Sam and Sadie met as tweens in a hospital and bonded over their love for video and computer games. A white lie puts their friendship on hiatus until they reunite in college. Their friendship develops and, with the help of Sam’s friend, Marx, they become business partners, designing and developing computer games. Their friendship connection ebbs and flows throughout the telling as they both struggle with their successes and failures. Tidbits from their pasts are revealed and help to develop their characters, ultimately revealing that both Sam and Sadie were forced to grow up way too fast. All the while, Marx is there managing their relationship as friends and colleagues.

There are so many references to great works of art in all forms; I found myself Googling most of the references to help support my appreciation of Sam, Sadie, and Marx’s creative process. The characters in this novel are relatable to a Gen Z audience regarding sexual orientation and gender identity and they are relatable to Gen X and Millennials regarding 90s references and experiences.

Thank you @NetGalley and @Knopf for the DRC.
#TomorrowandTomorrowandTomorrow #NetGalley.

I set a notification to be alerted whenever Gabrielle Zevin publishes a new book, and I was very thankful to get an advanced reader copy from NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing.

A few of the things I love about reading are being mesmerized by another world, caring deeply about the characters, and hearing something true about life, so I enjoyed being immersed in Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. I also loved the nonlinear timeline, conversational tone, and learning a lot. (I had to set the book aside to look up words, artwork, and other ideas.) At times I felt apprehensive, because the narrator forewarns of situations without specific details so you know something is coming that is likely to be heartbreaking.

Several days have passed since I finished the book, and I keep thinking about Sam and Sadie. Their friendship was definitely freighted, and there were times when I disliked each of them. I suppose that's why Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow isn't a 5 star book for me as much as I wanted it to be. Yet, I did appreciably like this book and highly recommend it for fans of flawed, realistic characters.

*** This book needs trigger warnings for sexual abuse, gun violence, and adultery***

I must start by first saying that this was NOT a book I'd ever have picked up on my own accord if it weren't for it being offered for review on Netgalley AND also been a title in Modern Mrs. Darcy's 2022 Summer Reading Guide. Because the stars aligned for both of those I did select it to read to . I'm not a gamer, don't care about games, and frankly, have a difficult time reading about people in the age bracket of the main characters.

That said, within the first two chapters I picked up my phone to message my younger brother. He's an avid gamer who lives in Japan who likes to read. I heartily suggested the book to him.

Overall, I really liked the book. Again, it was so far out of my norm that the "fresh" to me entertainment value was high. It played out nicely as a movie in my head.

A couple of things that did annoy me/put me off, however, was

1.) Dov. Without giving specific spoilers, I never liked him and was gobsmacked at a particular scene,  had to put down the book and walk away. I even highlighted the section and wrote myself a note as a trigger warning [which I've noted at the beginning of my review.] It was soooooo unnecessary IMO to have a character like that, more specifically, a scene like that. I hated it/him/the whole situation for her. So yes, the author evoked emotion from me but if it weren't for having to write a review for Netgalley, I easily may have never picked the book up again. Had I purchased the book, I likely would have immediately returned it. 


[Side note: I'm a big proponent of book ratings/warnings, much like movie ratings/warnings.  Mental and physical health for all people is vitally important and one should be able to know what they're getting themselves into, with which ratings & warnings can help.]


2.)  It became somewhat of a game to click -&-hold to bring up my Kindle dictionary time and time again for each "big word" that I came to. It actually became laughable.  It seemed to me that the book was written, edited, & deemed finished, and then with the last hands on it before it went to the cybersphere (again, I read the Advance Reader Copy), someone just picked up a thesaurus and said, "Muwahahaha, let me replace words throughout that will make the book SEEM smart." It truly was ridiculous. They just seemed sooo out of place in *this* book. (Totally seems like something Dov would have done to the book.🤦🏻‍♀️ )


But, as it is, I did finish this book and enjoyed it. It read a bit long but I kept turning the pages. I could easily see this as a Netflix limited series. Not sure if that is a good thing or bad.

I've just finished this book early morning of my 44th birthday sitting here thinking how to adequately review this that will give it even a sliver of the justice it deserves.

The description I could give makes it sound not all that compelling: young friends connect over video games and go on to become quite sucessful game programmers together. Sure, that's the story at 30,000 feet. The journey, the characters, the depth, the pain, the love, the trauma, the human experience, friendship, connection, grief, nostalgia....those are the indescribable parts of this absolute masterpiece that can't be summarized in a review. I was captivated by this story and in only mere moments after finishing I miss those characters terribly.

Thank you so incredibly much to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for the perfect book to finish on my birthday. I will hold this near and dear to my heart for a long long time. I would recommend this book to any reader who enjoys strong character driven novels with complex relationships, like The Hearts Invisible Furies.

Unfortunately I was not a fan of this book. I loved certain aspects of it such as the blossoming friendship between Sadie and Sam in the first chapters of the story. I really enjoyed reading a book about video games, despite not playing them myself. However after about 1/3 of the book I found the characters deeply unlikeable and that did not change the rest of the story. While I can see how many would enjoy this, this was not the book for me.

This is already easily in my top 5 favorite books of 2022. It's one of those novels that the more you think about it the more you love it.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is ostensibly about video games but really it's about friendship and how humans are intrinsically flawed and often downright awful but also capable of so much love. It's the story of Sadie Green and Sam Masur who meet in a hospital and bond over video games and then reconnect while in college to create one of their own -- and become monstrously famous as a result. The book follows them throughout their lives and the ups and downs of their friendship and their relationships with those around them.

I can't say too much about my favorite parts of this book without risking spoilers but let me just say, the way Gabrielle Zevin plays with time and narrative format in this book is (excuse my language) fucking genius. The way she foreshadows upcoming events and makes you think they are one thing, only to have those events unfold in a completely unexpected way is absolutely brilliant.

The characters are so nuanced and multi-faceted. I legitimately hated Sam at some points during this book -- because he is a legitimately bad person at times -- but I always understood exactly why he was doing the things that he was doing. He is simultaneously so flawed but also sympathetic. And I just loved Sadie. I have felt so many of the things she felt in this book and her struggles as a woman in a male dominated industry were highly relatable.

This book will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will absolutely break your heart (but also leave you super hopeful). The ending is absolutely perfect (when in another author's hands could have ended up being trite or overly neat). I cannot say enough good things about this book.

A beautiful story about friendship, passion, loss and love. While I enjoyed so much of this book, I did feel the descriptions of some of the video games were a bit too dense (which I fear may make it more niche). That said, the author’s passion for her subject matter really did shine through and there were some beautiful metaphors/plot nuances built into the gaming elements.

Overall a lovely story with complicated emotions, fascinating characters and plenty of memorable moments.

DNF I could not connect with this plot one bit. I liked Sadie and Sam, but the language and the gaming world just pushed me further and further away. Some great writing, but an overall nope for me.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a beautiful and moving book. Partly about video games, but mostly about real life, this is one of the more emotional books I have read in quite a while. Sadie and Sam's friendship is perfection. And I do not mean perfection in that it is perfect without flaw. I mean perfection in the realness of the care, love, and development that it takes them create a lifelong friendship. The story feels real and organic and the integration of video games into the story supports and represents the lives of the characters.

Sam and Sadie meet in a hospital during their youth and bond instantly over their love of video games. Their friendship develops from this point onwards and the story takes them through many decades of their lives. In college, the two meet up again and decide that they want to create their own game together. First childhood friends, and now collaborators, the two have to learn how to work with and support one another.

I do not want to give too much away in this book, but I loved seeing the progression of Sam and Sadie throughout the years. I cried in parts (both happy and sad) and each of the characters had so much personality I just couldn't help falling in love with each one. Just read it. I think you will enjoy it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review!

I am not sure I can fully explain how lovely this book is. It’s a story about love and friendship set with the backdrop of video games.

I really enjoyed the progression of everyone’s - Sam, Sadie, Marx - relationships. Their friendships and deeper feelings. There were moments throughout the book when I didn’t love Sam or Sadie. I sometimes wish they would talk about their feelings and actually address their stuff instead of letting it fester. Despite these moments, I still loved them and rooted for them. I think my favorite character was Marx and how he supported everyone.

This book just gave me good feelings, even with some of the more challenging parts. I read another review where it was compared to A Little Life and I see it. It’s similar in some these but isn’t quite so sad.

Basically I would definitely recommend this one. You don’t have to like or know video games to get the story, so don’t let that impact you decision.

[cw - workplace shooting, suicide, death of parent, childhood cancer, teacher/student relationships, traumatic car crash, BDSM]

I had my doubts going into this book; I typically don’t like character-driven books and I’m not a big gamer, so I didn’t think I’d connect to this book. I should have trust Zevin, given how much I love two of her other books.

I was completely hooked from page 1. Zevin is a master at character development to the point where you don’t need a clear plot to enjoy her novels. I cared so deeply for the characters and flew through the book.

I highly recommend this book!

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book is going to be in contention for my Book of the Year, it's such a slow burn filled with vivid colours, sounds and details, but I wasn't bored one minute. I was lingering on each page when I sensed the book was going to come to an end, I could have read about Sam and Sadie's professional life and personal life, for another 400 pages , and be equally enamored.

Sadie and Sam are probably one of the best duo characters I ever read, they seem so much like real, brilliant, vulnerable, stubborn, passionate, prideful, , so flawed and so lovable, so wonderfully written. And poor Marx, I should have known things were about to go down hill when the book switched to his point-of-view.

The games, from Solutions, EmilyBlaster, Ichigo to Counterpart, to Mapletown, Pioneers, I want to play them all.

I loved this book.

