This was a requested for the cover, because how fun is this cover? And this book was such a fun time.

It took me a little while to read it, to no fault of the book I was just going through some things, and I finally sat down tonight with my weighted stuffed Baby Yoda plush and sped through the second half of this book in like three hours.

The story is fun, after a fight with her mom, and a weird cab ride, Sam finds herself back in the 90’s desperately trying to help her mom win high school prom queen, and fix her mom’s relationship with her grandmother, all while learning about herself and her family relationships along the way.

Now, you can’t think too hard about the time travel thing. If you get too tied up in the what if’s and the tiny details of everything we’ve ever learned about time travel through movies, you’re not going to be able to enjoy the fun time. Because this is like back to the future meets Clueless and every other 90’s teen movie. Because we get a romance thread and it all works out because we love when a romance that shouldn’t work out due to time travel WORKS OUT LOGICALLY if you don’t think about it too much and just let it happen.

The writing is chill and there’s a lot of “lol” and “omg” but it’s all fine ‘cause it’s a good time. This book knows it’s a good time. It’s funny, heartwarming, and cozy.

If you’re looking for a back to the future 90’s young adult teen rom-com/family drama that’s a quick read and lots of fun? Pick this up!

Thank you @netgalley and @zandoyr for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and Zando Projects for this DRC.
Samantha Kang goes on a time travelling uber adventure to redefine her relationship with her mom and high school expectations. This is a very fun book, especially for those of us who lived through the 90’s. I always love reading about today’s teens having to deal with a lack of technology. The love story is great, too.

#Throwback #NetGalley

Definitely more Marty McFly vibes than Annabelle Andrews when Samantha Kang takes an off-brand ride share after a fight with her mom and winds up at the 1995 homecoming week at their shared highschool, Quick to realize her predicament, Sam quickly figures out a place to stay and the reason she has been sent back--to help her mom Priscilla win homecoming queen and smooth the relationship between Priscilla and her own mother, Sam's grandmother. This was a fun, fast paced read. The pop culture touchstones of the mid 90's are relayed really well and the cringey casual racism Sam sees firsthand begins to shape her new thoughts about her mom's upbringing and relationships. There were a couple twists I didn't see coming and scenes with so much humor, I chuckled aloud.

Throwback was an enjoyable quick read meant for high school girls, with a mother-daughter relationship theme and a little romance thrown in for good measure. The characters and plot are simplistic and not very deep, but the humor and glimpses into American Korean culture are welcome.

Back to the Future meets The Joy Luck Club in this YA contemporary romance about a Korean American girl sent back to the ’90s to (reluctantly) help her teenage mom win Homecoming Queen.

The writing in this book is rare in that it is genuinely funny. I laughed out loud multiple times, but also paused to reflect on the depth of the characters. The book makes you think and feel without being blunt. I also love that time-travel is involved, but not like the science aspect. It really makes the book seem more real (because who really knows the physics involved with time travel - except maybe physicists).

Would 10/10 want to see this as a movie, which is always high praise. I want this book to come to life - exactly as it is!

Fun read exploring the dynamic between mother/daughter, and when Sam goes back in time to her mother's senior year of high school, she sees why her mother has been so intent on Sam having the "perfect" high school experience.

As an older teen in the 90's myself, this was a fun trip back to the 90's for me, I enjoyed the characters, and it was a sweet story!

Thank you Netgalley and Zando Projects, Zando Young Readers for the ARC!

I really loved the concept of this book. I thought Maurene did a great job giving us a fun time travel novel and also teaching us more about mother/daughter relationships. I'm also here for the 90s stuff!

This is the first Maureen Goo book that I have read and I absolutely loved it!. I was a teen in the 90's and the nostalgia was strong. The time travel aspect was done really well. It makes me wonder if I went back to help my mom would we end up friends or not? I already recommend this book to teens who come in to the library, it is one of my favorites of the year so far.

a korean american back to the future ya book.... say no more! this was such a cute read to throw yourself into with some nostalgic feels of the movies I grew up watching. it also reminded me a bit of freaky friday as she becomes friends with her mother when she's thrown back into the 90s and starts to understand her mom better and why she Is the way she is in present time. it was heartwarming and funny and a blast from the past.

