effievee's review against another edition
- 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
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
- 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
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
- 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
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
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Blood, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, and Chronic illness
adragoninspace's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Classism, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Abortion, Alcohol, Cancer, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Vomit
augustar14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Spoiler
The biggest example of this for me was the scene where Dove handcuffed Sadie to the bed. Her non-reaction made it almost feel more traumatic. I nearly stopped the book there, about halfway through.This book has a lot of pain, and heartache, and characters who don't know how to communicate and don't ever really figure out how. It's important, I think, to be prepared for that going in. It's not a feel good book. It has some fantastic quotes about life, play, and relating to other humans. It is very clever at times. But I can't say I fully loved it. Or that it was exactly what I needed or was looking for. Despite that, I don't regret reading it. I don't think there will be a reread, though.
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Blood, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Mental illness, Abortion, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Racism, Ableism, and Classism
Minor: Racial slurs
abbeghoul's review against another edition
Graphic: Death, Blood, Racism, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Cancer, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Suicide
jkneebone's review against another edition
- 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
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows the decades-long friendship of Sadie Green and Sam Masur. The two first meet in LA as preteens while Sam is in the hospital, and bond over their love of video games before a falling out. Eight-ish years later, they are reunited as college students in Boston. Sam challenges Sadie to spend the summer building a game with him. She accepts, and the rest is history.
With great care, Zevin takes us through the contours of Sam and Sadie’s relationship - both personal and professional - for the next twenty years. Their game is a success at just the right historical moment, and they - along with Sam’s college roommate Marx - end up running a successful video game company in their early 20s. There are successes and failures, and many rocky moments, but through it all Sadie and Sam continue to orbit around each other.
I thought this was a masterful depiction of a long-term friendship combined with a working relationship. Although I was occasionally frustrated with the characters, I always understood where they were coming from. The situation that Sam and Sadie find themselves in - quick success, with their professional lives irrevocably entwined due to decisions they made almost as teenagers - was rife with interesting moments, and Zevin explored it with ease. I’m not a huge video game person, but I learned a lot reading this, and I loved the glimpse into video game culture especially in the early 2000s - as one of the characters says in the book, they wouldn’t have been able to do what they did any earlier or later.
Spoiler
In addition, I loved what Zevin did with Marx. His death absolutely gutted me - I wasn’t expecting it, and I (like Sam and Sadie to some extent, I imagine) had taken him for granted as a source of levity and a go-between for S&S. I thought it was interesting, and heartbreaking, how they each handled his loss, and how they could or could not see that the other was also hurting. I’m not sure if it was Zevin’s intent, but to me it says something about the relationship between Sadie and Sam - that they needed Marx in order to maintain an equilibrium of sorts. I know the book is about S&S, but given the title and the role Marx played in their lives and business, I think there is something to be said for the fact that without Marx, their friendship would have (permanently) crumbled much sooner. Although I think the story ends in a good place, I’d be curious to know how Sam and Sadie’s future collaboration goes without Marx there as a go-between.Overall, I highly recommend this book. There aren’t enough stories out there that center friendship in this way, in my opinion. Mind the warnings, but if you’ve been thinking about picking this one up, I say go for it.
Graphic: Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Blood, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse
Additional CW (not an option above):Spoiler
amputationnabecker13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Abortion, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Antisemitism
laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Car accident, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship