how conflicts related to these come up between friends, lovers, and work partners

Probably the biggest compliment I can give this book is that it broke my heart and I still didn’t want it to end. Thanks to Knopf for the eARC and to Libro.fm for the ALC!

Content warnings: hospitalization, chronic pain, ableism, racism, suicidal ideation, depression/mental health issues, completed suicide, sexual harassment, sexual assault, abusive relationship, mass shooting/murder, loss and grief

Alert: I finished a #bookofthemonth book the week that I got it!! Okay, it was mostly because I had it on #netgalley, but also because I’ve been seeing rave reviews for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and I needed to see what the fuss was about.

Well. I’m not sure I quite know what to say about this book. I definitely enjoyed it, for many reasons. I do love video games (huge #zeldafan here) so I really liked the game building aspects of this book. I also liked the history of Sadie and Sam’s friendship, and even more when you add in the other characters like Marx, Simon and Ant, Zoe, and even Dov. It was almost like reading a memoir or biography at times.

This is a pretty long book at almost 400 pages and for me, it was not one I could read quickly. It’s also very character driven, and I usually prefer plot driven books. There’s also a lot of content warnings packed into the plot so if you are sensitive to certain topics check them first. I don’t get triggered by many things, but there is one part I wish I had been aware of - but then again, if I knew ahead of time it might have given me a preconceived negative anticipation (is that a thing?) and I wouldn’t want that either.

Anyway, this book won’t be for everyone, but it’s unlike anything I’ve read before, in a good way. I would love to see the notes the author made while planning out the plot!