Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

 Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

With a slow start I wasn't at all sure I'd like it, but the pace picked up, I got invested, and then didn't want to put it down. 

Sam and Sadie meet as children in a hospital, Sam a patient undergoing a number of surgeries on a foot mangled in a car accident, and Sadie spending time with her sister who has cancer. They bond over video games then lose touch until they meet again as college students. Together with Sam's roomate, Marx, they design and market games, eventually setting up their own successful gaming company. 

The tech part of the story is fun but it's the relationships that are mesmerizing and the core of the story. The love - the incredible bond - between the three of them, particularly Sam and Sadie, is palpable, as are the bitter anger and resentment that often get in their way. When you tire of a character's bad behaviour you still can't stop wanting better for them. All three are brilliant and head strong and beautifully vulnerable, evidence of this author's gift for creating characters you love even when they aren't lovable.     

A great story, emotional but written with restraint. I just finished another novel unfortunately written with no restraint at all, wallowing in emotion on every page. Ugh. Restraint is greatly appreciated. 

Not a romance, but a love story unlike any I've read before.