Actual rating: 4.5 stars
I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this eARC. Immediately upon starting the read, I was struck by the quality of Sekaran's writing. Right away I knew this narrative would deal with hard topics since it opens after the height of the pandemic which took the life of her father, a medical professional. I did not expect the time travel twist but that made me love the book even more. Sekaran did a masterful job weaving it all together.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

Just didn’t grab me. Too far fetched. Too similar to other books with the same trope. A bit too cheesy. Kids won’t relate to the time period.

This book is not for me - I am 40% through the book and I'm struggling. It's slow-paced and feels repetitive. I hate to give a negative review on something I haven't completed, so I will be rating 3 stars.

I loved this.

The feels that this novel produces is undeniable. I also love that a child gets to see her parent at her age, something about that dynamic in a story makes you want to cry. Sekaran does an amazing job at writing this father-daughter story in a way that is fitting for middle grade, but that other ages will enjoy it as well.

I could not put this book down! It was so good and so many great themes and topics mentioned in this book. Body image. Dance. Friendship. Family. Being loud. All fantastic. Oh...and TIME TRAVEL plus 80S MUSIC!!! It has it all. Highly recommend.

This was another middle grade read with a heaping helping of feels. Boomi has had a rough go of life. lately Her dad died of Covid, her best friend has stopped communicating with her, and she is struggling with her identity in a number of ways. She's given an old boombox that has magical powers and is transplanted back to her dad's childhood. She then has to figure out things that happened in the past, as well as how this might influence her present. This was a wonderful exploration of a character's grief and finding her way and just the real, hard stuff that sometimes enters into her life. There are some really good reflections on this throughout for kids, and I found I resonated with them as an adult, too. Thanks to NetGalley for the early look at this May 2023 release!