5 stars are not enough for this book. I'm writing this review, stressing that my actual rate is A MILLION STARS. This novel will stay with me for the rest of my life. This is one of those, "if you could read a book again for the first time, which one would it be?" and my answer will be Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.

I love gaming, I've been a passionate gamer my whole life, and this book was everything I've ever dreamed of. The friendship between the characters is something I could relate to maybe a bit way too much, But even if you're not familiar with anything gaming, Zevin does a great job at making this story universal, engaging, accessible, and meaningful to everyone. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow has a wonderful story, and what truly stood out for me, was the characters, Sadie and Sam. Zevin's descriptions were also breathtaking, I felt like I was in it, I was immersed. The writing in this novel is *chef's kiss* and I honestly, want to thank Gabrielle Zevin for bringing such a masterpiece to the world.

Now, you go read it. You're welcome.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this early read! If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would!

You will recognize this author from The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, though my favorite book by her is her YA title Elsewhere (Haven’t read it? You totally should!). Her new one starts in the early nineties, when childhood friends Sadie Green and Sam Mazur cross paths in Boston – he is attending Harvard, she is at MIT. They bonded over video games as kids and that connection is still there. Sadie gives Sam a game she created, which he brings home for he and his roommate Marx to try. Which sparks the flame in Sam – what if they created a game together? They spend that next summer doing just that, with Marx as their pseudo admin/errand boy/producer. The game is a hit and they launch their own company – Unfair Games – which sets them up for their future lives. Doesn’t sound like your cup of tea? The story is so much more than the plot. While the video games play their part in the story, the gaming is really about the allure of the games for each of them – a way to achieve endless do-overs and perfection while knowing that the real world doesn’t allow for either. Sadie, Sam and Marx are the kind of characters that you think about after you finish the final chapter. The road they have chosen is not an easy one, and through the years there are ups and downs, shifting loyalties, heartbreak and success. It is a love story, but not the kind of love story you expect: it is a love story to youth, to creativity, to passion, to finding your own way, and above all to friendship. Read it, you won’t be sorry!

The character development in this book was absolutely wonderful. I loved Sam and Sadie, and seeing their relationship have ups and downs made them all the more relatable. As video games are their passion, reading as they talk about the classics like Super Mario and Tetris was very nostalgic for me. As a kid, I remember when my cousin brought his Super Nintendo over for the first time, and we sat there for the entire week he was visiting, trying to conquer every single world. To me, I feel the same was happening with Sam and Sadie. They conquered all of the virtual worlds they could, and when it came time to face reality, they had some trouble in finding what worked for them. It’s been over a week since I finished reading this book, and I still keep coming back to it. The book hangover has been real with this one. Thank you so much for this ARC.

This book was a whirlwind of a ride through the years. The characters are strong and definitely human in that sometimes you like them and sometimes....not so much. I am not a gamer but this did not stop me from enjoying the creative aspects that were evident. While this book is a little out of my normal zone, I really enjoyed it and would recommend.

Gabrielle Zevin's novel, Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, is one of my all-time favorite novels about books illustrating how books and words define us and can connect us to others. Similar themes underlay her new book set in the world of video game designers. Now you don't need to be a game player to enjoy the immersive experience in this book dealing with additional themes of friendship, disabilities and even loss. Sadie and Sam became friends as children. While visiting her sister fighting cancer in a pediatric ward, she meets a weird boy recuperating from a devastating accident. Encouraged by a nurse, she starts regularly visiting him and the alliance was borne. After a six year gap, they reconnect and start creating games they would like to play. The second half bogs down slightly which is why I actually rated this as 4and a half stars.

Having only played video games a few times in my life, this book was a true eye opener. I actually never thought about all the work that goes into planning, designing, producing, testing, and marketing a game. As a teacher and a mom I enjoyed watching children play Oregon Trail so that connection brought me many memories, especially the dysentery tombstone references.
Most of all I enjoyed watching Sadie, Sam, and Marx grow up and live their lives. I laughed, wept, and cringed as I watched them navigate their lives, their loves, and their futures. They each brought so much realism to the story. At times I found myself feeling so sad for Sam and angry with Sadie for treating him so cruelly. These characters will definitely remain with me for quite some time.
Many many thanks to Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasure of reading an arc of this just published book.