Sam has had issues with her mom for some time now. They have varying views on what they expect from Sam's life. After an epic fight, Sam gets sent back to the 90s, and she now needs to befriend and help Priscilla, her mom, when she was a teenager. It's an interesting exploration of love and familial relationships.

A totally rad Back to the Future riff. Gen Z Sam doesn't understand why her mom is so uptight and demanding and obsessed with her image. A fated rideshare (just go with it) sends Sam back to a mid-90s high school where her mom, Priscilla, is running for homecoming queen. Sam figures out that she needs to befriend Priscilla, which is easier said than done, and help her win the crown. Sam also gets a close look at the fraught relationship between her mom and her beloved grandma, Halmoni, which never made sense to her before. Goo weaves in a lot of fun 90s references as well as scrutinizing the racism and sexism that permeated the culture back then. The romance felt fresh and Sam's growing understanding of her mom is satisfying.

This book really took me by surprise. I developed such a liking for the characters and the plot kept me hooked. I felt like there could have been a little more description in specific situations, but totally worth the read!

As a millennial reading this it actually gave me a lot more insight to the generations under me! I can appreciate the thoughts and feelings of both generations in a new way. I also really appreciated how Christianity was respected, gender topics were respected, it seemed like all views were respected in a harmonious way!

I am a big Maurene Goo fan, and this book did not disappoint. First of all, I think the premise of the book is very unique and intriguing. It involves time travel while also speaking on important matters involving immigrant families. I do think the main character Samantha was a little frustrating to read about due to her smug and judge mental attitude. Overall, this book gave me lots of laughs while also warming my heart about the importance of family,

I love love LOVE this book so much. Throwback is hands down my favorite 2023 book so far. It all started with how easy to read the writing style was; it didn’t try to be flowery or overly descriptive, but with every word choice the writing is very efficient in immersing us readers into the story. I can vividly see myself being at home or school with Samantha and I can easily empathize with Samantha’s frustration with how alien her relationship with her mom have become and how she couldn’t be more like her grandmother. I also love how Samantha is such a great main character in a way that she’s quick on her feet, witty, determined but also a warm person. She’s stubborn, but she’s not afraid to explore other perspectives and choices available for her. It has such a great mother-daughter relationships, that got me crying and reflect on my own relationships with my parents. Definitely my best book of this year!

I spoke about this book for a bookhaul video on instagram and talked about how much I loved this book. I have to say that I'm a big Maurene Goo fan and it was a dream to meet her at the launch of this book. It was funny and heart string pulling at all the right moments. As the [grown] child of immigrants, I really appreciated this book and I hope others will too.

This book had such a refreshing concept and it was well written. I liked that it really explored the family relationships through the 3 generations. I would recommend this book to anyone who is Asian-American or has family that immigrated to America. I also liked the romance element, although it wasn't the main plot of the book it was still very cute.

After her grandmother's sudden illness and an argument with her mother, Korean-American Samantha is transported 30 years back in time. Can she repair her family's relationships?

Wait but I adored this book so so much.

This Back-to-the-Future inspired contemporary story is about the complex relationships mothers and daughters have with each other. Not only did it explore that relationship, but ‘Throwback’ really explores generational familial experiences in a heartfelt, touching and fun way.

Sam (present day) does not get along with her mom, Priscilla. They get into an argument which leads to Sam calling a rideshare to take her to school… and the rideshare does just that – except it’s her high school 20 years in the past – when Priscilla was attending that school.

The character development that ensues as Sam gets to know her younger mother and really comes to understand the misunderstandings they have with one another that stem from the parallel misunderstandings, culture and generational divide that Priscilla is having with her own immigrant mother had me feeling quite nostalgic about my own relationship with my mother. I’m not quite sure how Maurene Goo captured all the nuances in a multigenerational story like this one, but she did and it’s easily one of the most heart-warming stories I’ve read this year.

Special thanks to Netgalley and Zando Young Readers for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

Well, Sam is annoying at first, but I think its helpful for her character development. This was a smart and fun “go back in time” story that brought me to tears. Maybe because we always wish we could do something like this. See our loved ones, make things better. Loved the relationships in the story and enjoyed learning some Korean traditions.