4.5 stars rounded up. This was lovely, sad, funny, and deeply frustrating. Following Sadie and Sam from childhood to their late 30s (or were they early 40s in the end?) was a bittersweet experience. I loved the first half-ish of the book, found myself getting annoyed for the next 25% as they squabbled, hid their feelings/struggles, and made uncharitable assumptions about each others motives. This is more my own issue though; I like books with emotionally complicated and messy characters, but I get frustrated with them at the same time. Marx’ character balanced them well and brought a needed element of lightness to the narrative and character dynamics. The interlude chapters that describe a death and the character’s thoughts during their coma were heartbreaking. I don’t cry often while reading, but that was poignantly beautiful and had me bawling in my kitchen. For the last quarter of the book, I felt the narrative picked up and I enjoyed the way the ending brought the central relationship back to the beginning. A circle of friendship and shared interests that may loop around one more time. I enjoyed the references to literature and 80s/90s pop and nerd culture. Although the book wasn’t short, 400 pages, I felt it could have been a bit longer considering it covered such a large timeline. Some of the themes and events felt underdeveloped. I suppose that adds to the idea that you can never fully understand anything, even yourself, that I feel is a major theme in this book. Perhaps a longer, more detailed novel would have taken away from that message. Overall, this was a bittersweet book that made me both nostalgic for my childhood and early 20s while reflecting on what it means to be an adult, a partner, a friend, and a part of a larger community. The realization that, like Sadie and Sam, I am neither old nor young (hello 40! I’m ambivalent about meeting you!) has me thinking about the way we change over time. There is always a tomorrow- at least until there isn’t.

If someone told me I would have read a book & loved it, that was based around video games, I would have laughed-but here we are. This book was absolutely heartbreakingly beautiful in the most unique way. If you asked me to tell you why I loved it, I would just say, because my heart. Past that, this is a very difficult book to explain - you just have to experience it. It's a slow burn, but the writing is like no other. I cried, I smiled, & man did I FEEL. "What is a game? 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." Even though this plot wasn't anything 'in your face, I was fully lost in the intense gaming world of Sam & Sadie. I was very hesitant on this because l'm not a gamer, & wasn't sure I'd understand any of the references, but you definitely DON'T have to know anything about video games to love or understand this story. Will everyone love it? No. It's not a thriller or a romance. It's the core of life. Honestly, the book is just beautiful, unique & special.

The book was beautiful and devastating. It is not hyperbole to say the process of reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow pruned away the brittle grey branches of my soul to make way for new growth to flourish.

If you love video games...
If you love the joy of creating something new...
If you love love in all its forms and expressions...
Most importantly, if you have fallen out of love with any of these things...

...Read this book. The blurb on the back says it best--this is not a love story, but it is a story about love--and I truly love this book.

Suitability:recommended for the YA genre, especially for gamers who are avid readers too!

Sorry for the late review.

The shipment of my order took long, since it came from the states, (BOTM is not available in the PH or anywhere else in the world, except the UK & US) so that’s understandable. The seller even showed me that there was a tiny tear on the front cover, but it’s not as bad as I thought it was. I was also expecting it to have a matching bookmark as advertised, but it didn’t come with one. That’s why I rated it 4-stars. But all in all, the seller seemed nice naman. Glad to have received my first BOTM ever!🥳🎉 Can’t wait to order again! Sana may matching bookmark this time. Hehe! Thank you!