THIS BOOK GETS 10 STARS. No, infinite stars. Oh my god.
This was a top tier book for me. Like how sometimes video games make you cry, because they’re so damn beautiful. This book did that to me.
It’s hard to properly articulate just how extraordinary this book is with its beautiful writing and prose, how every character has a purpose and how they advance the story. How every major milestone plays a part in shaping the story, and how every lover, heartbreak, emotion, that each character brings just makes you want to savor that moment forever. I loved this book. All the odes to video games, the ones that changed your life, to the quotes I directly related to as a multiracial person, it all was beautifully wrapped up in a 400+ page book that I never wanted to end.

The characters of Sam, Sadie and Marx will live with me for a long, long time — this was a completely delightful, sweeping novel that brought to life such distinct (and at times infuriating) characters by tracing the friendship of Sam and Sadie, co game designers, and their third partner Marx. Sam and Sadie’s relationship is so human, filled with the quick camaraderie of youth, the blind support of late teenage years, the optimistic perspective of one’s 20s, and the complicated nature of everything beyond. Each character was entirely lovable and also at times so frustrating!

The book also did a great job touching on a lot of social issues without being heavy-handed, including misogyny, racism, mass shooting, and each was handled so beautifully.

This book is just shy of five stars for me, only because at times I was afraid to pick it back up for fear of what would happen to Sam and Sadie. This book my laugh and chuckle and totally fall in love with all the characters.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was outside my normal wheelhouse as a reader. I don't usual read contemporary fiction (more of a escapist or non-fiction reader). I caught a review that soaked my interest though and I gave it a shot. I am glad I did and have already recommended it to others.
This first thing that caught me was the depth of the characters. Sadie and Sam leap of the page from the first chapter. In part, maybe, because as a child of the 80s I remember the hours spent on Super Mario and Oregon Trail. Mostly though because the author shows exactly who they are.
The story moved at just the right pace, with flashbacks and perspective changes (never an omniscient narrator) that give the background you need and keep the book moving. It was built so well that I found myself wanting to play the games that the characters designed and even wondered if some of the fictional games mentioned were actually real and I just hadn't heard of them.
The ending was only a little disappointing until I sat and remembered that we knew how the relationships ended up with a careful reading of the earlier interview 'forward-flashes'. Again these were placed expertly and made compete sense. Thus, though they could have, they were not spoilers for the ending.
Overall, very well written and 100% worth the read.
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book.

This book definitely had nostalgic vibes for me. I enjoyed that the chapters jumped between the different characters lives. The characters were frustrating to me. I could have done without the extensive chapters that explained the games. I did like the fact that you don’t have to play video games in order to read or enjoy this book.

4.5 stars, rounded up. I care... not at all about video games. Not a bit. So it speaks to how well written and plotted this book is that despite the fact that video games play an essential role in this story, I absolutely loved it. I have to say there was one section towards the end that really diverted my interest, but the author wrapped even that section up in a way that I felt ultimately satisfied with. The story and the way that Gabrielle Zevin puts it together, the characters, the Shakespearean references!- I honestly felt that this story was achingly, beautifully told. With flawed, brilliant characters and hills and valleys of emotions, this is one not to miss.

This is a rare novel. It combines fresh, excitingly detailed knowledge about an art form and industry with achingly poignant depictions of modern life, disability, and the vagaries of old friendships. Sam, Sadie, and Marx are flawed characters trying to navigate through their youth and relationships with each other, loving, working, and failing together. In-world Easter eggs are scattered throughout like so many pearls. The narrative jumps forwards and backwards in time, creating an album of the protagonists' changing personalities. An ode to the unpredictability of life that touches on crucial issues just enough to contextualize without carrying on.

I did not give it five stars because the slow beginning of this book had me slightly confused - though it had an assured style, intricate relationships and 90s nostalgia, I was not sure why the author was telling rather than showing certain key character-building moments, and I wished, at times, that the emotional tension had been delivered in dialogue rather than through third-person narration. But I was hooked on the descriptions of game development, a topic which was completely foreign to me, and needed to know where the story was going.

My God, am I glad I stuck with it. My heartfelt gratitude to Knopf and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this title.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow follows Sam and Sadie over the course of thirty years of friendship. We see them as middle school kids who bond over video games. And then as college students who begin working together to create games of their own. We watch their personal and professional relationships grow and falter. Zevin does a good job with the pacing here, and each stage of their lives feels equally important in a good way.

Individually, Sam and Sadie are both interesting characters. He felt a little more vivid to me because his situations – his foot being destroyed in a car accident when he’s young and the threat of amputation always hanging over him – felt a bit more unique than Sadie’s – We’ve all, unfortunately, read about a young woman who ends up in a relationship with a man in a position of power who doesn’t treat her as well as she deserves. But I think both characters were given rich, full lives over the years this novel encompasses, and I really appreciated that.

