Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

This very well may be one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. I finished late last night, laid down to go to bed and cried for fifteen minutes. I cried because the story was sad, because it was happy, because it was so real, and because it was over. There is no way to summarize this story that does it justice.

"He knew what he was experiencing was a basic error in programming, and he wished he could open up his brain and delete the bad code. Unfortunately, the human brain is every bit close a system as a Mac."

Sam and Sadie are destined to be together. It is written in their fates, in the stars. Together, but never lovers. They are more than lovers. They would never ruin what they have with such a ordinary thing as sex. A chance meeting 3,000 miles away from home brings Sadie and Sam crashing back together, this time to create the games they loved as children. Joined by Marx, Sam's handsome, caring, wonderful roommate, the three set out to change the gamming world forever. In the process they will find themselves and each other.

Even writing that blurb feels... insufficient and unimportant. This story is the most important book to come out of 2022. Zevin covers disability, sexuality, power dynamics, race, and so much more without ever being preachy. Just by telling a beautiful story of people who grow and stagnate. People who love and hate. People who hold onto grudges and rarely forgive. Just a story of people being people.

Somehow fans of Daisy Jones and the Six, D&D gamers, and Shakespearean nerds will all love this book. I don't understand how Zevin did it, only that she did it perfectly.

Content Warnings

gladystobehere's review against another edition

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hopeful informative medium-paced

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

3.0

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lovehihere's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad slow-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

Spoiler

I was so ready to love this book but didn’t end up loving it. It’s quite disappointing that the only lil able main male character is killed off. I dislike most of these characters.

Spoiler

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hattieosha's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

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madanxiety's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

This was an epic! I wasn't sure about it at first because Sam, one of the protagonists, had such incel vibes, but I stuck around long enough to see that all the characters were flawed and broken and putting themselves back together in the best ways they knew how, just like real people.

Spoiler

I got threw Marx's whole tragic and unfair (no pun intended) death without shedding a tear, but the moment that got me was when Dong Hyun was talking to Sam about him and Sadie and how Sadie would always get free pizza, even though the pizza shop wasn't t even theirs anymore.

One of the most interesting things about this book was the circular narration - how every part of their journey folded in on itself, repeating and retelling and subtly tweaking the ending, like the book itself was picking up from different save points along the way. Haha, it's like the narrative is a character, like the weather in Sadie's game. Even though, in the real world, we can't reverse time, it's true that we're always who we've been, even as we're always reinventing ourselves.

A good book leaves you looking at the world around you a little differently, be it with a little more hope, or humor, or sadness, or fatigue. Actually, I think all books I love leave me feeling the same way: like I've been reborn, like a shell washed up from the sea, warm and vulnerable, where I always yet also somewhere entirely new.

Content Warnings

readandgab's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.5

This. Book. It is incredible. It is so well thought out and told in a masterful way. I loved the use of different formats/media. I love how complex the characters are and you truly grow to love them and hate them all at once. It is the story of true friendship and intimacy deeper than romantic love. The only reason it is not fully 5 stars for me is that the it discusses the reality of being mixed race and the concept of appropriation that I do not agree with. However the diversity of the characters is well done in this book. This is one of the only 400 page books I have ever felt really excited to continue picking up and didn't feel like it was a slog to get to the end. I never wanted it to end.

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sabmanosa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

"It isn’t a sadness, but a joy that we don’t do the same things for the length of our lives."

This book captivated me more than I expected. I saw it on a friend's story and decided to read it because I like the title, the cover was pretty, and she raved about it.

The characters are painfully realistic, falling into the traps of their own personalities and egos, but it was such a pleasure to experience life along side them. This book covers so many themes I didn't expect - women in gaming, racism, death, love, disabilities, creating art, etc. I loved going in blind because I truly didn't know what to expect.

Spoiler

I especially love the clever extended chapters to give different POVs, especially The NPC with Marx. I didn't expect it and it made his death more emotional for me.

Sadie & Sam have such a complicated friendship, and I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It wasn't narratively satisfying, but it felt emotionally satisfying. I want to see more of them, but I'm also so sick of them haha. Would recommend!!

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