I picked up “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin because her previous book, “The Storied Life of A.J. Fikrey” has been on my to-read list for a long time. Working in a library is sort of like working at an ice cream shop. It’s tempting to try the new flavors, so I took the new and shiny “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” home over the long weekend, and moved “A.J. Fikrey” down the list of books I want to read.

Sadie and Sam’s friendship starts in a Los Angeles children’s hospital, as the two play video games. Sam is recovering from a car accident. Sadie’s sister Alice is being treated for childhood cancer. When Sadie gets banished from Alice’s room, she joins Sam in the game room and they start taking turns playing Super Mario Brothers.

Sam and Sadie lose touch, but they reconnect as college students in Boston where they design a very popular game, which launches them into adulthood. Difficult choices come with adulthood which lead to sacrifices. Both characters communicate best through gaming.

I am a big fan of books that teach me things, and I learned a lot about Los Angeles and the world of making video games while reading “Tomorrow.” Not being a gamer didn’t complicate the story at all, in fact, it left me with a better understanding of video games. Zevin helpfully put a lot of information in her afterward which cleared up some questions I had surrounding the games.

The characters were individuals with their own shortcomings. Sam has a severe injury to his foot which he downplays to a dangerous extent. “The main thing Sam did not wish Marx to know about him was that he had a disability, though Sam did not think of it as a disability-other people had disabilities; Sam had ‘the thing with my foot.’ Sam experienced his body as an antiquated joystick that could reliably move only in cardinal directions.”

Sadie dealt with a lot of sexism, as few programmers were women in the 1980s and 1990s. She defends a game, saying “…what is the point of having your own world if it can’t right a few injustices of the real one?”

More than a coming-of-age story, “Tomorrow” was a walk through the last three decades of life in the United States as seen through the eyes of two vulnerable people. I looked forward to moments when I could pick this book up and lose myself in Sam and Sadie’s world.

I recommend “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” to anyone who enjoys books with likable characters and enduring friendships. Gamers and Gen Xers will find a lot of things to reminisce about in this book. You can find “Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow” by Gabrielle Zevin on the new book shelf at the Gering Public Library.

New on the Fiction Shelf:

“The Girl in the Eagle’s Talons” by Karin Smirnoff who took up Steig Larssen’s “Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” series

“The Breakaway” by Jennifer Weiner who is noted for her relatable female characters

“Vampires of El Norte” by Isabel Canas, a book of 1840s Mexico

“Ricochet” by Taylor Moore, a thriller set in west Texas

“The Bitter Past” by Bruce Borgos, recommended for fans of Sheriff Longmire

New on the Nonfiction Shelf:

“The Art Thief: a true story of love, crime, and a dangerous obsession” by Michael Finkel

“How to Keep House While Drowning: a gentle approach to cleaning and organizing” by KC Davis

“The Last Ride of the Pony Express” my 2000-mile horseback journey into the old west” by Will Grant

“”Burnt: a memoir of fighting fire” by Clare Frank