While this is not a typical book for me since I am not a gamer I couldn’t help but fall in love with the characters and super developed story line! Our book club read this and loved it as well!

What I've read about this title often highlights the "power of play" as a major theme. Despite this, I was surprised to find that this novel is... very much concerned with video games. That's not a bad thing - I like bildungsroman about characters anchored in Generation X, or Millenials. But I since the promotional material strongly features the California film and acting industry, I didn't expect these characters to be gamers. To sell this book in Canada, I'm going to compare it to JPod, or other Douglas Copeland material. That's what it felt like to me - 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. The implicit comparison between the refreshing, motivating, and supportive world of play and the dull, messy, and obstacle-laden landscape of real life felt a lot like the same comparison drawn between the insular, refreshing world of a creative household full of friends with the crushing world of wage-slavery in MicroSerfs.

Thank you to Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" in exchange for an honest review.

I’ll admit, I’m not a big gamer (or a gamer at all, really), so some of this was lost on me, but my goodness, what an excellent book. The relationship between the main characters was just *chef’s kiss.* I wasn’t sure I would love this book or if it would live up to the hype, but boy, did it ever.

We read this book as part of my book club, and each person loved it.

Thank you to Gabrielle Zevin, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Knopf, and Netgalley for this free advanced reader copy of "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" for an honest review.

I have to admit I knew I would finally pick this up and read it sooner or later. I was pushing myself through several book challenges at the end of the year and new releases at the start of the year, but my friends all kept at me to start this book because they loved it so much and were dearly hopeful that I would, too. And I did.

I have SO MANY feelings about this book and about the fact the love story centered in this book is that of a lifelong platonic, yet deeply emotionally-loved-based, the bond between friends that are still at the center of both people no matter if they aren't talking for years or one of them gets married. This book is start, middle, and end about Sam and Saddie. It's part of why I suddenly felt vindicated about Marx (who--yes!--I did love, don't mistake me when I say this) not having any two-dimensions depth as a character when his chapter was titled "The NPC."

I loved the look at learning the gaming industry from being a college student to being people who were starting/running a company, to the wholly other side where our student was the teacher. I love the importance of the made game being called children, and even more how much Sam and Saddie will raise her daughter together eventually, too.

Gabrielle Zevin's book pulled me in and never let me go. I'm not particularly into gaming or Shakespeare, yet I was still engaged with the subject matter and read in admiration as the author made thematic connections between the two.

I loved these flawed, aggravating characters. Through Sam and Sadie's relationship we come to understand that we can grow frustrated with our friends because they often have the very same flaws we despise in ourselves. Sam and Sadie argue, accuse, deflect, deny, and repeat the same cyclical bickering without coming to a resolution because they are so similar (and yet they seem blind to this fact). Zevin pulls off a minor miracle here by making them lovable and relatable rather than annoying.

The book's cover art is breathtaking. The Hokusai print combined with the playful modern font is eye-catching and may be one of my favorite covers of all time.

Many thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. I will definitely be recommending this title to library patrons and friends.

This was an interesting book and I'm certain it will be very appealing to those who are familiar with the world of gaming. I have always evjoyed this author's works and have selected many of her books as gifts for others, but this one was just not a good fit for me.
I would recommend it for the YA population and I am certain it will be a huge hit.

I see why everyone is talking about this book. I'm seeing it touted as a big platonic love story, but it still has romantic love triangle elements. I didn't like how the book had modern ethics placed on a 90s backdrop; it came off as disingenuous to the time. I definitely cried, and I will think about this book often.

3.5 stars, rounded down. There were a lot of great things about this novel. This is literary fiction, and reading brought to mind some other current literary greats such as Ian McEwan and David Foster Wallace. Though it masks as a literary great, this book was a bit disjointed. Every time I'd come back to it after putting it down it had lost a bit of luster; I felt like I was hate reading it at one point.

Despite the anachronisms mentioned in the author's note, most of the book felt like an anachronism. There were a lot of themes from the 2020s and then occasionally a reminder that the bulk of the book took place in the 1990s. It wasn't that convincing.

I also had to look up quite a few words. Kindle couldn't source one of them. By the time I read that someone speaking had "embroidered" a sentence I was a bit annoyed with the word selection. It felt a bit over reaching and at times like a thesaurus was thumbed through to find the right word. It bordered on pretentious rather than adding to the lyrical flow of writing.

I'm glad I've read this, though I don't know that I'd advise anyone to go out of their way to read it if other books are on the TBR shelf. I don't feel like I wasted any time in reading, though I'm glad it's over. Had the book ended ~150pp shorter I likely would have given 4 stars, though by the end I was just ready to finish the book.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Was hesitant because I am not interested in video games but this is so much more. It is about people and relationships. I loved it, but who didn't?

I was not an early reader of this book, but I didn't care even a little once I started. Now, all I want to do is read all of Levin's backlist.

Sadie and Sam become friends while Sadie’s sister is hospitalized for cancer treatments and Sam is recovering from a terrible car accident. They bond over video games and that sets the stage for the rest of their lives. After a terrible falling out, they reconnect and join forces to make video games together. There are ups and many downs, but their relationship remains as special as it was when they were kids.

