This book is so utterly pretentiousness and trying so hard to be woke that I should have given up on it instead of seeing it to the end. I would have if the beginning hadnÂ’t been so beautifully done. ThereÂ’s a line in the book about a video game sequel being awful because it was farmed out to Indian programmers who had no interest in the game and thatÂ’s how this book feels after the incredible start. The beginning was layered, nuanced and artfully done. I hate flashbacks but this book had managed to layer the present, past and future in such an incredible way before it fell off a cliff and suddenly feels an entirely different writer took over.

The story began with Sadie and Sam central to the story. We found out about them in a narrative that skipped around in time to let us understand them and their relationship. Sam was the obviously the more sympathetic of the two and the one you as a reader care about. Sadie was often annoying and then fell apart in a ridiculous way. I hoped her awful college self with the horrible college boyfriend would evolve and grow up but she never does. Even worse for the story is the tangents that from that point became the story. We suddenly get a new character who is rightly called boring later on. He is a NPC. HeÂ’s just too good and uninteresting to take up so much space. We get his backstory we donÂ’t need. In a similar way later on we get two new characters that happen to be gay that bring nothing to the story other than a celebration of their sexuality which apparently is worth their inclusion. Much tangents about their game that take up unnecessary page time and continue to dilute any attempt at storytelling. ThereÂ’s plenty of politics, even to a ridiculously degree actual comical bad guys intent on violence against those in favor of gay relationships and marriage. Ironically for a book full of wokeness with characters never being straight, celebrating gender fluidity, the book managed to ridicule cultural appropriation. The book is very focused on the race of the characters but never explores them in more than a superficial way.

One of the authorÂ’s worst faults was her pretentious word choices. Instead of writing in way that flowed she chose to constantly check her thesaurus for jarring words jejune and verdigris every couple of pages. Ironically much the criticism of a game her character created this book is pretentious and full of itself. The worst part is that could have been amazing if it had stayed as focused as it was in the beginning. This is not a story worth the journey so do not push play. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.921 s33 comments Regina1,139 4,049

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow I will still be thinking about this brilliant book.

Fair warning that I am predisposed to adore coming-of-age novels about protagonists of my generation (Gen X), apparently even if I donÂ’t have much in common with them other than birth year. In this case, the protagonists are Sadie and Sam, two friends whose lives intertwine up, down, and around their love of gaming.

It must be said that this book is VERY MUCH about video games. Sadie and Sam play them, talk about them, design them, and promote them over the span of thirty years. What a testament to author Gabrielle ZevinÂ’s writing that I could be glued to the pages of a story about a topic that typically bores me to tears! Because I loved Sadie and Sam so much, I never lost interest in their worlds - either the real one of their day-to-day existence or the virtual ones they were building.

They are, without a doubt in my mind, the two characters IÂ’ve cared about the most over the past decade of my reading life.

I do say that with a bit of trepidation, as I know some readers of this review who love me (shout out to my mom again!) will want to read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow to meet my new literary best friends. I must therefore point out that while the novel is a masterpiece in my eyes, some people are not going to be able to get through it. Zevin is a fan of obscure words, there are risky techniques used (such as an occasional second-person chapter and dropping readers into a video game world), sad and unsavory things happen in the plot, and the text is fairly dense. This is a long 416 pages.

Also, having read (and enjoyed) ZevinÂ’s previous two novels, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Young Jane Young, this feels itÂ’s from an entirely different author. I breezed through those others in a day, but Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow took me a week. I know thatÂ’s because I savored every word and often reread entire paragraphs, but thatÂ’s my point. If her prior books were hamburgers, this one is a steak.

I feel a bit bad for the upcoming books IÂ’ll be reading in the wake of this novel, since I know nothing will compare for a very long time. In case itÂ’s not clear enough already, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow has a well-earned place on my all-time favorites shelf. When you finish the final page of a book and hug it to your chest, where else would it go?

