Review of Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

#bookreview #tomorrowandtomorrowandtomorrow #3stars

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is a story detailing the friendship between Sadie and Sam. Becoming friends in elementary school, bonding over their love of video games, the pair develops their first professional game in college called Ichigo, soon reaching unprecedented success and become the struggles of maneuvering the highs and lows of their lives. 

As they begin from their elementary-school love for Mario to building a massive video game empire, I loved how the author immersed the reader in the world of video game creation and production (something I had no interest in) for the reader. Moving through different genres of the classics (Oregon Trail, Mario) to modern role-play and adventure, I definitely learned more about the thought, story, and producing that goes into video games. Of course, this doesn’t include the hardcore coding and debugging, but it felt as though video game production was similar to movie, only making it more interactive and choice based.

But beyond the video-game aspect itself, I loved that Sadie and Sam’s lives were a reflection of the contemporary events that took pace but also changing with it. Sadie and Sam grow up around the time that my parents grew up in and it reminded me of how much has changed in the years that I weren’t alive or aware of politics. This was imminently more clear when reading parts about Mapletown. With the shock of 9/11, people sought more comfort in a time of extreme confusion and uncertainty. With gay marriages, it is hard to wrap my head around a time when that was not allowed for any Americans. It brought me to think the drastic changes have become imbedded into the daily life I am living in today.

Yet, the weakest point of the book were the character relations themselves. Although I loved how Sadie and Sam’s relationship was built through their passion, their unraveling of the relationship was sudden and didn’t seem as coherent. I understood, in some aspect, that Sadie was frustrated with Sam on her relationship with Dov and Sam with Sadie’s work. The part that confused me the most was their lack of communication and the uneven pace of how their friendship unravelled. This was even more pronounced at the end of the book where Sam and Sadie seem to “start again” on a new foot. Yet, this brings the question: if both the times where they built a friendship (once in elementary school and once where they made Ichigo) ended badly, why would they start again? Instead of being a reconciliation, it felt more of a “happy ending” that preceded the cycle of hurt that Sam and Sadie were willing to jump back into.

 On a similar note, Marx, the producer of Unfair Games, seemed less of a multi-dimensional character but more of a perfect figure to advance the storyline. Throughout the story, Marx was portrayed more of a mediator and loving friend for both Sadie and Sam, one that was always providing and had no real struggles. It was easy to admire Marx, but it was confusing that someone who played such a big role as Marx was not given enough of his own struggles or tensions with other characters.

Overall, I enjoyed the book as a light read (finishing it on a plane) and I would truly recommend to those who enjoy video games or hopes to find a good story during their free time.