Delightful! This book is in turn funny, poignant, insightful, and lots of fun! It reminded me of some of my favorite YA-based tv series, and I'd love to see this hit some kind of screen. It's a wonderful time travel book, without being overly science-fictiony. Definitely recommended for YA and adults too! Many thanks to Zando Projects and NetGalley for an e-ARC of this book.

wow.... i loved this book! at first, i didn't get why it was called throwback, until i did. the author did a great job of dissecting the immigrant experience, the second generation experience, and the mother-daughter relationship as well. a well-written book, not cliched at all loved it! i'm definitely buying a copy for my own daughter to read later as well. (read via ARC)

Just a fantastic read. I loved the family dynamics and how the time travel was used to explore racism and not only as a plot device. These characters felt very real and everything was so satisfying. I think this is going to be a big hit.

3.5 rounded up to 4 -- As my first Maurene Goo book it was good and it was cute! I don't think this book was particularly special but it was an enjoyable read. Definitely a fun concept for a book and quick to get through. Did I like it enough? Yes. Would I recommend it to someone else? Nahh. I will be giving her other books a shot though because I do really enjoy her writing style!

Thanks NetGalley for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you SO much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book.
Throwback is a “back to the future” story of a girl who can’t find common ground with her mother until a dodgy ride takes her back to her mothers high school 30 years earlier.
I was a teenager in the 90’s so this was a blast. I found the observations on the casual racism and discrimination of that era and how Sam muddled her way through them all one of the most interesting parts of this book. There’s a cute romance side plot I really liked, but the relationship between grandmother, mother and daughter takes centre stage and has so much heart.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this ARC publication for an honest review.

For most part, I really enjoyed this book. The family relationships, both in the "now" and in the future gave you hidden and different perspectives that was unique and interesting. The nostalgia of the 90s in the "back to the future" was fun. The romance was cute while somewhat predictable, but still made me cheer for our couple to have a happy ending.

And now for my personal opinion,...I did not enjoy the plural pronouns in reference to her friend Val. I know there are those who want to claim they/them to identify with, but as a writer there was a time my publisher/editor would never have accepted a plural pronoun to describe a singular person. It is confusing. My next problem is the whole crowning of two queens for homecoming. I literally rolled me eyes. Seriously. Just not my style. It did not add a single thing to the storyline and in fact, it took away from the ending that otherwise would have been perfect for me. Sigh.

3.5 stars

I really appreciated Samantha's coming-of-age arc in this YA novel from Maurene Goo. I love Goo's romances, and I loved that while there was a touch of romance in this novel, it really focused on Sam and her mom's upbringings and relationships. I was so invested in finishing this book because I really cared about both Sam and Priscilla

I'd like to thank Netgalley and Zando Projects, Zando Young Readers for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was pleasantly surprised by this story. When I started reading it I had already decided that I didn't care for the MC and didn't think I would like this story. I'm glad that I just didn't DNF it or I would have missed out on a great story.

Growing up as a fan of Back to the Future, this was a fun story and I loved to see Sam grow throughout this story and see things and others in a new perspective. Sam had to go back in time to not only heal her own relationship with her mother but heal the relationship between her mother and grandmother.

Very heartfelt, I loved the twists the story took, great plot, great characters, a little romance thrown in, but most of all very creative.

This was super fun and creative. I had a pretty good time reading this book. It wasn’t my absolute favorite? No but I still really enjoyed it.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

This is my first Maurene Goo book and perfect for fans of Young Adult. This was such a cliché book that served 13 going 30 vibes but back into the past . It tells the story of Samantha who like any teen girl doesn't get along with her mama. Samantha and her mom just don't understand each other and end up getting into a fight that leads to her being thrust into the past . She has to navigate the 90s with her mom as a Gen Z.. The concept was hilarious, the characters relatable and the plot was executed well. It's perfect for those that need a good laugh.

Whereas Sam and her mom Priscilla don’t swap places, I did get a Freaky Friday vibe from Throwback. What sets this novel apart from those other time travel novels is that Sam’s time is spent working towards the goals of someone else instead of securing her own future. Although working for Priscilla will ultimately get her back to her own time so it’s a twofer. Another thing that sets her apart is that there is someone else in this time who is from the future, someone who helps her see her own life back in 2015 clearly, and when she goes back she knows the person she wants to be.