My sincere thanks to the author and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the gifted review copy via NetGalley. Now available.

Blog: https://www.confettibookshelf.com/2,442 s Val ?? Shameless Handmaiden ??1,927 32.8k

***5 Stars***

This was one of those books where, when someone asks you what the book you are reading is about, you are kind of at a loss for words. Because, as the blurb stated, this was essentially a book about two good friends making a video game together.

But was it?

Not gonna lie, I wasn't sure where I would land on this when I decided to pick up late via BOTM add-on. (See, I even skipped over it when it was one of the monthly picks).

Despite being a child of the 80's and 90's, I never played videogames. I know, I know...the horror, some of you might be thinking. But, whelp, my dad was adamantly against us playing them, convinced it would make us lazy and turn our minds into mush.

Well, while I can't say that I'm not lazy or that my mind isn't mush despite never being a gamer, I can say that, based on the one or two times I played it at a friends' house, I really sucked at Mario Kart anyway.

But I digress.

I said, never having been a gamer, I was worried about how that might play into my enjoyment of a book which, on the surface, was centered around video games.

But again...was it really?

Yes and no.

This was about so much more than video games, folks. So much more than standard friendship. I can't even explain what I mean here...It just encapsulated so much of the human experience in such a bold, yet nuanced way.

In today's western culture--which is seemingly insistent upon everything having to be a social justice/political statement that slams you over the head on exhausting repeat--the way this book handled said topics felt...organic.

Showing not telling.
Allowing me to absorb the message instead of simply beating me over the head with self-righteousness.
So refreshing.

Also, there are so many elements of the book that felt personal to me...that struck a chord with me. I won't get into them; but, suffice to say that, again, this book was very much about the human experience. And the way the author used video games as a platform for it all was super creative. And super well executed, in my opinion.

Originally, I rated this 4.5 instead of 5 stars; however, I've thought about this book a lot since finishing it several days ago. And anything that makes me self-reflect...that moves me enough to contemplate the facets of it days later...deserves the full five.

P.S. You don't need to be a gamer to love this book.
P.P.S. You do need to love Marx.0-in-my-library-read 0-top-reads-of-2022 5-stars ...more1,352 s50 comments Meredith (Trying to catch up!)858 13.6k

Complicated and Memorable

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, is a multilayered novel about friendship, love, and video games.

Sam and Sadie met when they are kids and quickly bonded over their love of video games. They develop a friendship that spans almost 30 years. The novel follows the highs and lows of their friendship, including falling in love, falling out, a love triangle, successes, and failures. Throughout it all, the one constant in their lives is video games.

The narrative alternates primarily between Sadie and Sam's POVs. Sam and Sadie are both loveable, arrogant, infuriating, and flawed. The dynamics of their friendship are complicated by love, jealousy, and misunderstanding. I got a little sick of the friends to frenemies cycle between Sadie and Sam (more of SadieÂ’s anger towards Sam, but I understood her point of view). I loved them, but I also wanted to shake some sense in them.

SamÂ’s mother, Anna; Marx, SamÂ’s college roommate; Dov, Sadie's professor; are some additional characters who make an impact. My favorite characters were SamÂ’s grandparents, Dong Hyun and Bong Cha.

The novel blends reality and game worlds, and parts of the narrative take place in a virtual open world.

All characters are well-developed and multidimensional. Even the avatars are multidimensional.

I am not a huge fan of video games, but this book made me nostalgic for the video games of my childhood. I got all of the Oregon Trail and Mario references, but there were times that I was a little lost, but I didnÂ’t mind because I learned so much about gaming. The reader doesnÂ’t need to know much about video games to enjoy this book (but it might help!). There are also a lot of 80s, 90s, and early 2000s pop culture references mixed in. I loved reading the details behind creating a game and the gaming industry as I was introduced to a whole new world.

