January 2023 Standalone BOTM - Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, by Gabrielle Zevin

[Alaina]

In this exhilarating novel by the best-selling author of The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry two friends--often in love, but never lovers--come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality.

On a bitter-cold day, in the December of his junior year at Harvard, Sam Masur exits a subway car and sees, amid the hordes of people waiting on the platform, Sadie Green. He calls her name. For a moment, she pretends she hasn't heard him, but then, she turns, and a game begins: a legendary collaboration that will launch them to stardom. These friends, intimates since childhood, borrow money, beg favors, and, before even graduating college, they have created their first blockbuster, Ichigo. Overnight, the world is theirs. Not even twenty-five years old, Sam and Sadie are brilliant, successful, and rich, but these qualities won't protect them from their own creative ambitions or the betrayals of their hearts.

Spanning thirty years, from Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Venice Beach, California, and lands in between and far beyond, Gabrielle Zevin's Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a dazzling and intricately imagined novel that examines the multifarious nature of identity, disability, failure, the redemptive possibilities in play, and above all, our need to connect: to be loved and to love. Yes, it is a love story, but it is not one you have read before.

**This BOTM thread will be open until February 5th @ Midnight (in your time zone)**

[Ashlyn]

Parts 1-2 (view spoiler)[ I’ve never heard friendship be compared to a Tamagotchi before. It’s so sad that Sam wants to be Ichigo.
I cannot believe Dev just handcuffed her to the bed!! (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Parts 3-4 (view spoiler)[Sam trying to walk after the surgery was so sad. And I had to do a double take and reread the part with the three of them kissing to be sure I read that correctly. Wasn't expecting that. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Parts 5-6 (view spoiler)[I’m glad that Zoe put herself first and broke up with Marx because she realized that he was in love with Sadie.

Hopefully Marx is okay and nothing happened to him. I feel like Sadie is pregnant. (hide spoiler)]

[Ashlyn]

Finished (view spoiler)[

Part 7: I can’t believe Marx died! And Sadie is pregnant.

Part 8: A can understand why Sadie doesn’t want to come back to work after Marx’s death.

Part 9 & 10: I like how Sam made a game and kept asking Sadie to make one with him. (hide spoiler)]

[Ellen-Arwen]

I was hoping to reread this in January (I read the ARC last year and then bought the finished book because I loved it so much), but I have so many books I need to finish in January I'm not sure I'll have time! It's also been set by my bookclub as our March choice so I'll be rereading it soon anyway.

Glad that it sounds like you were interested/invested, Ashlynn! I'm surprised you've never heard of a tamagotchi - they were a massive craze at primary school for me lol.

It's just such a great read!

[Ashlyn]

Ellen-Arwen wrote: "I was hoping to reread this in January (I read the ARC last year and then bought the finished book because I loved it so much), but I have so many books I need to finish in January I'm not sure I'l..."

I've heard of tamagotchi, just not a friendship compared that way.

[Jess]

When a book on a topic that I'm not that knowledgeable on or interested in can grab me like this, it is something very special. I was truly invested in these characters even when they were acting in ways that frustrated or upset me, I really wanted everything to turn out well for them. I feel like I went on a journey through the ups and downs of their lives and was celebrating and commiserating with them.

This book gave me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of video games and the ways that playing them can mean different things to different people: a creative outlet, a de-stressor, a way to escape your life and live out another, a way to challenge your preconceptions. All this and more was explored here with aplomb. I will be recommending this book to lots of people in my life.

[Kira]

Part 1/ Sick kids: (view spoiler)[This is quite different from my usual reading patterns but I am liking it so far especially the cross between the past and the present, it is making the story even more intriguing. I feel like I still need to get to know the characters a bit better to be able to judge them ngl but Dov is most definitely an awful person. I feel bad for Sadie as she lets him do whatever he wants with her without questioning a thing. Her game "Solution" sounded epic and it made me want to play it as well (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Part 2/ Influences: (view spoiler)[It was very interesting to see Sam and Sadie go through the process of developing a game tbh and Ichigo sounded so good, I kinda want to play it. I am sad that they had to ask Dov for help though because now Sadie is back with him and she is not realising how toxic he really is. I am afraid for her and I hope that she is able to break contact with him soon. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Part 3/unfair games: (view spoiler)[Marx, Sam and Sadie are friendship goals for me ngl, the three of them fit extremely well together and I am very happy that they decided to move to LA for their future away from all the toxicity. I hope Sam has his surgery and is restored to good health and also that Dov does not make an appearance again. I just hate him. The concept for Both Sides was once again a brilliant one (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Part 4/Both sides: (view spoiler)[I was sad to see Sam struggle so much post surgery. The kiss between Marx, Zoe and Sadie was all kinds of weird and I never want to see anything like it again. Those were some pretty harsh reviews for their game "Both sides" and although I understand why Sadie must be so hurt, I felt like she was being unfair accusing Sam of so many untrue things. I hope they resolve their fight soon (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Part 5&6: (view spoiler)[I was not expecting Zoe to do that at all but in hindsight it makes so much sense. No one should have to put aside their goals and dreams for someone else. I also thought that this was going to be a romance between Sam and Sadie but feelings developing between Marz and Sadie instead came as a total surprise. That last part worried me a little, I hope Marx is okay (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Part 7&8: (view spoiler)[Marx's death was terribly sad and I liked the sequence with the hospital, the shooting and Sam's reaction to learning about Marx and Sadie running simultaneously quite a lot. It was magical to read about. I can understand why Sadie can't return to work at all, it must be so very difficult for her. Honestly Sam annoyed me in these segments because his behaviour was just kinda off putting imo through everything. (hide spoiler)]

[Kira]

Finished: (view spoiler)[I liked how Sam made a game and played with Sadie using different identities eventually getting her out of the black hole she found herself in. This was a good enough ending but I don't know how to make sense of how Sam and Sadie ended up. It was kind of good but also not really satisfying imo. I am confused (hide spoiler)]

[Alaina]

Today is the LAST day to get BOTM points for this book!