I loved Mario as a kid. Donkey Kong and Zelda were my jam as well. Maybe it was this nostalgia that helped to really become invested in this book. It’s not my typical kind of book and the basis is kind of strange. However, I loved it. I was into the characters, into their career, into their relationships. I enjoyed it far more than I expected to enjoy it!! Thank you to #netgalley for the chance to read it and share my honest review!

For a while, I was confused as to why NetGalley would, in their infinite wisdom, give me an uncorrected proof for a book that has been out since July 2022 and has done incredibly well for itself. But I’m starting to see their genius: Get the teacher who adores teaching Macbeth to read a book with Macbeth references. She’ll love it.

And she did.

I just went over the “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” speech last week and I very much wish that I had finished this book before then. It gave me a whole new way of seeing the speech. I’m absolutely using an excerpt from this book next year. And I’m absolutely adding this to the list of books I’d like to add to my classroom library. I think the video game aspect will definitely attract student readers.

But here’s the genius: You don’t need to love gaming to love this—like even a little bit. This is a story about friendship: how it forms, how it changes, how it can be broken, and, even when it is broken, how it can be mended back together. If you are one of the few who haven’t read this yet, I urge you to give this a chance. (But, if you’re a sensitive reader, please check the content warnings on StoryGraph first.)

I didn’t enjoy this book nearly as much as I hoped that I would. I was excited to read it, seeing as it had been on so many folks’ “Best Books of the Year” list for 2022. I’ll grant it that these high expectations, as well as the fact that it was marketed to me as “a love story that follows 2 people over the course of their lives”, definitely skewed my reading experience.

There’s nothing actively bad about this book. I’d even go so far as to say there’s nothing bad about this book at all. It’s well written, well structured. The form and prose are exceptionally good. It had an original concept. The format was interesting at points, using gameplay and interviews to convey plot or reveal knowledge that would be important later. It certainly was anything but derivative.

I would say its biggest weakness was that it rarely managed to make me care. And when it did, it was to my own detriment. Marx, my favorite character by virtue of simply being good and kind, was little more than cannon fodder for the plot. Sadie and Sam, the two main characters, are both assholes at different points. I don’t hold this against them. They’ll make mistakes and be immature and downright nasty to each other. They’re human. But as characters, they never won me over. Never made me feel happy or sad, or really feel period.

As a disabled Asian Jew, I had such high hopes for Sam. If I were ever going to connect with a character, it would be him but somehow, I felt nothing but exasperation and a flicker of downright contempt for a guy who says himself that he wants to have ownership over the people in his life and thinks he has an unalienable right to be loved. One internal line of his in particular got to me and I did sympathize with him not knowing how to best help the people he loved and asking himself what others would do. I too, have had my fair share of trauma. I too, spent most of my childhood in and out of hospitals. But for whatever reason, that gave me an entirely different worldview and a healthy dose of self awareness that Sam unfortunately seems to lack.

This is not my usual pick but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Moving between the video game world and the real world and all of the intertwiinging relationships was a great book. It was also so interesting to hear the behind the scenes of game creation and the building of the relationships within the book. It kept me turning pages looking forward to what would happen next.

Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for this ARC.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is the kind of book that stays with you long after putting it down. Zevin artfully weaves a compelling storyline, interesting plot points, detailed character development, and vibrant settings into an engaging, entertaining, and emotional story. Each chapter takes on its own unique energy, approach, and style. Together, like a quilt. the chapters build a detailed, layered story - one full of nuance, heartbreak, and intrigue.

There is one line I find myself ruminating on still, weeks after finishing. I wouldn't dare spoil it by sharing it here but I have no doubt anyone who reads Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow will leave with a similar souvenir.

5 Stars.

This is an impressive work that spans three decades and explores the evolution of friendships and business relationships over time. The story covers childhood friendship, the relationships through creation and development of video games and even immersion into the world of the game itself. I enjoyed the clever narrative tools and interesting characters. I think this is a really creative, unique and well-crafted novel.

How I wanted to love this book. Maybe wrong timing for me but I was bored and just wanted to be done. Know so many people that absolutely loved it. Writing is lovely and totally get why it won BOTM book of the year.

I know this book has been loved by everyone, but for me it was just ok. I couldn’t get past all the gaming. Unlike Ready Player One where I didn’t mind the 80s references and games in this book for some reason was distracting. I also didn’t understand a friendship where you didn’t actually talk through issues and just made assumptions that fundamentally changed how you interact. Though I did like the ending.

I loved The Storied Life of A,J, Fikry, and looked for other books by the author. I had decided this one wasn't for me. I'm not a gamer, have no interest in video games, and Pacman is probably the only one I've ever played. But this book has so many stars,,,,so I keep finding myself going back to it. I could kick myself for being so shallow in my thinking, for yes, this novel does take place against the backdrop of video game creation, but it is so, so much more. This is about true friendship, in all of its glory and ugliness. It is about the beauty and failure of being human. It is about selfishness and love so deep it defies explanation, It is about creativity and passion. I found the fluid point of view intriguing (part perspective, part interview, part reporting). I'm so happy to have found this book on NetGalley and deciding to take the plunge!

I loved this book so much. It was such an original read, centered around the early years of video game creation and two characters who dedicate their lives to creating games. It wasn't your traditional love story, but I think that's what made it so wonderful. It wasn't your typical happily ever after romance (I'm not even sure you could call it a romance at all) but the characters were so well created and the scenarios so realistic, I loved everything about it.