This is a well-written, complex, thought-provoking, and original novel. I was invested in the characters, and some moments hit me on an emotional level. I got teary-eyed towards the end. I won't forget these characters; this is a book that is going to stay with me for a long time.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.netgalley964 s4 comments Emily May2,058 312k

I feel... really disappointed by this. I've loved Zevin's books in the past and I was lured in by some of the early starred that promised I would be enchanted by this book. I can see the many interesting themes the author is juggling here and have highlighted a few passages I thought were noteworthy, yet a few moments of brilliance just couldn't make this book any less tedious for me.

The story is essentially about gamers and video games, throwing up constant references to the history of gaming and gaming culture. The two main characters, Sadie and Sam, bond over playing video games when the pair meet in the children's ward of a hospital and later conceive of, and program, games of their own. Their own personal stories-- involving family, friends, sexism in the industry and abusive relationships (contains emotional manipulation and sexual assault) play out alongside this.

I will confess that maybe it is just my disinterest in the world of gaming that drives my apathy towards this story. I have played my fair share of certain games-- caught them all in Pokemon, explored the worlds of Final Fantasy VII onwards, built a fabulous neighbourhood in Sims, employed some questionable antics in Grand Theft Auto and, to a lesser extent, tried my hand at Tomb Raider, Resident Evil and The Last of Us.

That being said, I do not consider "gamer" to be a defining term for me. I would always rather read. And my interest in games does not extend beyond the games to the culture surrounding it.

Kirkus assured me that even those who "have never played a video game in their lives" will love this book, but I feel that probably isn't true. I found it a struggle just to make it through and I kept finding excuses to check my email, google something random that occurred to me, or just do household chores instead of reading this.

Some people have commented on it being a long book, but 400 pages isn't all that long. It feels much longer.2022 contemporary2,412 s16 comments Sophie178 167

Obviously, I'm in the minority here, but I wasn't particularly enthralled.

A lack of concentration plagues Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, a novel I found to be lacking. The narrative jumps from the present to various points in the past without providing the reader with an opportunity to get emotionally invested in any of the protagonists, except maybe Marx.

In general, the overall writing was pleasant. Particularly interesting to me was the genuineness of the content concerning game design and production.

Unfortunately, as someone who has spent a large portion of their adult life working in the gaming industry, I found the protagonists' talks of game design and development outside the scope of their debut game Ichigo to be tedious.

The story was dull and I found the author's constant urge to stay woke to be obnoxious. While I respect her intention to raise awareness about pressing social concerns, I found that her preachiness frequently derailed the narrative and detracted from the plot. I find it fascinating when authors of fiction skillfully weave explorations of societal concerns into the fabric of their narratives. Unfortunately, in my opinion, Zenin did not carry out this action.

Finally, while the first half of the book is interesting and well written, the second half falls apart under the weight of its own ambitions.

Should you still read it? Probably based on all the other .

Rating: 3

Follow me on Instagram!2022-favs797 s12 comments Cindy472 125k

My thoughts before finding out about Zevin's plagiarism and Zionism: I understand the hype. The book is well-written with a lot of heart. From the moment the characters meet in chapter 2, I loved their friendship. I especially enjoyed seeing their creative process in making video games and the level of thought put into storytelling and quality of work. This is something that would appeal to any creative person, regardless if you're a video game designer or not. I was not a fan of certain romantic developments, since they were unnecessary and felt an easy way to create drama, but still very solid overall.

My thoughts now: I'm disappointed that Zevin didn't give credit to Brenda Romero's undistributed game, 'Train,' when she gave credit to plenty of other game creators in her acknowledgements. It wouldn't have been difficult to simply add another name, and crediting wouldn't have detracted from the story either. It's sadly ironic that for a story about women being underrepresented and overlooked in the gaming industry, the author would do the same to Romero. Doubly disappointing is Zevin's ties to Hadassah, a US-based Zionist women's organization. I'd hoped that the mention of Israel in the book was because Zevin wanted to add more flaws to her antagonist character, but it appears that she shares the same beliefs. As such, despite my original rating & positive review for this book last year, I will not be reading any more of her work.1,157 s86 comments Katie (katieladyreads)491 268

this was a hard pass for me. I know I'm in the minority, but I do not need to be emotionally and traumatically destroyed while reading. The prose was pretentious and unnecessary. Both characters are rather insufferable, immature, and showed no growth. For a book supposedly celebrating friendship, this was the definition of a TOXIC, unhealthy platonic relationship between male & female. I'm honestly not sure what the moral of the story was? Other than let's make sure to include every single controversial issue possible and make our stance known. I also really despise murky endings.

