Today Tonight Tomorrow - Review

Today Tonight Tomorrow

By: Rachel Lynn Solomon

Publication: June 16th 2020 by Simon Pulse

384 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Source: Publisher via NetGalley (Thank you!!)

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Goodreads description--The Hating Game meets Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by way of Morgan Matson in this unforgettable romantic comedy about two rival overachievers whose relationship completely transforms over the course of twenty-four hours.

Today, she hates him.

It’s the last day of senior year. Rowan Roth and Neil McNair have been bitter rivals for all of high school, clashing on test scores, student council elections, and even gym class pull-up contests. While Rowan, who secretly wants to write romance novels, is anxious about the future, she’d love to beat her infuriating nemesis one last time.

Tonight, she puts up with him.

When Neil is named valedictorian, Rowan has only one chance at victory: Howl, a senior class game that takes them all over Seattle, a farewell tour of the city she loves. But after learning a group of seniors is out to get them, she and Neil reluctantly decide to team up until they’re the last players left—and then they’ll destroy each other.

As Rowan spends more time with Neil, she realizes he’s much more than the awkward linguistics nerd she’s sparred with for the past four years. And, perhaps, this boy she claims to despise might actually be the boy of her dreams.

Tomorrow…maybe she’s already fallen for him.

*Warning: My opinions aren't always in alignment with what is popular. Considering the racial issues plaguing our country and the world right now, some of the opinions in this book review may come off as insensitive or harsh. I do not mean them as so. I am only addressing the characters in this book and statements made within and not a statement on racism or diversity as a whole.

Boy oh boy, where to begin? I guess let me start with the premise. Rowan and Neil have been competing against each other since freshman year. Neil won a book report that spurred Rowan's competitive side and the two have gone up against each other for nearly every grade, award, and position since leading up to Valedictorian. Part of their school's rituals is that the junior class creates a scavenger hunt game for the senior class called Howl which takes place between the last day of school and graduation. At first, Rowan sees this opportunity as one last chance to beat Neil, but when she hears Savannah (number 3 in their class) complaining to a group about how Rowan and Neil always win everything and how they need to team up to take them down, Rowan and Neil decide to pair up. Great idea. I love everything about this plot.

But the execution wasn't flawless for me.

Rowan and Neil were both complicated. Rowan is having trouble letting go of high school. She has a love for romance books and is writing one of her own now despite her parents, friends, and even Neil making fun of the genre. But I absolutely hated the political pieces involved that didn't do anything to enhance or advance the story. I'll discuss those more in a bit. Neil was so much more complex than Rowan originally thought. He had a reason beyond wanting to be the best that motivated his side of the competition with her. From his very appearance to the smallest details, I felt like Rachel Lynn Solomon addressed them all with him.

I despise politics in my books. I've mentioned before how I often read to escape the issues of real-life and so bringing politics into stories like this bring me down. I mean let's just throw in a checklist for political issues: vegetarian/vegan, gay rights, gender equality, diversity for diversity's sake, green, feminism, toxic masculinity, sexual freedom for women (for lack of a better term), marijuana usage, and probably more. I'm not going to address all of these political pieces because I've either addressed them before or simply for time's sake. But I feel like I can't let all of this slide. People how much louder can I scream to read what you like. Read what you want. I don't read books by a diverse group of authors about a diverse group of characters simply for that sake. I read books that the description sounds good to me without noting what the race or gender of the authors or characters is. I also take issue with feminism and male toxicity. While I feel strongly about supporting women (hello, I am one) I just don't relate with much of what feminist that I've been exposed to are championing in the name of women's rights. And I certainly don't agree with putting men down simply because women have been oppressed in the past. We don't punish one group of people simply because a different group of people has been oppressed in the past. Which ironically enough plays into a statement that Rowan made herself concerning her being Jewish.

-"People here go out of their way to try to make you feel comfortable, and by doing that, they sometimes alienate you even more."

