"It's tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow. It's the possibility of infinite rebirth, infinite redemption. The idea that if you keep playing, you could win. No loss is permanent, because nothing is permanent, ever.”

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a novel by Gabrielle Zevin that follows protagonists Sam and Sadie as they decide to make a video game together. The story takes place across 30 years and follows them across the country. 

I had very little background information going into this one, and I cannot explain how pleasantly surprised I was. I knew the main focus was about video game development, but the story encompasses so much more than that. At its core, I feel like Tomorrow is about friendship and the unique form of love between true, lifelong friends. Other strong themes the characters navigate in the book include growing up, belonging, loss, failure, disability, and the human need for connection. Zevin captures all of them and more. 

The characters feel real and human; they make bad choices and act poorly in instances but it showcases humanity in such an honest, messy and beautiful way. Sometimes the characters frustrated me and felt almost unlovable, and I loved it —perfectly flawed. Zevin wrote them incredibly well. 

I can see how this might not be every readers cup of tea but I found myself moved by the story and Zevin’s writing on many occasions, especially when we learn the meaning of the title. 

I have gamed as long as I can remember, and it is something incredibly therapeutic and meaningful to me, similar to my love for reading. I absolutely love the way Zevin illustrated gaming as an art form and highlighted the meaning it can hold for someone, and the connections it can help form. Also worth noting the gaming references were really well placed.

The ambiguous ending was well done, although I can’t say I was quite ready to let go of the characters. Overall an incredible book that really resonated with me and made me feel alllll of the emotions.

I will definitely be thinking of this book for many, many tomorrows🥲🥹