“Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin: Embracing Tomorrow One Game At A Time (BOOK REVIEW)

Embracing Tomorrow One Game At A Time

Hey, Alex! What have you been reading lately?

As you should know by now, I am fascinated by the marketing and publicity side of publishing. Recently, I purchased a membership for The Publishing Post and came across an article spotlighting the campaign strategy for Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. I only skimmed it to avoid spoilers, but the concept of immersing readers into a fictional world instantly got me hooked and I knew I had to get my own copy of the book.

So there I was a few weeks later, lying on a pebble beach in Brighton during my lunch break, children screaming and running away from seagulls around me as I munched on a meal deal. My tote was next to me, the Hokusai-inspired book cover peeking out, daring me to dive in.

Tell me more. What is the book about?

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is essentially a novel about friendship, creativity, and the way play shapes our lives. It follows Sam and Sadie – two childhood friends who fall out but reconnect in college and start designing video games together. We follow them through their career as both characters grow, fight, and learn to compromise, being too scared to lose contact again. There is nothing romantic going on between them, but, trust me, they do love each other. The Unfair Games designers exchange ideas, believe in each other, and create whole new worlds they can share together.

Whether you are already a die-hard gamer or have zero to no interest in anything related to escaping reality, Zevin’s novel will completely enhance your perception on play. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow shows the deeply personal side of game crafting while also digging at much heavier stuff, such as class, immigration, disability, and reactions to fame. All of these themes influence our relationships with others and reminds us that there is nothing more intimate than wanting to share the highs and lows of everyday life with someone else; to be there for them, knowing that they will do the same for you, and to embrace tomorrow’s uncertainty one game at a time.

What are some strong and weak points of the book?

Let me start by saying that the form is totally mind-blowing. It is so original and dynamic and still somehow makes it easy for you to keep up despite all the changes.

Each section of the novel represents a period of Sadie and Sam’s lives as they are working on a particular game. The structure of the narrative reflects the products they are designing. For example in Both Sides, a body-swapping game that asks players to complete levels as two characters in radically different dimensions, chapters are divided into parts A and B. Each looks at Sam or Sadie in isolation, as the friends’ relationship begins to deteriorate following the success of their first game, Ichigo, and their unequal rise to stardom. In Marriages, we shift to first person perspective and see the world through Marx’s recollection of it, as he is currently unresponsive and pinned to a hospital bed. In Pioneers, the reader is literally brought inside the game Sam has programmed for Sadie specifically. This kind of storytelling is truly immersive and managed to keep me engaged until the very end.

The themes in this novel hit hard and soft, in Billie Eilish terms. Disability, for one – Sam’s foot injury and constant pain shape the person he becomes and the games he makes. His longing to play as a character that is physically unrestricted is bittersweet and deeply human. It reminded me of the time my parents agreed to get me a PS4 after years of begging. I broke my hand a few days after, but still insisted on playing every single day of the Christmas holidays, hijacking cars and jumping off bridges while still in a very itchy cast. I haven’t read much on disability, but I thoroughly enjoyed it here, especially in relation to gaming as a method of escapism and reaching personal freedom.

There is the issue of race and immigration. How being two halves of something makes you a whole of nothing. Then there’s the commentary on fame: how success can be corruptive and even breed resentment. Sadie and Sam produce their games together, but only Sam gets attention at the beginning of their career. This shifts the dynamic among the two friends, who have to learn to trust each other whatever the outcome of their creative endeavours turns out to be.

If I have to be really nit-picky, the only thing that threw me off a bit was the opening chapter. It describes the brief reunion of the two friends after years of not speaking to each other. There was nothing wrong with it, per se. It is a turning point in Sam and Sadie’s story. But the vocabulary? I swear that chapter is filled with words I have never seen before and will never see again. I remember saying to myself: “Oh god, I can’t read 500 pages of that, I’d need to get a dictionary.” Luckily, this wasn’t the case, and I was fond to discover that the novel went on in a way that didn’t make me feel like I need to redo my English exams.

Any final thoughts? Should I read it too?

Absolutely. Hands down, this has been my favourite read of 2025 so far! Even though Sadie and Sam often struggle to communicate their feelings to each other, their characters are multilayered and complex. The omniscient narrator does an amazing job peeling them little by little for the readers. The story spans several decades, weaving in sharp social and political commentary along the way. Major historical moments slip seamlessly into the narrative, adding depth without feeling forced or like TMI. Overall, this is a very addictive and intelligent read.

But do brace yourself and get a pack of Kleenex. You will cry your eyes out on at least two occasions. Gabrielle Zevin writes about loss and grief in a strangely sexual way. She doesn’t hand you pain on a plate; she edges you through it for long, excruciating pages. You think you can guess her next move, but she will rip your heart open when you least expect it.

In an interview, Samson Maser shares that the idea of play, which is to escape to another version of reality with someone you deeply care for, is the most intimate act of all. More intimate than sex, even. This is not something you hear every day, but I think there is some beauty to it – the wish to spend a portion of your life breaking free from the restraints of the real world in the company of a best friend. Who would you choose to play with?

Thank you so much!! Are there any similar books that you can recommend?

I have never encountered anything quite like Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow: a novel that relies so strongly on the fantastical and imaginative yet is set entirely in the real and mundane. The following two recommendations lean more towards the sci-fi genre, but I think you’ll still enjoy them if you liked this one.

👽 The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu — a VR game is used to recruit members for a secret mission that will prevent an alien invasion on Earth

🏉 Game Changer by Neal Shusterman — after an accident, a football player slips into alternate versions of the world, not knowing how to return to reality the way he used to know it

Happy reading!

📲 limaistyping…

rating: ☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
tropes: 🥊 complicated friendship | ⭐️ rise to stardom | ⚖️ student–professor love story | 🚀 immersive storytelling | 🔄 second chances
read if you like: video games (duh), West Coast, homemade pizza, dark humour, S&M by Rihanna
look out for: 🎭 lots of Anna Lees | 🏥 morally ambiguous volunteer | 💍 a void marriage | 🍓 jersey no. 15 | 🪦 the one that died of dysentery
"This felt like finding a token in an old jacket for the arcade I used to play at every summer with my cousin only to realise that the arcade has been closed for the past five years."