Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow was not what I was expecting at all. It’s a love story, but not a run-of-the-mill love story. It enraptured me from the first page, but it was a slow read for me, I think because there was a lot to digest and maybe some part of me never really wanted it to end.

***Spoilers follow****

Sadie and Sam have a complicated relationship. Friends since they were preteens, they bond in a Los Angeles hospital game room over video games. Trust issues are a problem for them as kids and this obstacle falls into their collective path many times in the future. After several years of not speaking to each other, they run into each other in Boston, this time as students at MIT and Harvard. And Sadie has created a video game, which she hands off to Sam for him to play.

They pick up their friendship where the left off and things escalate as Sam asks Sadie to make a game with him. Marx, Sam’s roommate and friend, enters the story as does, Dov, Sadie’s college professor (and not-so-secret married boyfriend). The story spans 30+ years with flashbacks to the lives of loved ones and defining events and sees Sadie and Sam through the creation of not only their first video game, but an entire company.

I’ve never considered myself a gamer, more of a dabbler, but this book has lit a fire under me, making me want to know more about the gaming industry. But more than that, I fell in love with these characters and with all their foibles and imperfections. I absolutely adored this book and feel like it will stay with me for a long time to come.

Read 18%.

Unfortunately, I was incredibly bored with the story. The relationship between the married teacher and his student disgusted me. I did not like the "friendship" as it was set up on false pretenses. I tried but found myself not wanting to pick it up and read it.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a stunning novel that takes place over the span of a couple decades following two friends from one coast to the other. It’s got lots of layers, lots of symbolism, and lots of depth. It takes place within video games, within city’s, in memories and hospitals and it’s just an incredibly stunning novel.

The characters themselves are really complex and realistically flawed. The balance between plot and character development is perfect. I was even able to forgive the miscommunication going on because it’s very on brand for the characters and it added another element to the book. By the end of the novel I was both in awe and incredibly frustrated with all the characters, but also very pleased with where they ended up.

The video game element is just the cherry on the top of an already stunning book. I can already tell this is a book that i’m going to think about for years to come. It’s going to stay with me for sure. There’s not a single thing I would change.

If you love character development and drama that takes over the span of decades this is easily a great book for you to read. It reminded me a lot of The Nix by Nathan Hill. If you liked that one (like I did) I highly recommend you pick up Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow.

4.5~5★
“With his sweet, roundish face, light-colored eyes, and mix of white and Asian features, Sam looked almost exactly like an anime character. Astro Boy, or one of the many wisecracking little brothers of manga. As for his personal style: Sam looked like Oliver Twist, during the Artful Dodger years, if Oliver Twist had been from Southern California and a low-level pot dealer instead of a pickpocket.”

This has some of my favourite elements of The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, A Little Life, and Ready Player One. People who make their own families. It is just terrific!

Sam, Sadie and Marx are much like the artistic, adventuresome trio of Kavalier and Clay with Rosa.

Sam Masur (later Mazer) is A Little Life's Jude, whom everyone cares for while he hides his pain (although Sam's suffering isn't on the level of existential anguish that Jude’s is).

Plus, there comes a time when Sam can connect with Sadie only through their avatars in online gaming, much as Wade, through his avatar Parzival, connects with others to solve the riddles in the virtual world of The Oasis in Ready Player One.

The gaming world reminds me of the popular Choose Your Own Adventure series, where readers could pick another ending. In gaming, your avatar dies and then begins another life, so it can start over and over again, tomorrow after tomorrow.

Eleven-year-old Sadie Green meets Sam Masur, who’s wearing pajamas, in the games room of the hospital, where she’s visiting her older sister. He has crutches nearby and is engrossed in a Nintendo game. She enjoys just watching this boy who plays so skilfully. He seems oblivious to her until he completes a battle.

“He paused the game and, without looking over at her, said, ‘You want to play the rest of this life?’

Sadie shook her head. ‘No. You’re doing really well. I can wait until you’re dead.’

The boy nodded. He continued to play, and Sadie continued to watch.

‘Before. I shouldn’t have said that,’ Sadie said. ‘I mean, in case you are actually dying. This being a children’s hospital.’

The boy, piloting Mario, entered a cloudy, coin-filled area. ‘This being the world, everyone’s dying,’ he said.

‘True,’ Sadie said.

‘But I’m not currently dying.’

‘That’s good,’ Sadie said.

‘Are you dying?’ the boy asked.

‘No,’ Sadie said. ‘Not currently.’ ”

They continue to play and laugh and chat about his Korean grandparents, who have a pizza restaurant in Los Angeles, until it’s time for her to leave. On the way home, her mother tells her that those are the first words Sam has spoken to anyone since he was in a horrific car accident six months earlier.