every CW imaginable: gun violence, death, suicide, grief, car accident, toxic relationship, shooting, injury jury, homophobia, chronic illness, racism, sexism, toxic friendship (and moreÂ…)1,381 s44 comments jessica2,575 43.4k

this book made my heart ache.

the lives of sam and sadie are raw and complicated and messy. the narrative is such an accurate depiction of human growth and the adjustments friendships have to go through because of those changes. and, just real life, not everything goes according to their plans. there were life choices of theirs that i didnt agree with and moments when i was 110% rooting for their successes. some sections where i was bored with the uneventfulness of their careers and other chapters that had me riveted by the worlds they created.

while i do wish there was more of a traditional plot and quicker pacing at times, theres no denying that i came to care about sam and sadie.

? 4 stars692 s Julie1,800

My gosh, this book was never ending. It felt the same story over and over: friends fight, make up and make a video game together, fight again, everyone switches partners, make another game…I’m sorry, but none of the characters were convincing—would you really call your unborn child a parasite? Would you really not talk to your business partner for months? Not talk to your best friend for years because of one little tiff? Everyone is reviewing this book as some great example of friendship, but that’s not how I’d treat my friends. I kept hoping it would get better, but it never did. ya1,130 s21 comments emma2,113 67k

three things:
1) i did not any of these three main characters to start, and i grew to intensely dis them
2) i could not put this book down
3) it has been 4 months since i read this book, i cannot in good faith put this review off any longer, and i still do not know if i d this or not.

that's all i got.

bottom line: you take the wins with the losses in this life.

--------------------
tbr review

suddenly decided i NEED to read this3-stars authors-of-color contemporary ...more2,137 s15 comments Traci Thomas677 11.8k

Starts off super strong and readable. It felt YA but for adults. Falls apart as it goes on. Lots of cliche in the 2nd half which starts to feel irritating by the end. It couldÂ’ve been 100 pages shorter easily.1,344 s4 comments Maxwell1,252 10k

I love you. Terribly. owned776 s Claudia LomelíAuthor 8 books80.8k

De mis favoritos del año: 4.5 estrellas.2023 cover-love exceeded-expectations ...more631 s3 comments Yun550 27.4k

This is one of those well-lauded books that I felt a bit hesitant going in. I assumed it was targeted for a certain audience—either those who gravitate towards stories about complicated friendships, or gamers. I'm not sure either of those are me, so what would I get out of it?

And when I first started, I thought for sure I'd made a mistake. The first chapter was so overwritten, coming across as both pretentious and off-putting, and I cringed my way through it. I thought to myself, this is it. The book that everyone loves, I'd either have to give up on or end up writing a lowly-rated review and be subjected to comments about brain deficiency.

I took a break and then decided to give it another chance. Chapter 2 was a little bit better. And then we come to Chapter 3, and bam! I was hooked. It's not an understatement to say that the scene with Dov teaching the Advanced Games seminar class was my favorite of the whole book and it's what sold me on reading it.

From then on, every moment related to designing or making video games, I was totally there for. Before I started, if you'd told me that that would be the part I'd enjoy the most, I would've been surprised. I wouldn't categorize myself as a gamer since I've probably only loved one video game my whole life. (That was Animal Crossing, first on the GameCube and then almost 20 years later as Animal Crossing: New Horizons on the Switch.)

