Reviews with content warning for Chronic illness - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

I think this book shattered my heart in more ways, places and times than I knew possible.

None of the characters (besides Marx) were loveable to me, but that's actually part of the reason why this book is so good? There are no main characters who are over-powered and without flaws. All of them, even Marx my boy, have their quirks; their strengths and weaknesses. Each character feels so imperfectly human.

In a story that spans over decades, their relationships twist and turn accordingly. At no point are they stagnant, and the pacing of the novel shifts appropriately so as not to drag out needlessly. Above all, I love that there is no 'forgive and forget' denouement - Zevin seems to appreciate that a bridge takes a lot longer to build than to burn.

To be loved is to be changed.

Sometimes that change cannot be undone, like a piece of paper that has been written on, and scrunched up. You can flatten it out again, and try to scrub away the words, but it will never be wholly unmarked again. And that is alright.

This book says that it's okay to be changed, and to allow yourself to change. It speaks poignantly of maturity, emotionally and physically, and I don't think I could love a message more.

No, I don't agree with some of the characters' actions, and would probably take a different approach. But that's just it, we're all individual characters. Individual minds. Full of individual approaches and individual dreams and individual fears. The protagonists in Tomorrow can't rewind the clock like their in-game characters can, they can't cheat death. All they can do is try their best given their current hand. Just like us.

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ceejcook's review

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emotional funny informative slow-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

4.25

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esme_may's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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? Yes

4.0

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elislittlelibrary's review

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

4.0

This was a slow read for me, but the writing was beautiful! I really liked the backdrop of game development, as I have never read a book that focuses on game development.
The narration was a little confusing at times, as it jumped between describing and inner thoughts and emotions or characters, sometimes jumping between characters within the same paragraph. So it was sometimes hard to see who we're currently following. At the same time, the author did an amazing job with the time jumps. We see Sadie and Sam as kids and the narration and the way they spoke really matched their ages, there was a noticeable difference between them as kids (in character, but also in speech, etc.) and them as adults. Throughout those jumps and the book as a whole, you can feel the characters growing up. They change the way they speak, lived experiences alter how they behave and interact with each other.
Another aspect I appreciated was the representation in this book- it was really diverse. There was disability rep which felt very real, especially the struggles that Sam had with his disability and accepting himself. But the book was diverse in many other aspects (religion, heritage), which were woven into the story well!
Throughout the story, in accordance with the heritage of the characters, the author used words from other languages. Usually, I really like this in books. However, when you use other languages, you need to make sure that you use those words correctly. Unfortunately, there was an issue with this that really bugged me. In the book, Simon makes a very cute speech (aimed at his husband) to show him how he always felt alone before he met his husband. Because Simon is German, the author uses a German word in this speech (as in "there is a German word to describe the feeling of ..."). The word the author used was "Zweisamkeit", which is a nice word, but does not mean what Simon says it means whatsoever. I happen to be German, I noticed it and found it to be quite annoying. I assume the author meant "Einsamkeit", a possible definition of which is feeling alone even when you objectively have a large social group or are among people (which is what Simon described). "Zweisamkeit" on the other hand means being with another person (and usually has a positive connotation). Both words have good meanings and could've both been applied in the speech by Simon, but unfortunately, the meaning was taken away entirely because of that mistake.

Very long rant about one mistake, but I really liked the book overall, beautifully written!

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katesant's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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