*This is a book review of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
“To allow yourself to play with another person is no small risk. It means allowing yourself to be open, to be exposed, to be hurt.”
– The Narrator
Quick Facts
Author: Gabrielle Zevin
Release Date: July 5, 2022
Genre: Fiction
Main Characters: Sadie, Sam, & Marx
Number of Pages: 397
Rating: 3.75/5
The Synopsis
Sam and Sadie met over a love of video games, and throughout their lives, the love never died. In fact, they make the decision to come together and create a video game. Is that really a good idea?
The Good
From the jump, I felt like this was going to be a nerdy love story. There were so many big words that I simply did not want to google.
This book is written in third person, but it’s in a way that felt like it was first person. It’s so detailed in a way I could mentally see everything as if I was in the room. This is one of those rare occasions where the third person writing does not bother me. Plus, the perspectives were alternating between the leads, which I had never successfully read in a third person book; it is genius-ly done.
The subtle commentary on American issues, such as the love of guns and the weirdness that comes with being a woman (you’re both loved and hated), is brilliant.
Part four of the book is titled “Both Sides”, and we get both Sam and Sadie’s perspectives for each chapter. It’s very clever.
Speaking of the game—because that’s what the aforementioned title refers to—Mapleworld is the world I want to live in, and even in video game form, I wish it existed.
The most enticing thing about this book is the cover. It took reading 335 pages before we understand why the book is titled what it’s titled. It’s so perfect and had me in my feels.
Marx is an icon. What happens to him will forever hurt every part of my being.
The Bad
The whole moment with Dov being into S&M was wild, to say the least. I know people are into that, but in this sense, it was very random and a little uncomfortable. Like, he shaves Sadie’s pubic hair?! He peed on her?!
As utterly fantastic and award-worthy as this book is, it took forever for me to get through it because of its length and font size. Therefore, I don’t think I’ll read it again and must give it away.
The Overall
The way this book started made me think about something I’ve been hearing a lot recently: in romantic heterosexual relationships, the man knows the woman is “the one” before she realizes it. I definitely felt this was the case with Sam and Sadie before I reached the fifth page. Of course, this evolved and changed and morphed for Sam and Sadie as we progress through the book.
If I had to sum this book up in one quote, it would be: “To design a game is to imagine the person who will eventually play it.”
I could see this being a limited series on Netflix, and each part (because the book is divided into parts then chapters) would be an episode. Each episode would be between forty-five minutes and an hour long.
Next book to be read and reviewed: Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez
“‘If you’re always aiming for perfection, you won’t make anything at all.'”
– Sadie