But then when I think about it, I shouldn't have been surprised. The way this book talks about games, they're really presented as more stories, albeit ones where the reader can participate in and influence the direction and outcome. And I'm certainly a reader of the most passionate sort.

I'm also a software engineer with a little bit of experience making video games on the side, so of course the technical aspects of Sam and Sadie's ventures totally appealed to me. Reading about their projects is more or less reading about work—which I normally avoid the plague—but somehow this book made it exciting.

I can't help but wish the games were real. I want to play them and capture the feelings reading about them evoked in me. And I also want to know everything that went into making them. If this were a biography on a real video game company, I would've loved it from cover to cover and completely gobbled it up.

But it wasn't, and as a result, this wasn't a perfect story for me. It very much centers around Sam and Sadie's friendship, and that was pretty much the weakest part. I didn't really connect with either of the characters. All their issues were the result of the dreaded miscommunication trope, where one or the other refuses to say what they mean, leading to misunderstandings. And this went on and on, through many years.

My other issue with the story is that it includes a certain development that comes out of nowhere, seemingly for no other reason than to beat down the characters, thus eliciting tugs of the heartstrings and upping the emotional ante. And I'm just not a fan. It doesn't add anything to the story and it left me feeling somewhat emotionally manipulated.

I also have to point out that the story at times feels it's a bit too clever with its verbiage. at one point, this book conjured up the only two literary characters who know what "jejune" means and put them in a conversation with each other. While that's an impressive use of the thesaurus, it detracts a bit from the story being told.

But I don't think my experience with the book is typical. A lot of other readers praise the depiction of Sam and Sadie's relationship and declare their love for the book despite the video game segments. I'm pretty much the complete opposite. But even coming from two different directions, it seems we have all reached the same conclusion, and that's our collective enjoyment for this supremely interesting story. And in the end, that's all that really matters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
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This was a pick for my Book of the Month box. Get your first book for $5 here.573 s131 comments lisa (fc hollywood's version)180 1,121

edit 02/20/2023: bumped this up to a 5 because my mental stability is gone

"The way to turn an ex-lover into a friend is to never stop loving them, to know that when one phase of a relationship ends it can transform into something else. It is to acknowledge that love is both a constant and a variable at the same time."

occasionally, i would read a book that leaves me speechless, unable to grasp my emotions. this is one of those times.

i won't give a summary of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow because i am incapable of doing it even if i want to. in my opinion, the synopsis doesn't do it justice, either. the best way to understand this book is to experience it yourself.

this is a tragedy intertwined with a love story, but not any love story. i went into this expecting to read something Alone With You in the Ether, and i closed this book knowing that no story resembles this one.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is an incredible tour de force. to write something as meta as the process of making video games with a lyrism this profound is no easy task. Zevin's descriptions of the process, so technical, transport the reader into an imaginary world so vast that at one point, i saw myself in the game sam and sadie made. additionally, i salute the author's courage to include difficult literary techniques (e.g.: second-person pov) in an already intricate setting.

ultimately, the brilliance of this book comes from its characters. i don't think i have cared for characters this deeply since Alone With You in the Ether. sam, sadie, and marx are written with depth and empathy. they evolve real people would, for better and worse. their humanity shines through the tragedies, pulling me into their suffering: that's how i know that characterization can only go so far. this is what differentiates unpleasantly brilliant books from mediocre but entertaining ones.

and god, the intimacy between the three characters. there is something about the chemistry, the interactions, and their thoughts that made me wonder: can love can be greater than this?

in the end, i know that this book is absolutely not for everyone, and not everyone who loved and hated this will feel the same emotions throughout the experience. for now, i leave this book at 4.5 (it will change eventually) but Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will stay in my mind and my heart for a long time.

--------------------------

pre-review:

this book induces in me such profound grief, that i am feeling physically unwell.

rtc once i recoveraudiobook the-stars-around-my-scars554 s3 comments Ali Goodwin230 28.3k

My first dnf of the year
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