The hospital asks if Sadie would consider visiting Sam again. She is supposed to be doing some community service for her Bat Mitzvah next year, and this would count. She considers.

“To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt. It is the human equivalent of the dog rolling on its back—'I know you won’t hurt me, even though you can.’”

She agrees to go but never tell Sam, and thus is their friendship born. He draws mazes all the time, which his therapist encouraged, and now he slips them in her pockets. The story is told in the third person, and flashes back from time to time or foreshadows future ramifications of a situation. It makes for an interesting overview of their lives.

Sam has had countless operations on his mangled foot, and a lot of the story hinges on his health and what allowances need to be made for him. Walking is a problem.

“Sam did not think of it as a disability—other people had disabilities; Sam had ‘the thing with my foot.’ Sam experienced his body as an antiquated joystick that could reliably move only in cardinal directions.”

They develop such a strong bond through gaming and gaming language, that they are almost living on, or in, another level of life. The become game inventors and developers who are so intensely absorbed that you wonder if they will ever manage to let anyone else into their lives. They have different skill sets and attitudes.

“While Sadie experienced this period of indecision as stressful, Sam didn’t feel that way at all. ‘The best part of this moment, he thought, is that everything is still possible.’ But then, Sam could feel that way. Sam was a decent artist and he would come to be a decent programmer and level designer, but remember, he had never made a single game before. It was Sadie who knew what it took to make a game—even a bad game—and it was Sadie who would do most of the heavy lifting when it came to the programming, the engine building, and everything else.”

You don’t need to be a gamer or understand gaming to enjoy these people and their relationships, but it must be even more fun if you do. You can read a terrific Dick Francis mystery without knowing much about horse racing – he fills in the necessary blanks. My knowledge of sailing is minimal, but I always used to love stories set on the high seas. I probably didn’t know what was happening to the ship half the time, but it didn’t seem to matter.

Same here. Sam is the artist, Sadie is the programmer, and both argue and contribute to the story and design. Sam’s college roommate is Marx Watanabe, the son of a wealthy, Princeton-educated, Japanese father and an American-born Korean mother. He takes an interest in the business and gives them his apartment to use for free. Now they’re a trio.

Sam changes his name from Masur to Mazer, so he and Sadie become Mazer and Green. Their first famous game character, ‘Ichigo’ is a little Asian child, and the public is convinced it is Sam. Mazer becomes the better-known name behind the business, so Sam is the one the public wants to see. Marx, as the producer, is an essential part of it all, too.

There are tugs-of-war in all directions, love, heartbreak, tragedy, betrayal. There are other family members I was glad to meet. These are very complete people. There are a couple of slower places in the middle of the book, but all in all, I think it’s wonderful. I don’t know how Zevin pulled this off, but I’m glad she did.

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf/Doubleday for the preview copy from which I’ve quoted (so quotes may change). It’s due to publish in early July.

Well, I think I just read one of my new favorite books ever. I inhaled this book in a single day, because the thought of putting it down was too unthinkable. It's heartfelt, emotional, brilliant, brutal and beautiful. It's a love letter to games, to creativity, to friendship and to the power of people coming together to make beautiful and messy things. I found myself desperately wishing that Sam, Sadie and Marx lived in my world, that I could play their games and feel the impact of their lives on my own. But I suppose I still get to, because fiction, whether found in novels or in games, has the power to do that. I am just, too stunned for words to express how much I loved this book, how much I loved the way it throws you in with these lovely, flawed people who are driven to create, who can't seem to help themselves in hurting each other, loving each other, and making amazing things all the same.

I can't recommend this one enough.

First and foremost I would like to thank NetGalley, Gabrielle Zevin and Alfred A. Knopf for providing me with an advanced reader’s copy of Gabrielle’s latest novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, which is scheduled to be published in early July, 2022. This is the first book of Gabrielle’s I have had the pleasure to have read, but most assuredly it will not be the last. Although the book ostensibly centered around the world of making and playing video games, of which I have only a peripheral amount of knowledge having raised children that grew up gaming, I enjoyed the book immensely. It also delves deeply into interpersonal relationships, physical and emotional pain and healing, love and friendship, life and death, and family. It actually brought me very close to tears in a few crucial moments.

The book makes a lot of twists and turns as it navigates its way through the lives of its two main protagonists, Sadie and Sam, whom we first meet when they are 10 and 11 years old. We do also come to know Sam a couple of years prior to then, as well. We follow them as their lives diverge and reconnect several times well into their 30’s, meeting various lovers, associates, family members and friends along the way. The writing is superb, taking us inside the minds of the characters, while sometimes even veering off into and immersing us into the game-worlds themselves.

Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC.
4.25 out of 5 stars

There's a group of individuals who were born on the cusp of Generation X and Millennials, when home PCs were just becoming commonplace, when Newgrounds and AOL chats were the thing. Our parents didn't have the internet when they were our age... Hell, probably half our parents never learned even to this day. So they didn't know what to warn us about. Meeting romantic interests in real life that you originally met online was so strange and foreign it was assigned as dangerous and taboo. We remember playing Super Mario Bros. and PacMan with a reverent fondness, and Spear of Destiny was monumental. Looking back now, the word Diablo probably fosters a sulfuric nostalgia.

I am from that group.

This book spoke to me on so many levels I can't fathom getting this review right. I don't play games anymore, but damn if this doesn't make me want to get lost in Parasite Eve or Star Ocean again.

Sadie meets Sam in a hospital. Sadie's sister, Alice, has cancer and Sam is having another foot surgery. After being exiled from Alice's room, Sadie doesn't know what to do, until an orderly tells her there is a Nintendo in the waiting room. Sadie goes in, but Sam is already playing. She is amazed at his ability to reach the flag at the end of every level in Mario. He hands her the controller and tells her to finish the level he's on.

So begins a friendship that will go down in gaming history.

This is more than just a book about gaming. It is about the firsts we saw in our lifetime. It is about the repercussions of necessary change. It is about family and it is about friends and it is about friends who become family. It is about race. It is about gender identity. It is about love and lust. It is about life and death. It is about culture and cultural appropriation. It is about realism and escapism. It is about coming of age, and it is about being a parent. It is about roommates. It is about the lines drawn and crossed between professors and students, colleagues, and friends. It's Shakespearean. It is about darkness and redemption.

The way that this story was written could not have been more perfect. We get to know the characters on an intimate level, find the truth that they would never reveal even to themselves.

Trying to spoil anything, but my favorite parts of the book concerned Pioneers and my least favorite included Dom. I have some strong opinions on how long the friendship continued with him, but I suppose that aspect, like so many other aspects of this story, were real. That's what really got me about this book, how real it could be, how true it could be. The emotions and inner dialogues and betrayals.

I have not read The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, but now I know it is a must.

Outstanding 4.5 star read that at the end of book had me questioning everything about the characters. This story is about two friends, Sadie and Sam who become friends through playing video games while Sam is at the hospital recovering and Sadie visits her sick sister. The friendship starts out on mistrust and therefore the whole plot of the book surrounds mistrust and trauma. How much does trauma shape your life and the choices you make after such a traumatic event? Sadie and Sam are both dealt a great deal of trauma throughout this book. The book follows the duo from childhood to college and on to adulthood.
The character development and writing was so intricate and beautiful and what truly made me enjoy this book. The story is also about gaming and video games which is probably why I struggled at times with the book. However, don't let that turn you away from this read. The plot of the book was so unique with the use of gaming and not something I have read before. If you love a story about complicated friendship, frenemies, lovers, success, failure, family, and trauma then this book is perfect. The story as well as the characters of Sadie, Sam, as well as Marx will stick with me for along time. Also looking to read other books by Zevin as her writing style is beautiful and interesting.

Thank you to @netgalley and @knoph publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This book was not for me. It failed to engage me on many levels. Having never played a video game, has little to do with my review. The characters were, for the most part, unlikable. The story jumped around too much….and was much too long, in my opinion. I had to skim the last half of the novel just to end it! Thank you NetGalley and Knopf Publishing for the opportunity to read and review this ARC. #netgalley #netgalley.

I loved this book. It was like nothing I have ever read before. It brought to life the development and growth of video games from the 80's through with brilliant and complicated characters. It was funny and witty, observant, smart, and hopeful.

WOW - I loved this one. While not much of a gamer myself, this book is about what bonds us together, whether that be games or something else. I especially enjoyed how the book showed how the bonds of friendship and partnership can truly transcend romantic relationships.

Another stellar novel from Gabrielle Zevin! Her characters are so relatable even though I really have nothing in common with them (Ok, maybe I'm close in age/era, but my life is far from the Ivy league educated, west coast raised programming geniuses of the story). Yet, their struggles, their "trauma" if you will, feels tender and familiar. Zevin weaves incredible vocabulary with gaming lore and the ebb/flow of life we all fail to appreciate as we travel through.

4.5/5

Wow! This will leave an indelible impression. What a damn good book! Thank you for the opportunity to read.

I didn't like this one as much as The Storied Life of A. J. Fikrey, but still appreciated its unique premise and the way the author brings it all together. Not being a gamer, some of the references to video games and their histories were lost on me, but the book can still be enjoyed without completely understanding the gaming world.

The story focuses on 3 people who write and produce a video game together while in college. Each brings different strengths to the process, but jealousy and misunderstandings threaten their success. It all falls apart when a tragic event occurs.

I really enjoyed how the games reflected the lives of the characters and how they tried to relate the aspect of the possibility of infinite lives to the real world. At first the story reads like an upbeat novel about friendship, creative collaboration, and love. Unexpectedly, it takes a few dark turns and the examination of relationships is drawn out to the point of being infuriating. Eventually, there's some hope as each character ponders the past, realizes how fortunate they were to have each other, and tries to find a way to rekindle their relationship, despite the hurt from the past.

MOVING & WITTY!
Zevin has proven she is the master at making you care for her characters & her skillful ability to pull you right into this story won't disappoint! This was a story about friendship, love, & video games.
Sam & Sadie meet in a hospital when they are both younger & bond over gaming after dealing with their own tragedies. They drifted apart but in college, they meet up again by chance at a train station in NYC. They start talking again & come to find out they each still share the love of gaming. They eventually decide to make a game together. Sam's roommate, Marx, also comes along for this ride & the trio are a tight group. They all move to LA to start their gaming business. At this point in the book, I couldn't put it down.
The characters are so complex & well developed that I couldn't stop caring about all of them!
You don't have to be a gamer to enjoy this book. The 80's & 90's refrences were great. The story is also packed with many obscure, Zevin-like words that I highly enjoyed! (grokking, hirsute, bloviating, & ersatz to name a few)
This story had me smiling, laughing, & crying. I think this is her best novel so far. This book gets to the heart of friendship & love.

Thank you to NetGalley & Gabrielle Zevin for generously providing me with an ARC for my honest opinion.

I didn’t expect to love this book as much as I did. Like many other reviewers, I’m not a gamer but the plot just sucked me in. I learned a lot about the process of making video games and it was super interesting. I also loved all the characters. They loved, suffered, and persisted through successes and failures. I think the middle seemed a bit too long but I was sad when I finished the book. It’s my first by this author but I look forward to others.

I’m sorry to say that this book never really took off for me. I kept waiting for something more and it never came. It just kind of jumped around and never formed an interesting story.

The last time I played a video game was years ago. When I read the blurb for this novel, that wasn’t the impetus to request an advance copy from NetGalley. First, I am a fan of the author’s work. Also, I was curious about two people coming and going from each others lives and of course, the title grabbed me. Shakespeare always draws me in. As I write this, I know I am going to come back in another week and say…wait. I just realized there was another layer I missed. To say this book was well written and clever is an understatement. Metaphors run deep here. I stayed up until 2 am last night to finish it.

Before I picked this up, I had zero understanding about how the gaming industry worked or how complex writing a video game could be. I mean it’s just code, right? I was so impressed with the author’s ability to move effortlessly in this world that I began to wonder about the similarities between video games and fiction writing. The two are so similar, I don’t know why I never thought about this before. As I discovered in the author’s acknowledgements, she is indeed a gamer.

When we meet Sadie and Sam at age 11, it brought to mind that young girl in The Queen’s Gambit. They are both kind of adrift for totally different reasons but gravitate towards each other forming a concrete bond. Sadie and Sam have that same kind of intensity only their world is not chess but gaming. But you could argue, strategy is strategy. We follow them thru reality and non-reality, and thru other influential relationships as they drift in and out of each others lives. How tragic that the book title lends a kind of resolute futility to their plodding. I was glad to see that hope resurrected itself at the end. Because in the end “the freight is proportioned to the groove.” The burden of the love that Sadie and Sam share is heavy, but doesn’t break under the weight of the burden.

In the final analysis, this book and its characters will stay with me. I found it to be both interesting and multi-layered. I highly recommend it.

Gabrielle Zevin writes the most relatable, poignant books. Her ability to understand humanity and our deepest emotions is unparalleled. Another hit from this author. I think high school students will love this book.

I received an ARC of this book from Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

WOW. Let me make something clear. I would not in any way consider myself to be a "gamer" or even remotely educated on the world of video games, but I am not being dramatic when I say that this may be the best book I have ever read in my life. Yes, this is a book about video games, but its also a book about friendship, disability, love, grief, equality, and everything else that is important in life. Anything I could possibly say in this review will not give this book the justice it deserves, but I can't think of a single type of reader that this book wouldn't be perfect for. I am left with the feeling that I know every reader hopes for when starting a new book: a sadness that the experience is over and and overwhelming sense of gratitute for having come across a book that is just so special.

A big thank you again to Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an advance copy of this amazing book!