Reviews with content warning for Sexism - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

301 reviews

signeskov's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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

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adyn's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny inspiring reflective 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

Would give this more than 5 stars if I could.

I would recommend it to anyone and everyone given the disclaimer that it made me cry more than possibly any book has ever, at least that I can remember. But it did so in such a beautiful way that I already want to reread it even though I just finished it yesterday. So strongly recommend, but be warned. More specifically, though, I would recommend this book to:

people who are tired of romances
people who like games (especially video games)
people who eat it up when a book is just possibly a little bit too artsy and pretentious
people who like storytelling
people who were maybe a little too into john green as a kid
people who loved everything everywhere all at once (idk it’s a vibe thing)
people in a quarter life crisis
nerds, especially computer science folk
former gifted kids

I loooove how it focuses on the complexities of friendship over any of the romantic relationships in the book. It's the perfect amount of artsy and human and relatable. This book is perfect to me.

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colerate's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

4.75

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woodsymel's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

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the_rabble's review against another edition

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Hard to tell where the fun part of this book about games is, so I stopped.

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

Spoiler

dating her old, married, sexist, nihilist, shitheel of an emotionally abusive teacher-boss who is now also financially involved in everything the trio attempts to do

."

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.

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mlwe's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-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

3.75

My Review:
Sam Masur and Sadie Green have a complicated history, but intertwined within the chronic sickness, failed relationships, and desperate identity searches is love. Their love for their work, their families, and each other repeatedly pulls them together. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the story of two people who continue to find and love each other day after day.

The author dives into the emotions of her characters, both beautiful and ugly, and uses them to smooth and sharpen the edges of life. The character's attitudes towards gaming and their drive to excel jump off the page, keeping the reader invested in the plot. However, as life's challenges constantly confront the characters, Sam and Sadie lose sight of their initial intentions and aspirations. The distance the author created, once a hazy lens romanticizing the story, becomes a source of frustration and disconnect.

The novel undergoes major tonal and stylistic changes three-fourths into the novel. While relevant to the plot, <I can't imagine Mark's death told differently,> it disorients the reader. I found the precedent the author created comforting, and the new shift confusing enough to interrupt my reading. I appreciate that the change mimics the new feelings the characters face, but prefer a slower escalation or more foreshadowing. <Specifically, since Sadie experiences multiple periods of depression/grief, the author could have included Sadie gaming before Sam dragged her out of it.> Overall, I was immersed in the first part of the novel, and enjoyed the plot and characters, but fell out of love with them as the story progresses.

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seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful reflective relaxing 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

3.25

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ymziegler's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring 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

5.0

The best book I've read this year. The way friendship is framed is so unique and hard to find, it was so refreshing and touching. The discussions on race, disability, sexism, etc were so compelling and real. The characters were so flawed and so lovable. Life isn't a game, we don't have a second chance at life, eat some peaches with your friends and everything will be okay even when it isn't.

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dannothedino's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

5.0

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bklassen's review against another edition

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dark emotional 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

2.5

What a disappointment. This book got so much hype and praise, especially from John Green; I loved Zevin’s other book, “The Storied Life of AJ Fikry”; I love video games and themes of friendship or collaboration – so why didn’t this book work for me?

In a word: melodrama. In multiple words: Way too much melodrama. At times it felt like a more grounded soap opera.

I have never wanted characters to get more therapy before, even though I actively know that characters becoming mentally or emotionally healthy resolves most, if not all, of the tension in a book. It actively hindered my enjoyment of the book, and I think the biggest issue is that there didn’t feel like enough growth, or any growth that occurred felt like it was in the last 10% of the book.

The rest of the book felt like emotional torture porn. If you liked A Little Life, you might like this book!

Spoiler

It starts off well with these two kids bonding over video games. His foot was destroyed in a car accident and she was visiting her sister with cancer, and they bond as two friends never have before. But then the “secret” of Sadie using their friendship for community service (or at least that’s how it started – she was a little opportunistic, but then she actually became best friends with Sam) comes out and he won’t talk to her for years because he’s hurt.

Understandable! Kids don’t usually have the emotional reasoning to process and talk through that! Oh also he had just lost his mom in a car accident and his foot was mashed and he was in incredible pain, so he’s already not in the right mindset and is incredibly vulnerable.

Years later, they into each other while in college and they agree to put the past behind them and become friends again because they used to be the best of friends. And they’re both brilliant when it comes to coding and video games.

But then something else major happens, like Sadie accusing Sam of pushing her into an abusive relationship, and instead of talking it out, they just “break up” again.

Rinse and repeat but with alternating characters initiating the cold shoulder for the rest of the book. Oh and throw in a love triangle, too.

Want to know the full list of drama and awful things that occur in the book?

Spoiler

Parent and grandparent death, suicide, abortion, unplanned pregnancy, estranged fathers, racism, abusive relationships where the two people STAY FRIENDS FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES, a love triangle, a shooting/death of a partner, amputation/medical trauma, depression, and more.

The whole book was a codependent relationship where the two main characters hated each other off and on – I wanted them to either get therapy and figure their shit out or just stop being friends because they’re both toxic.

I am very aware of the conversation circling books: can you or are you supposed to enjoy a book with unlikable characters? I’d say it depends on why you read, the purpose of the book, and what you like in books.

To me, it’s like the difference between Friends/Seinfeld, It’s Always Sunny, and Succession. The first shows have pretty terrible people in them but they try to convince you that they’re good people, the second show knows and revels in the fact that the MCs are all terrible people but it’s for comedy, and the third show knows you want that good, good drama about terrible people. All valid and great shows, but it’s crucial to know what you want to watch and what you’re getting into. For instance, I know I wouldn’t like Succession, so I don’t watch it because I wouldn’t enjoy it.

This is all to say that this isn’t objectively a bad book, it’s more a warning to readers who are interested. KNOW WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO. If you don’t like melodramatic books about friendship that feels more off than on, then you’d almost certainly not like this book, especially if you despise love triangles.

However, if you enjoy books with lots of dramatic life events, friendships that do feel real between people with lots of unresolved trauma and issues, and more, then you may enjoy this!

I personally don’t enjoy those things and really did not connect with this book, so it wasn’t for me.

To Zevin’s credit, she has an astounding vocabulary. More than 10-15 times I found myself looking up a word. And both the characters are almost too smart for their own good, so the usage of such words felt apt.

Secondly, she did do a great job of putting forth one point of view or perspective so that I would understand, empathize with, and side with that character. But then the next POV switch would occur and I would switch sides. This shows a fundamental understanding of her characters that she was able to do that because context and understanding is more than half the battle.

Another book about two best friends creating art together alongside the crazy ups and downs and trauma of life that I really enjoyed was The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker. I can’t put my finger on why I enjoyed that book more than T & T & T, but perhaps it was that I actually felt their friendship better and that even though the two characters go through highs and lows and insane shit, they at least felt like real friends and worked through it. I felt a deeper connection to the two of them and wanted them to work out whatever they go through. So maybe that is the difference. Oh and no love triangles!

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