Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is…well…it’s difficult to describe, and that’s what makes this story so breathtaking. On the surface it is the story of Sam and Sadie, two kids who meet in a hospital and then grow up together as best friends and business partners and rivals and the kind of soul mates that transcend traditional relationships. Their lives are so inextricably entwined that no matter how much physical or emotional distance lies between them, they will always find their way back to each other.
This book is also a time capsule of the history of video games. From the early days of Oregon Trail to more modern titles, references to real-life games that I actually played in my younger years brought a wave of nostalgia over me. In addition, it is a time capsule of the troubles our world has faced during that time period, with references to 9/11, gay marriage legislation, and violent homophobia.
Another reason I loved this book so much is that it is not a story that one can breeze through in an afternoon. There is so much depth to each character, and that includes what would normally be considered the supporting cast, but to me they were just as vividly portrayed as our leads. This is a book in which you savor every word. Occasionally I may have had to look up a term that I was unfamiliar with, but each time I acknowledged that although the word may be obscure in our everyday world, it was uniquely and perfectly chosen for that particular moment. There is also a lot of emotion here. For me, it was firmly in the realm of “emotional rollercoaster.” I traveled with Sam and Sadie, who I now consider to be good friends of mine, as they loved each other and hated each other, through all of their highs and their lows, and felt every emotion that they did along the way. I will warn you that there is a chapter written in the second person which very nearly broke me, and then I was sobbing through the end of the book. Be prepared to have every emotion wrung out of you.
Thank you to NetGalley and to Knopf for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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