Throwback by Maurene Goo is a fun rom-com with mother-daughter drama with time travel.

Throwback has Back to the Future vibes with a Freaky Friday slant. Samantha gets sent back to 1995 after an epic fight with her mom, unable to get back to her own time until she completes a mystery mission... all while her grandmother is having a health crisis. No pressure, right?!

This fun YA book has loads of 90s references for older readers, while the fish out of water trope appeals to all readers. This trope delivers some funny moments, from learning to use the bus and live without internet to some heartbreaking ones, like enduring overt racism and sexism.

What makes this book stand out to me is the strong representation of intergenerational relationships. Sam thinks she's open minded, but finds her perspective of her mother and grandmother's relationship is actually quite rigid.

Themes include finding oneself, opening perspectives, and shifting generational priorities. But along the way, there are plenty of laugh out loud hi-jinx, interesting characters, and time travel obstacles to overcome.

It's interesting, because most of the characters aren't particularly likable right off the bat. Both Sam and Priscilla are stubborn, rigid, and unwilling to walk a mile in the others shoes. Yet seeing them learn to open up to one another and undo generational toxic cycles together made the overall tone hopeful.

Maurene Goo's Throwback is available now.

Thank you to the author, NetGalley, and Zando Young Readers for an advanced e-arc such that I could share my honest opinions.

I completely relate to Priscilla in regard to her mother/daughter relationship so it was nice to see that dynamic play out. I am currently reading all of the YA books I can find and the throwback to the 90's was fun for me as that's when I grew up. There were parts that were hard to stick with but not so much that I wasn't going to finish. I really enjoyed the cultural dynamic and they overall storyline. The plot concept was fun and different in terms of a throwback.

I really enjoyed Maurene Goo's writing style and her character development. Though they are not extremely developed characters they are dynamic characters which I'd rather they be in this type of novel. This isn't my go-to type of novel but it was a super fun jump away from my typical romance or mystery genres. And it was a quick fun read.

Throwback by Maurene Goo is about teenager Sam, a second-generation Korean American, who is at odds with her mother (typical teen righteousness?). When the two have a huge argument, Sam climbs into a rideshare only at its destination to discover herself in the 1990s at her mother’s high school . . . and attending the same school as her mother. Nothing like almost walking in someone’s shoes to get an idea of what their life was like.

So. So. SO! Where to begin? How about at the beginning?

Sam is an unpalatable, entitled, spoiled brat, and since Throwback is told in the first person, the reader gets her self-involved, arrogant opinions ad nauseum. Sam tells us how primitive the 1990s are compared to the 2020s. That in her world there isn’t bullying. I don’t know about you, but I believe it’s a miracle that somehow civilization progresses so rapidly in 1-and-1/2 years that the bullying I hear about in nearby high schools will totally be eradicated. Imagine! Yes, imagine. However, I suspect that in Sam’s probably very small, very elite high school that perhaps everyone does get along and respect everyone. Really? Well, no. I don’t believe that at all.

The fact that Sam also preaches the gospel of social media and influencers without acknowledging the damage they do is also laughable, especially considering that teenage girls, the primary audience for this novel, have higher suicide rates than ever before with at least 30% having considered suicide. So really this novel is science fiction in more than the fact that the main character travels back in time. There are other debatable observations but I’ll leave it with these. Suffice to say I am constantly researching the effect of the internet on kindness and fall on the side that it’s had a detrimental effect.

If the reader can move beyond Sam’s preachiness and aggressiveness, then they can see that Sam slowly begins to understand that her mother is a 1990s over-achiever, who wants it all. A tenacity that Sam cannot comprehend because Sam doesn’t know what she wants. Her parents have provided her with a support system regardless of her achievements. Sam also can’t understand why her mother, Priscilla, hangs around with the White kids instead of the Korean kids. But when Sam begins to hang around with Priscilla, meets her grandmother, not as her grandmother but as Priscilla’s mother, she sees that her grandmother is more domineering and needy–out of necessity–than the woman Sam knows. Slowly Sam’s very black and white world takes on some gray. However, not enough for me.

Sam is a character who talks a big game but rarely acts. Perhaps this could have been alleviated if more thought had gone into overall characterization rather than just characterization based on reaction, which is often over-reaction. Indeed, I find a character constantly “raging” and taking offense at instances like being called “sweetie” by an older individual to be deserving of an eyeroll when that character does nothing except get into people’s face in an ugly manner and fails to differentiate between the battles which are worth fighting. Or even, forget battles, actions that are necessary and important like her so-called activism for the environment, which is nothing more than talk.

On par with the novel itself, little thought has been given to the ramifications of changing the past via time travel. The reader is supposed to go with it. Shrug. What can I say other than it would have been cool if something had changed–not intentionally. But let’s not go crazy here and make a nuanced novel.

Lastly, I am somewhat bemused by the fact that the author’s research brought up microfiche rather than microfilm as the medium through which Sam and her friend view old documents at the library since my one instance of Googling only brought up microfilm. Even as an oldie (but goodie (am I allowed to say that without offending someone?!)), I never used microfiche.

So. Okay. Before I give the impression that I hated Throwback, I didn’t. While I found the first half pretty painful, the last third was more engaging as Sam acquires some awareness and action happens besides Sam being offended by the 1990s.

I accept that I am not the target audience for Throwback and not only because I tend to overthink everything.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Throwback was SO much fun and such a beautiful tribute to mother-daughter relationships. What if we could go back in time to see what our mothers were like before they had us, when they were in high school even, how would that change our relationships? That is the question that Goo is asking in this book and I absolutely loved how she answered it. The book was truly pure joy, from start to finish, and even though the story deals in heavier topics, there is a lightness to it that made the book so enjoyable to read. Time travel books are different and a lot of fun, and I love when I can suspend my disbelief enough in the mechanics of the time travel to just enjoy the story - this one was such a great example of that. I haven't been loving some of the YA I've tried in the past couple of years, but I reading Throwback made me want to read the rest of Goo's novels, which is such a great feeling. A new author to explore! I really loved this.

Maureen Goo writes some solid books. I highly enjoyed this one. I'm a few years younger than Priscilla, but I appreciated a lot of the references. It made me super nostalgic for the mid to late 90s. I do recognize that I have kind of grown out of enjoying YA books especially now that my job focuses on younger children's lit. So I found it easier to relate to the adult characters in the book. However, Maureen Goo writes everyone so well and makes the story enjoyable.

*Cute for the time travel and "bonding with your mom in the nineties vibe"
*but I prefer to not be beat over the head with the whole PROM IS INHERENTLY BAD AND WRONG AND WE SHOULD CANCEL IT in a book where the protagonist still ends up prom queen

I really enjoyed this book! It had a Back to the Future or Freaky Friday vibe to it. Super fun! I would recommend to high school students and adults.

Back to the Future meets Clueless in Throwback by Maureen Goo.

This book was difficult for me to rate because I appreciated how this book addressed culture and its impact in America, but I found the characters one dimensional with little growth over the book.

As a child of the 90’s, I was excited to read how a teenager from the 21st century would react to how different everything was. Yes, Sam, our main character, is definitely shocked by the social norms of the 90’s, but how she addressed it to the other characters was almost like it was trying too hard to be quirky and modern.

I thought the writing itself was good, but overall, it did not feel like the book really went anywhere, and even the limited growth in the character development did not make it any more interesting to me. I really wanted to like this book, but it did not hit home for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

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.