Such a unique and memorable story. I loved following these characters over the years through their childhood when they met and into their adulthood when they became wildly successful in the video game industry. While the plot is mostly about the relationship between Sam and Sadie, there are many other characters we get to know well and care for. Along with their success there is also pain and tragedy. This is a lovely story of a friendship that I felt fully invested in until the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley for an early copy of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. This is my unbiased review.

I received a free Advanced Reading Copy via NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.

One of the best books I've read in a long while.

Personal computers and smart phones did not exist until I was well into adulthood. Therefore, while I have played some games in my life, I’ve never been a “gamer,” and have little understanding about how such things are created. However, I enjoyed this book very much, following the decades-long friendships and partnerships of Sam, Sadie and Marx. I did not know what to expect, but I am very glad that I took a chance with this book. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was so happy to receive an advanced copy of this book. This book covers the friendship between Sam and Sadie through childhood, college, and as adults. They became friends through playing video games and then found success in creating them. The level of detail Zevin puts into developing the world of the video games they created honestly made me wish I was a gamer! At the same time, I didn't need to be in order to enjoy the book. I loved that it showed the storytelling aspect of games, along with the idea that stories and escapism have transformative abilities when it comes to dealing with grief and trauma.
The friendship was extremely well developed and authentic; the love that they had for one another and the way that love manifested into moments of tenderness as well as anger/resentment felt extremely real. I loved that the text demonstrated that intimacy doesn't necessarily need to be romantic, that sometimes friendship and "play" are what's most important. The characters were flawed, but developed; seeing their growth was satisfying and well-deserved. Overall, great book! Loved the world that Zevin created and will definitely be recommending! Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy!

This is the review I will post on Amazon when reviews are allowed. Thanks so much for the opportunity to read it early!!!!

Such a great read!!! Brilliant, sad, uplifting, imaginative, incredibly absorbing … only a few of the descriptions that immediately come to mind!

This novel is many things, and all of those things are done beautifully. It is a modern coming-of-age story in the burgeoning world of technology and gaming, a fascinating glimpse into the world of Creatives, where hope and despair cycle continuously throughout each page. Though very much a love story, it transcends the tired tropes of sex/drugs/entropy to showcase the human need for connection, approval and forgiveness with those we love.

Each character is perfectly formed and trustworthy in a way that few novelists have the chops to carry off. Beautifully written, the words themselves and they way Zevin chose to combine them fascinated me at times. Endings more than anything else often form my final opinion about a book — I did not want this story to end, but found myself delighted with the pitch-perfect final chapter.

Don’t pass on this book - it is as close to perfect as a novel gets!

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is a must-read. I loved this book and I hated this book. I loved the characters, the storyline, the writing. I hated one major thing that happened. But I hated it because I loved the characters and felt like they were my friends, too.

Zevin tells the story of Sam and Sadie, two friends who meet in the hospital while children. Sam is there to have many surgeries to repair his shattered foot. Sadie is there because her sister has leukemia. They develop a fast friendship, forged over video games. Their friendship thrives until it doesn't. Coincidentally, they both end up in Boston for college (Harvard for Sam, MIT for Sadie). Coincidentally again, they run into each other a T station in Boston. Sadie gives Sam a disk with a video game she designed on it. Sam plays it and their lives change.

Sam, Sadie and Marx, Sam's roommate and surrogate big brother, start a video game design company over the summer. We follow them as they create the game, through the ups and downs of video game design and starting a company.

This is not a book about video game design. Well, it is, but it is ultimately a book about friendship, family and how our choices affect those we love. There was some technical information strewn throughout the book, but it did not detract from the storytelling. At times, I didn't even realize I was reading about video game design.

Zevin does a masterful job of creating these characters. From the beginning of the book, I was engaged in the lives of Sam and Sadie, and eventually Marx. I got angry with them when they made stupid choices. I cheered for them when they succeeded and commiserated with them when they failed. Zevin drew me into their lives seamlessly. Life is complicated. And so are Zevin's characters. Ultimately, the characters stayed with me for days after finishing their story.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an ARC of #TomorrowAndTomorrowAndTomorrow

While I'm not a "gamer", this did not affect my love for this book whatsoever! This is a lovely story about friendship, love, and not giving up on your passions. I really enjoyed following the characters throughout the ups and downs of their life and love for each other. Great book!

This just might be my favorite book of 2022.

It spans decades of a complicated friendship between two ambitious people: it follows their childhoods, their partnership as they build their game company, and all of their ups and downs. Everyone is flawed, making the characters feel real and relatable.

You don’t have to love video games to love this book. I’m not a gamer, but Sam and Sadie so genuinely love and are excited about games that it was fun to see.

The writing is my favorite kind of writing: it’s crisp and flows well and is beautiful and interesting without being flowery or overwrought. There were also lots of lovely literary references.

Along the way, the book seamlessly explores loss, racism and cultural appropriation, living with a disability, sexism, abuse, suicide, and gun violence.

<I>Thank you to NetGalley and Knopf!</i>