I really enjoyed all of the 90’s references since I was in school during that time and Maurene Goo was spot on with how life was as a teen during that era. Totally clueless when it came to cultural diversity, women’s rights, Black Lives Matter, etc. Life was lived with blinders on regarding impropriety and Sam’s reactions were both funny and poignant. She was a cultural sounding board but no one was listening.

Throwback was a fun read that hid the seriousness of relationship struggles with her mom through humor and some emotional scenes. I really enjoyed her characters emotional growth and especially loved the ending of the book. This novel gets a solid 4.0 rating from me!

❤️❤️❤️❤️

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review and it was honest!

I absolutely adored this book! It was hilarious, sweet, and such a fun read. Reminiscent of Back to the Future but updated with a Korean-American teen who's very relatable and easy to root for. The mother-daughter relationship is explored realistically and thoughtfully. I loved the friendship between Sam and her mother, Priscilla. I totally related to Priscilla's difficulty with navigating her cliquish high school in the nineties with a single immigrant parent. I'll definitely recommend this to anyone who loves an emotionally resonant YA novel with a little romance, time travel, and nineties vibes.

I really loved this book and seeing the relationship between Sam and her mother Priscilla. Following an epid fight with her mother, Sam, a teenager in the mid 2020s, accidentally time travels back to 1995. The only thing she's semi-sure of is that she needs to prevent the big fight that destroys the relationship between her mother and grandmother. And that means helping her mother win Homecoming Queen!

I thought this was really well written and did a great job of balancing the humor with the serious. I was surprised by how funny this book was and I actually chuckled out loud a few times. Sam's relationship with her mother has always been less than perfect and when she gets to spend time with High School Priscilla she really gets to understand her mother a bit better. She sees the girl who grew up to be the woman/mother she knows and why she is the way she is. The sweetest part was that they were actually able to become friends with eachother.

I think this book is great for teenagers and adults alike, especially those who may have had a complicated relationship with their mothers. I loved all of the 90s references and Sam's culture shock after being thrown in the deep end.

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for a review copy. I look forward to checking out more from this author in the future.

This super cute and fun YA book is sort of a present day, female, Korean-American twist on Back to the Future. Modern day high school senior Sam is super close with her immigrant grandma, but does not get along well with her first generation American mom, nor do her mom & grandma get along well either. After a big fight with her mom, Sam tries to take a rideshare home - only to instead find herself in 1995, where she meets her mom as a high school senior, and decides that she has been sent there to help her mom win homecoming queen and mend the relationship between her mom and grandma too.

I am actually a few years older than Sam’s mom Priscilla in the present, and my daughter is a year older than Sam - and yet I enjoyed every minute of this book! Neither my daughter or I have anything in common with either Sam or Priscilla (you wouldn’t find either of us trying to be homecoming queen), and we have a much better relationship than them too - but this book was just such a fun read. The 90s references were spot on, and excellent at pointing out what has changed since then and what has stayed the same, both for better and for worse. And the book has a sweet message too about mother-daughter relationships and the differences between generations.

You definitely don’t have to be a teenager to enjoy this young adult book - in fact I wonder if moms of teenagers will love it even more than teenagers themselves!

5 stars

Oh man, this was so good! I ended up reading it straight through today, interrupting my reading only when I absolutely had to. It was definitely a nod to Back to the Future, and the main character even references BTF a few times, but it was an original backstory that highlighted the Asian (Korean) American experience in this country and explored the challenges between generations. Sam is the granddaughter of Korean immigrants and is a misfit in her family. Her parents and older brother are highly successful and she's an average B student who has no idea who she wants to be. She cares deeply about the environment and doesn't understand her mom's obsession with success and joining country clubs and being popular. The only people who seem to "get her" are her Halmoni (grandmother) and Aunt Grace (her mom's younger sister). After a huge argument between Sam and her mom, she ends up getting sent back to the 90s where she meets her mom as a 17-year-old high school student.

Although I am not Korean, I am the child of Taiwanese immigrants (so I guess I would be in the same generation as her mom Priscilla), so I could relate to a fair bit of the struggles that were discussed in this book. The discussions that took place as Sam learns more about what it was like for her mom and for her grandmother, as well as how that related to her were very moving for me, and by the last 10% I was tearing up for all of them.

I loved also the disconnect that Sam found as she jumped from the present (sort of) to the 1990s. Being born in the early 70s, I was much more a child of the 80s than the 90s, but this book really brought home to me how things have changed even in the past 25 years. The casual racism, even in the teachers and the administration, made me really glad my kids have grown up in today's school climate, at least where I live. Racism still exists, as does homophobia, but it's so much better today than it was back then.

One of my favorite side characters was Mrs. Jo, who was the epitome of a caring Korean mother. I loved how she cared for Sam, and even her discussion with Sam about why she did it was cool. I loved Sam's gift to her.

As emotional as this book was, it wasn't all heavy and I ended up laughing at quite a few scenes, including the scenes with Marge. I also loved the romance with Jamie and loved watching their friendship grow.

Overall, this was an excellent nod to Back to the Future with a story that was uniquely Korean. I highly recommend this!

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

My biggest previous thing with Goo was suspension of belief, so slap me in some scifi goodness, and I'm having a blast. Her characters have heart, and this one was more about personal relationships than romatic ones.

Thank you for an advance copy of this book. A fun YA story of a girl Sam who gets stuck back in the 90s which besides all the obvious issues with a teenager of today being in the 90s she learns more about her mom who she never gets along with than she planned to. A sweet story of discovery, growth and heart. I liked this alot!

Maurene Goo is a new author to me and I just love her! Throwback is such a charming feel good story full of heart, laughs and fun! Highly recommend!

Delightful, funny, and an overall incredibly beautiful examination of complicated mother-daughter dynamics. Maurene Goo delivers as always.

The characters in this book are so lovable and layered, especially those of our protagonist Sam and her mother (both in the present and her past teenage self that we spend most of the book with) Priscilla. I love how their dynamic changed and shifted over the course of the book, and also how Sam really came to understand both herself and her mom through this change. I also love how their dynamic reflected larger connections with other family members, and the theme of how our past and even our family’s past continues to shape us in the present. These topics were handled in a way that respected their depths without losing the overall tone of a lighthearted nostalgia-filled YA book, which I really appreciated. (Sometimes you want to engage with introspective ideas while also giggling over 90’s fashion!)

Sure, the time travel gimmick might be a little “contrived,” and there are a lot of incredible coincidences throughout the book. But for the sake of great character growth that still manages to be fun and lighthearted (in spite of some really heavy topics), I was more than willing to suspend my disbelief.

One small (extremely spoilery!) complaint, though, is that Sam gets reunited with a very special character at the end of the book… and we don’t get any follow-up on his family! This isn’t super necessary for the book, but we got a lot of other loose ends tied up—shoutout to the neighbor, Mrs. Jo—so I was a little sad with how limited his update was. We got the most important details from him, but I definitely wanted more to know if his own goals were successful. I’m not sure if this was changed in a final version of the book, but I’ll probably seek out a copy soon to double check.

Overall, a very lovely, un-put-down-able book. The official comp for this book seems to be “Back to the Future meets To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before” (which is accurate!), but I’d actually probably describe it as “the strained mother-daughter dynamics in Everything, Everywhere, All at Once meets the fashion and fun of Clueless.” I can’t recommend it enough.

4.5 stars
This book was so quirky and cute! Sam and her mother Priscilla have a complicated relationship. Priscilla and her mother Halmoni have a complicated relationship. When Halmoni winds up comatose in the hospital, Sam and Priscilla have a huge fight. The next thing Sam knows, she’s traveled back to the 90s to help her mother become the homecoming queen and repair the cracks in her relationship with her mother, Halmoni. I loved seeing high school in the 90s through the eyes of a 2020s teenager. So much has changed, even when some things remain the same. Through it all the relationship dynamics between mothers and daughters are the central focus. A nostalgic read with all the feels! ❤️