One of my favorite reads of the year. It’s got similar vibes to Ready Player One, but it’s not so reliant on being referential and nostalgic. Instead it lets you live though three friends that grow together through their passion for making video games, and the voice of each character is so uniquely written. There is a chapter in this, NPC, that is probably one of the most beautifully written things I’ve ever read. I really loved it.

I could not possibly have anticipated how much I would enjoy it!

I liked this book a lot. I loved how it is about friendship and the relationship between opposite genders without being romantic. The characters weren’t really relatable imo but still enjoyed the book.

I didn't care for this book. Unless you are really into video gaming and programming, I'd give it a pass. I did really enjoy Zevin's other book, about the bookseller, but
I was disappointed in this one.

It was ok

This is one of those rare books that on the surface is about a bunch of super tech savvy college aged kids who love gaming and use their talents to create one that puts them on the gaming map and earn them tons of money and gives them a worldwide audience of other gamers. But, for me, the gaming itself was just a backdrop to the story of 2 emotionally dysfunctional kids who meet by random circumstances in a hospital where one was the patient and one was the sister of another patient. They bond over a computer game and their lives will become entwined. They will have huge ups and downs as they grow, mature, share life experiences then add a 3rd person to the mix who will add to the strange but important dynamic of the little trio. They will share joy, success in their shared gaming business, feel deep loss, estrangement as they struggle with finding an identity without the others and finally a peace that comes from a bond that they can never really separate themselves from.
This book is deep, dark, heavy and provocative. It is so layered with growing pains and the way that each character, Sam, Sadie and Marx have to grow with and without each other and how you want to shake them to wake them up to appreciate each other because they all have parts that make up a whole. Sadie has such a fragile ego that she can't handle when Sam is seen as the core of their first successful project even though Sam keeps her front and center in interviews as he promotes their big hit, Ichigo; she is so desperate for attention but also very introverted . Sam is so desperate for love and a bond with Sadie that when Marx comes into their sphere, he can't share their friendship. Marx, who keeps them all connected and organized as their business begins to take off, is afraid of complete commitment until it is staring him in the face. Each of these characters has been scarred by tragic events and each one has to carry on, somehow, someway but also finally grow.
The story is told as recollections as well as in a chronological timeline sharing the thoughts of each character. It was a bit confusing towards the end of the book when the game Pioneer is being played though the reader will see references to Sam, Sadie and Marx lives as the play goes along; it becomes somewhat biographical and the surprise that is revealed was quite clever.
I can see why this book is a GR Choice for winner in the fiction category. And I also quite enjoyed the author's linguistic intelligence, using words I had never heard before ( I have now learned the word "sere") in her writing. Note: very heavy themes within these pages as well. I will be thinking about this book for a long time!

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow was equal parts delightful and surprising yet also haunting. I’m still mad about the death of a major character and will keep wondering why the author chose to do it! The childhood friendship between Sadie Green and Sam Masur was incredibly well written as were the explanations of the games and how they were played. The unrequited love story was sweet at many times but also everyone needed therapy. So many unresolved traumas got in the way of their professional and personal dynamics. The grandparents were sweet and the development of the secret game at the end as a means of apology was gorgeous. Video games are enough a part of my life that I appreciate (as I did with “Ready Player One”) any love story about gaming! And the magic eye component was lovely, too. I spent a lot of time angry at both Sadie and Sam for being inflexible jerks. Will always recommend the story!

There was way too much computer code talk for my tastes. The characters were not developed well and the book seemed to drag on. Many in our book club did not finish it. I did.

Carolyn
I didn't expect to like this book but I did.That it was about gaming didn't really matter to me. It was more about the relationships between the three main characters Sam, Sadie and Marx. They weren't flawless but that made them more real. I liked Marx especially as he always tried to bring the other two together. I liked the end because Sam and Sadie reached a point where they were happy with each other and were good friends which they had been at the start.
I give it 8.

Eve
I am afraid to say that I did not finish the reading of this book. I found the book rather boring in the way it was written and I did not find the subject matter particularly interesting.
I understand that Sadie and Sam were good friends without being lovers but I did not like them as people. As they were so very interested in computer games, they seemed to lack personality. Therefore this book was nit for me and I would give it a score of 2.

Michelle
Although I started to get in to this straight away, it fizzled out at about 20% of the way through. I nearly gave up- it lost momentum and I didn’t particularly care about the characters or what was going to happen next. But, I checked out some reviews online and a lot said to persevere. I did. Did it get better? Maybe. Did I start to care about the characters? Not particularly. Did I start to care about what was going to happen? A little, yes. I didn’t feel anything for the characters or their relationships. Sam was extremely unlikeable and Sadie wasn’t much better. I think the only person I might have had any response to was Marx. The events at the offices, that lead to his death, and the reasons behind it were perhaps the most interesting part of the book. Gaming is not really my thing so I must confess I skim-read large chunks of the book. For me, 6/10.

Helen
I really enjoyed this book. I would not have picked it up from the shelf if I was in a book shop as the cover made me think of sci-fi which I’m not keen on, but I would have missed out!
I thought that what was, in effect a simple story of individuals making their way though their early adulthood was told really well. The life events the characters encountered were realistic and not over dramatic and they were explored sympathetically. I don’t know anything about gaming, but that didn’t matter, the author made this accessible. I thought the characters were well developed, and even the tragedy in the office was all too real, but told in a sympathetic way so that even the perpetrators could be understood. 9/10

Chris
Found this book easy to get into and the characters were well described. Thought the story was engaging but found the computer games element boring for me and did skim read parts of it. I give it 6 out of 10

Sonia
Much to my surprise I really enjoyed this book. I know nothing about gaming and would never have chosen to read a book with that storyline but I actually found it very interesting and the descriptions of how the games were developed and produced fascinating. I liked all the characters and thought they were well developed although it was quite clear from the beginning that Sam's was going to be an unrequited love for Sadie. It kept my interest all the way through and the ending was satisfactory for me. A very enjoyable well written book and I would recommend that anyone at least try it. A very satisfactory 8 out of 10.


Average score : 6.5 out of 10

Not my favorite kind of story but the dynamic between the three main characters kept me reading.