This isn't exactly political but I also wanted to address another comment Rowan made regarding the Jewish community in Seattle. She laments that there are only 4 other Jewish kids (in her class or in her school, I can't remember which). I can certainly understand feeling yourself to be in a minority. I went to a small church growing up and a small school. And there was only one other kid close to my age in my church and thus in my school. But Rowan laments that there are only two synagogues in Seattle but churches are much more common. Her exact quote:

-In our city of nearly eight hundred thousand people, we get two. Within three blocks of my house, there are five churches.

And I just wondered when I was reading this, who is to "blame" for this? Who is responsible for building synagogues? Should non-Jewish people go around asking "hey, I noticed there are only two synagogues in the city, do you guys need us to build more for you?" I mean if the point is just to mention that the character feels isolated in this aspect of her life then fine I'll allow that, but you can't fault people who are in the majority (or simply not in your minority) for you feeling isolated. It isn't anyone's fault. This is one of those things that just is what it is. I guess I just felt like it wasn't clear why this was addressed in the book in this way because it came across as Rowan was "blaming" others for being different from her even while she champions diversity for diversity's sake in literature. Or maybe diversity for diversity's sake is simply about excluding the majority of any group.

And what is the most frustrating part to me is that even though these political stances were sprinkled through the entire book, they weren't what the majority of the book was about. And for the most part, they didn't drive the story or the characters so they were simply included because the author wanted to address them. Which makes sense given her mention of the 2016 election in her author's notes. Despite all of these things, the rest of the book was enjoyable.

I felt pulled in to the characters, their prior conflict, the game they were playing, and the hope that these two kids could figure things out. The process was definitely enjoyable. Rachel Lynn Solomon did a great job of establishing a history between Rowan and Neil. Yet things still progress so fast in the 24 hours that the book focuses on. We move from animosity to a fragile friendship to a crush to love. It's just a bit too fast even though the typical "I think I've loved you for a long time" line. And that's not to even mention the progression of their physical relationship. It's just too much too soon.

Quotes to support:

-While I love romance, I’ve never believed in the concept of soul mates, which has always seemed a little like men’s rights activism: not a real thing.

-Ms. Grable, who must only be in her late twenties, ensured our reading list was majority women and authors of color.

-She got me through my grandpa’s funeral in seventh grade, and I was the first person she came out to in ninth grade, when she said she’d only ever liked girls. The following year, Mara told both of us that she was bisexual and wanted to start using that label for herself.

-McNair insisted the English department needed new copies of A White Man in Peril (okay, the books have real titles, but that’s what they’re all about), while I argued we should use the money for books by women and authors of color.

-chivalry is outdated and I am not a fan

-As co-president, she campaigned for all-gender restrooms, and she also was responsible for helping the school become a little greener.

-My kingdom for more guys who can express physical affection without needing to justify their masculinity afterward.

-"...And then it’s so much worse for women. We’re told to shrug off compliments, to scoff when someone tells us we’re good at something. We shrink ourselves, convince ourselves what we’re creating doesn’t actually matter.”

-Good girls aren’t supposed to have sex, but if they don’t, they’re prudes, and if they do, they’re sluts.

That last quote is another thing. Society in the past has recognized that men are very physical and have written off men having multiple sexual partners as normal. And while it is true that there has been a disparity between the view of men versus women with multiple sexual partners, I don't think the answer is for women to take a cavalier attitude towards sex. Perhaps men need to take more responsibility for controlling themselves. Sex outside of marriage is a rampant cultural thing right now and I'm in the minority to think we could go back to that, but I don't think allowing more sexual promiscuity for women so that we match that of men is the answer.

Today Tonight Tomorrow had such a strong premise. I was pulled in to the characters, their histories, the possibilities for their future, and the game they were playing. But I was pulled out of the story time and time again over these political issues that the author wanted to include that had nothing to do with the story. So ultimately I'm torn in what my rating should be. In the end, I decided 3 Stars was the best match for my rating system. Have you read Today Tonight Tomorrow? What did you think? Let me know!