Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

417 reviews

slowburnsrus's review against another edition

tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

When I started this book I was bored by the clunky and self indulgent writing, and annoyed by the peak White Feminism critique of trauma and cultural appropriation that was far less thoughtful and nuanced than the Barbie movie. 

The root of my dissatisfaction is that reading about a character playing a game is like reading about a character working out…fun when you do it yourself, excruciating when we read the minutiae of another’s experience.

The strongest part of this book is its work with grief, and the metaphors around gaming in relation to grief and loss. That grabbed me in the second half and kept me reading.

But the writing feel excessively overwrought with not enough payoff in either plot or observations on the human condition to make me enjoy reading it. 

I cannot express how much I came to loathe many of the characters, particular Dov, the sexual harasser and groomer who (spoiler) gets a fucking redemption arc at the end of the book.

I was surprised that there were fewer attributions than I would expected in the authors note as I recognized many of the book’s references, and Sadie in particular was prone to insightful wanderings that so had definitely read before.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use and Abortion

marloesisalive's review against another edition

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I found the story very unique even if I have zero interest in coding. I do like to game occasionally though, but I think that this book is especially fun to read for gamers and game developers. It was a heartbreaking read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Murder

Moderate: Vomit and Death of parent

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Pregnancy

ellalouisedavey's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

3.75

Didn’t love it as much as everyone else did but didn’t hate it as much as I thought I would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual assault, and Abortion

Minor: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism

raquellecollins's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

danpolta's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Ableism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Stalking, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship

mattinthehat's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't like when authors resolve a love triangle by killing off one of the characters

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Racism

lulialof's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It had a good pace and nice focus on a special, deep friendship. It is not the most realistic story out there, but it does not have to be. Felt influenced by Normal People (Sally Rooney) and A little life (Hanya Yanagihara), but still keeping love and overcoming challenges at the heart of the story, rather than digging a deep hole of misery. Easy to read, not earthshatteringly unique or fascinating in terms of story and language, but still captivating. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation

rynaissanceenby's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It feels like a modern story that deals with so many cultural issues in such good and enlightening ways. It reads like a John Green novel for an older audience. Even when I wanted to scream at the characters to "Just talk to each other!" they were still endearing, and I was enraptured by the story. I read this book in basically a single sitting, it that's any indication of how much I liked it. I will forgive it it's slightly inaccurate depictions of MIT on account of being a book I would be happy to reread. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Car accident

Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Antisemitism, and Abortion

kalikram's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Racism and Sexism

bestturnip's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Chose this as it was a mega bestseller in 2023 but it fell a bit flat for me.  Spoiler warning:

The constant switch up in writing perspectives and styles

like cutting to a page of game reviews or an interview in the future with Sadie / Sam

was an interesting choice but once or twice I felt it detracted from the story. 

Marx and his chapters hit home the most for me - despite making him the obvious "likeable" character while Sadie and Sam's flaws were obviously meant to be a main focus. 

Some of the word choices in the prose (not only character dialogue) felt a bit over the top and like the author wanted to remind you how smart, not only the characters, but she was.

I absolutely hated

the choice to have Sadie remain in contact with Dov after her experiences. Even if it is realistic, there wasn't enough emphasis for me on WHY Sadie made that choice other than 'she still looked up to him'

The passages from Marx's POV

with both the Macbeth and Strawberry Thief references were my favourite part and I honestly struggle to understand why his focus was as more of an NPC? If it was meant to be a big reference to how Sadie and Sam treated him, it was a bit flat.

Overall there were some really emotional and resonant scenes, and the references to theatre, art, and games were typically well thought out and had a place in the story. I wish that this book had a better idea of exactly what it was about, so our throughlines didn't get so muddled.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent

Moderate: Cancer, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Medical trauma

Minor: Racial slurs, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail