Hi there! My name is Ani and this is Reader’s Report, where I review a book that I’ve read and explain exactly how I feel about it to you lovely people. 

This week’s book is “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin. I’m honestly not even sure where to start with this one but I think I’m going to give you the context in which I read it, because I feel that it’s important. Also this is my article, so I’m going to write about it.

I got this book from the Brandeis University library. It was the first ever book I borrowed from here and I was actually really nervous because I thought that the librarian was going to laugh at me when I asked if I could borrow the book (like yes? It’s a library what else would you do). She didn’t (thank god) and so I went on my merry way back to my dorm and put the book on my makeshift nightstand. Needless to say, it stayed there for the next two months collecting dust.

On a random day in November, two days before it was due, I picked up the book again. I felt really disappointed in myself. I had really wanted to read it because I had seen a TikTok video of John Green raving about the book, saying that it was one of the best fiction novels he had read in the last ten years blah, blah, blah and it is far beyond me to question the opinions of John Green. So I told myself on Saturday (one day before it was due) I would read the whole book and call it a day.  

When Saturday rolled around, I grabbed the book, cracked it open for the first time, sat myself down on my bed and read. I read for five hours straight. My roommate went in and out of the room during that time. One time she asked me if I was okay, and I looked up at her just to feel a tear quite literally falling down my face. By the time I finished reading, I was completely and totally and entirely ruined. 

After 20 minutes of collecting myself, I bundled up in my puffer and a scarf and walked from Massell to the library, while listening to “The Great Gig in the Sky” by Pink Floyd. Effectively making the walk worse. And I returned that book. And I was never the same again.

Well, maybe that’s slightly dramatic, but you get the point. 

“Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” is a book that is centered around these two kids/college students/adults named Sadie and Sam. The two are computer science geniuses who grew up in California and go to MIT and Harvard, respectively. They grew up together, were distant from each other, fell in love with one another and left each other again and again. You want a miscommunication trope done well? Here it is. I’m looking at you, “Normal People.”

The thing that made this book great for me was that it was based on the relationship between these individuals. It was structured like a study on both of their personalities and followed them throughout their lives as they grew and changed and how that affected their relationship with one another and gaming.

Here’s the other thing, I’m not really the number one consultant when it comes to making/playing video games. The furthest I’m willing to go is “Super Smash Bros.,” which is already really pushing it (how the hell do you memorize the buttons for every character???). And yet, I really enjoyed this book. Maybe it’s because the author also didn’t know anything about video games or maybe it was because she actually focused on making good and relatable characters. I say she has her priorities in check. 

It had the perfect amount of pining and miscommunication while also never actually marketing itself as a romance novel. The characters were frustrating and annoying, but the best part was that they were completely human. Which is my favorite thing ever! I love it when characters are so annoying that you’re like, wow I can name five people like this in my life right now, and one of them is me! Self-sabotaging, always playing-it-safe, the pettiness, the drama, it’s real and dumb and human. I will take it over any perfectly crafted character any day, unless of course we’re talking about Jack Smith from “Love, Theoretically,” like please. 

There were definitely moments where I was confused with the plot but then it all came back around with the foreshadowing and practically punched me in the face. Most of these moments led to me in tears and to rethink every human interaction I’ve had in the last 19 years of my life. It was really great. Honestly.

So, do I think you should read it? Yes. In fact, borrow it from the library and read it inside the Volen building’s computer science lounge to really get into the right mindset. Maybe after, you’ll make an appointment with your advisor and change your major! (Unlikely).

(Very Unlikely).

Well anyway, I’ll see you next time.