Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

236 reviews

an_library_stan's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-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

Beautiful and heartbreaking. The loss of loved ones several times throughout hurts. As do the gaps that ebb and grow between characters  throughout. 

Zevin really nailed the balance of plot and descriptive detail. She made me interested in the nuances and decisions behind fictional video games. 

The way she writes about disability, sexuality, desire and the messiness of long term relationships (friendships, romances, blends of the two), all feel real and core to the story. 

"I've been blue, lately," Sam admitted. "And I wondered, how do you get over that sort of thing?" "Work helps," Sadie said. "Games help. But sometimes, when I'm really low, I keep a particular image in my mind."

"What is it?"

"I imagine people playing. Sometimes, it's one of our games, but sometimes, it's any game. The thing I find profoundly hopeful when I'm feeling despair is to imagine people playing, to believe that no matter how bad the world gets, there will always be players."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Death, and Suicide

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

emotional 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Death, Sexism, Hate crime, and Medical content

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Classism, Drug use, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs

jodean's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

I thought I knew what this book would be about before I read it. I was wrong. 

I don't even think I can comment on it without reading it again. I have a bad habit of reading too quickly in the second half of books, because I want to know what happens. This book's second half, and really all of it, deserves a reread.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Blood, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Rape, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Infidelity, Vomit, Ableism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Cancer

cataloguekitty's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective slow-paced

4.5

The characters are devastatingly real and flawed. They’re not always likeable and that’s precisely why I kept reading. They felt real and I needed to see how these very real people handled trauma, love, work and friendship throughout their lives. It is extremely relatable. 

Loved seeing the diverse representation- biracial, disable, asexual characters. It felt like real life.

There are some serious trigger warnings so just be aware! 

Overall, I don’t think I can read this again for along time but it will definitely haunt me forever. Great book. 

Loved the world of building video games- was very accessible for non-gamers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Medical trauma, Death, Hate crime, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent

Moderate: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Cancer, Medical content, Vomit, Blood, Grief, Racism, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Car accident, and Mental illness

Minor: Eating disorder, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, and Pregnancy

davinmotion's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad slow-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

4.0

It’s hard to write a review of a book that even 100 pages in you felt you could put it down and let it slip into DNF territory. Especially when it is so well written and so many ends tie up so well and the characters, for better or worse, are so vivid they feel real. Multiple times while reading I caught myself thinking this will inevitably become a screenplay in the style of When Harry Met Sally. And it will be successful. This isn’t so much a book about video games as it is the relationship between two people. As a gamer, I’ll admit I had hoped for more discussion about games and the industry other than subtle mentions. It just didn’t connect to me personally. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Car accident, Death, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Hate crime, Suicide, Homophobia, and Gun violence

Minor: Abortion, Drug use, and Blood

Spoiler

I understand the significance of the two young shooters in this story and that the author does mention that studies show video game violence doesn’t translate to real life violence likelihood, but I still worry people will take away that FPS games are dangerous. It was exhausting to deal with growing up, even though I didn’t play FPS games. What is truly more concerning is how people feel empowered by anonymity and will say hurtful, awful things - it has made voice chat or even in game messaging not worth it, so if anything, that should be more highlighted, because it’s the people that create these sorts of communities that are the real threat.

clare23's review against another edition

emotional informative 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Blood, Car accident, and Emotional abuse

effievee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Grief, Gun violence, Gore, Medical trauma, Death, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, and Body horror

Moderate: Blood, Car accident, Chronic illness, Sexism, Suicide, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Xenophobia

theirgracegrace's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

The faux biography Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin astounds at every possible juncture. Centring a pair of marginalized video game developers and their rise to fame, her book delves deep into the psyche of both major characters. She plots their success at forming their game company Unfair Games, their fights (creative and personal), the consequences of their success, their separation and their reunion. Every character leaps off the page and demands to be a player, not an NPC, and the characters' pasts heavily influence their development and their actions. I have never read a book so enthralling, so personal, or so realistic. I eagerly await more from Zevin and her incredible mind!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Blood, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Ableism, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Misogyny, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Murder, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abortion, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Cannibalism, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Alcoholism, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pedophilia

Sadie's grandparents are Holocaust survivors, and Sadie's pre-Unfair game is about Nazi collaborators.

the_real_al_cal's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

This is one of the most human books I've ever read. Everything about it, from the characters to the story, is shrouded in the realness of life--both its ups and downs. I don't know if I could accurately summarize what it's about because the answer is simply: life and love. The way the characters navigate their relationships with one another is so genuinely human, this almost felt like an autobiography. I loved it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Grief, Hate crime, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexism

Minor: Homophobia, Blood, Drug use, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Sexual content

mayabayacat's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Chronic illness