I think my main issue here is that we’re told over and over again that Sam and Sadie are best friends, that no one understands them like they understand each other. In some instances, I can see that on the page. But they’re often the first to be unkind to each other and they both hold incredible grudges. Their relationship was a constant up and down of being inseparable interspersed with hating each other, and it was, frankly, exhausting. I couldn’t understand why either of them wanted to continually go back to this cycle, especially in working together. Maybe this would have worked for me if there had been more explanation than that they’re best friends and that’s how it is. But I needed a little bit more than we were given.

An aside: I’ve noticed a trend in books lately where the main characters are Cool and Different and Smart, and they have a friend who they look down on for being happy or uncomplicated in some way. Why is happiness mockable? Why do all these characters seem to feel superior because they’re less happy? I don’t have an answer, I’m really just curious myself.

This was a sweeping and lovely book. I did want to know so much more about the characters. However, I had a hard time because it was a little dense. I do not think I was in the right mindspace to give this one a fair shot.

I enjoyed following the lives of Sadie and Sam as they go through their life journey from college to relationships and video games ofcourse. As someone who is not a fan of video games, I hesitated to pick this one but having read the author's previous book, I knew this would take me through a complete different plot and yeah, it most definitely did that!! It was all about finding balance with everything going in life!

It is beautifully written and the friendship that is mainly featured is truly beautiful and precious. The pacing was slow at times but the content is deep so it allows readers to go into their thoughts for a bit.

4.5 stars

I'm on a roll, two great books in a row! I loved this book so much because it's about friendship and all of its ups and downs, and yet it is very unique because it's set in the world of gaming. You don't necessarily need to be a gamer or have gaming knowledge to appreciate this book, but it does help if you have some appreciation for it.

This is the story of Sadie and Sam who met in a hospital as children. Sam was there recovering from a horrible car accident, and Sadie's sister was undergoing cancer treatment. The two met playing video games together and forged a friendship, which grew and stalled many times over the years. They would go on to create a gaming company and many games together, but the underlying factors in their life and friendship ebbed and flowed continuously.

This is an immersive book, full of human actions and interactions. I went from liking Sadie to not liking her and then back again, and the same with Sam. I could understand them sometimes and others I didn't. There are portions of this book that will truly break your heart, because they broke mine and caused me to dissolve into tears. Yet in the end, what are we without each other? And that's what this book communicates best.

There are a few slower parts, which is why I didn't round up to 5 stars. It took me a lot longer than it should have to get through this book. But the writing is superb and Zevin really knows how to tell a great story when you get right down to it, so this is a wonderful book definitely worth reading. I look forward to see what she comes up with next.

Completely different than Zevin's other books, but loved this new one. Although it is based on friends and video games, it's not just for video game fans. Will be recommending this to library patrons as a great summer read.

In 1986 California 12-year-old Sam and 11-year-old Sadie happen to meet in the hospital. Sadie is there because her older sister is sick, Sam because he's recently been in a devastating car accident which mangled his foot. The two become fast friends united through their love of video games. They soon have a falling out, as adolescents often do, and are estranged until bumping into one another in NYC in the 90s while college students. This reunion leads to a partnership where they create what will become a very well known video game and launching a gaming business together.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow follows the story of Sadie and Sam across the country and through decades as they live, love, and create. Theirs is a platonic relationship though no less intimate or compelling than a great romance, I just adored this unique angle!

I was skeptical about the video game aspect as that's not a particular interest of mine, but rest assured the video game piece really works here and I found plenty of nostalgia from my own childhood within. I love when a book can make me care deeply about something I have no interest in outside of the story!

Tomorrow released last Tuesday and I'm already seeing it pop up frequently. I definitely think this is one of those stories that will appeal to a wide audience. It's beautifully and thoughtfully crafted, a layered story with characters who will capture your heart.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin, is a love story like you’ve never read before. Told over 30 years, this story follows two beautiful, flawed characters caught between live and virtual realities. From their youth to their adult lives as founders of a popular and lucrative gaming company, this tale of the human condition and love in its many forms will charm and crush you all the same.

YES! Absolutely. Another like this please?

These are my simplified thoughts when I finished this.

Is it about video games? Yes.

Platonic friendship that endures decades? Yes.

Did I cry often? Yes.

Is it worth all the hype it's getting? YES!

Also, Mr Pages and I buddy read this together and it was so much fun!

Do you ever buddy read with your partner?

This is a contender for my favorite book of the year!

Now I need to go find a modern Oregon Trail!

Thank you so much @atria for the advanced readers copy!