Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
261 reviews
crowlaplumme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
[SPOILERS]
I REALLY wanted Sam to be the asexual and aromantic icon. Sadly that didn't end up being the case. Once Sadie had begun dating Marx, Sam's character turned into one of bitter jelousy and of the mindset that people belonged to one another. It was a bummer because I was rooting for Sam through his entire story arc, especially when he began experiencing phantom pains and depression. When Sam mentioned how he didn't care for sex during that brief rendez-vous with Lola, I was estatic, thinking that he was ace. I love a good platonic relationship between a man and woman, and Sam and Sadie's was just that; until it wasn't.
Sadie was an interesting character, her paranoia felt very real. Her depression after getting an abortion and losing Marx felt genuine. However, Sam pulled himself together for the sake of their company, while Sadie had a harder time. At some points, despite wanting to be empathetic to what Sadie was going through-- especially pregnant, it was hard to see her absence in the company and what it meant for other characters (characters, we begun to care for, like the other workers of Unfair Games, who couldn't continue to work on the DLC). Whether it meant delaying the DLC or cancelling it altogether, Sadie's inaction affected others at Unfair Games who had undergone the same trauma of losing Marx (sure, not in the capacity of losing a lover, but as a co-worker and friend. Not to mention, some of them were in the building when the confrontation went down.)
I'm certain I'm not alone when I say that Marx was the best character in the book. My eyes were glued to the page when we got that solo chapter from Marx's perspective. His romance with Sadie felt natural, there was a romantic interest initially, but then they became friends. It made their relationship solid. Unlike, Sam's 180 to desperately wanting Sadie's romantic affection. The best part about Marx is understanding that despite his death, the memory of him was able to pull Sam out of his stupor ("What would Marx do?"). His memory being immortalized by Sadie and Sam in their games, was a lovely detail to the positivity that he brought-- I just wished we got more of him alone and getting to have some time with understanding who he was without Sadie, Sam, and Zoey.
However, I felt as if that last portion of the book, with Emily and Dr. Daedalus was where it all really fell apart for me. Sadie consistantly made selfish choices that she blamed on Sam, inferring parts of his character. For example, she believed that Sam tricked her into getting back with Dov in order to get the Ulysses game engine for Ichigo. She made the decision to get back with him, but she goes about the story saying that she had no agency in the matter. I liked Sadie as the professor, who understands her shortcomings, and uses it as a positive experience to get others to grow. As opposed to making the game, with her name on it and blaming its poor sales on Sam's "sabotage."
A reoccuring theme about the relationship between Sam and Sadie is that Sam is the one constantly reaching out to Sadie and it is not reciprocated. Sam noticed she was depressed and stayed with her until she got out of bed. Sam was the one who had to pull himself together for Unfair Games. Sam was the one to reach out to her as Daedalus. However, when Sam needed a friend after his surgery, Sadie was nowhere to be found. Again, while Sam did not lose Marx as a lover, he lost an incredibly important friend, but Sadie did not feel that she could confide in him. Sam, who felt incredible guilt that the attackers wanted HIM and not Marx, yet Marx took the bullet for him.
(Also, the two men who stormed the building were unhappy that Mapletown allowed for same-sex marriage. A concept that Sadie recommended to Sam, for their friends Ant and Simon. However, Marx's death was the fault and action of the two men, alone. However, under Sadie's flawed logic to claim that it was Sam's fault, "They were after you," than, to an extent, she can be responsible, too. This is a part of Sadie's character that really bothers me.)
Graphic: Death of parent, Ableism, Death, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Cultural appropriation and Car accident
Minor: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, and Racism
Internalized ableismmixyplixl's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Emotional abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident and Cancer
Minor: Abortion
margauxjpg'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: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Car accident, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
ansmith917'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
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Murder, Car accident, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Medical content, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Hate crime, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
sierrabedwell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Cancer, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual content, Vomit, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Sexual assault
maxel268'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
Graphic: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Infidelity, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Pregnancy, and Murder
Minor: Eating disorder, Bullying, Classism, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Cursing, and Drug use
woodsymel'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
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Medical content, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual content, and Blood
Minor: Vomit, Homophobia, Abortion, Cancer, Racial slurs, Racism, and Emotional abuse
livpaige93'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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia and Cancer
the_rabble's review against another edition
Lots of clichés- which is fine, I love a trope- but none of it was particularly fresh or created movement.
I liked the family members we met and that one of the characters does some artistic crafting for the other.
Aside from that, this is just rich kids who have bad judgement and trauma. The main characters were not interesting or sympathetic. One is placed in an emotional abusive relationship condoned by her friends. The second time that happened is about where I noped out.
There are also Silicon Valley-esque interstitials of tech reporting that made me like the Ivy Leaguer MCs even less on top of the "it's okay that our friend is
The gaming is not joyful, it's a slog that also manages to paper over how sometimes you just don't win those 90s era games. It felt... discordant with my own experience (but I was a Sega/DOS kid, maybe the author was NES.)
It also sucks to read a book where the only other woman game designer is portrayed as someone to shit on.
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Car accident, Abandonment, Cancer, and Toxic relationship
plumpeony's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gun violence, Car accident, Domestic abuse, and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness, Abandonment, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Mental illness
Minor: Abortion, Drug use, Cancer, and Genocide