'Throwback' by Maureen Goo is a fast-paced, difficult to put down time travel adventure. Protagonist Samantha Kang is a high school senior in contemporary Los Angeles. Samantha has a strained relationship with her mom, a no-nonsense businessperson who is somewhat estranged from the family's Korean heritage. In contrast, Samantha's maternal grandmother is a warm and encouraging figure.

A medical emergency in the family followed by an argument between Samantha and her mother leads Sam to an unexpected journey back to 1995, where she becomes classmates with her own mom. Sam takes it as her mission to change the course of her mother's teenage years. Back-in-time romance, complex family dynamics, an unreliable cellphone battery, and homecoming hijinks all play a role in Samantha's quest to return to her own time.

The conversational tone of the narration, brisk pace of the plot, and likeable main characters combine to make this a really engaging read. 'Throwback' is successful in employing plot twists without overly complicating the central narrative. Serious moments of introspection about the immigrant experience, family tensions, and generational differences balance out the story's more whimsical aspects. Since relatively little time is spent in the present day setting some of the supporting characters are a little thin (Val, Julian, Sam's dad). However this doesn't detract from what is all in all a very entertaining and thought-provoking read.

I loved this funny, incisive, unique story about a modern teenager who finds herself thrown back in time to her own mother's teenage years in the mid-1990s. Sam's mission is to help her mother, Priscilla, win Homecoming Queen (a competition Sam considers ridiculous and regressive) and to heal the rift between Priscilla and her own mother. This is complicated at first by Sam's resentment of her mother and by their very different personalities, but as she gets to know Priscilla she develops more sympathy for her and gains a better understanding of her family's journey as well as her own.

Sam was a great main character and her narration was a joy to read. The novel's emotional center revolved less around the Homecoming action than around Sam and Priscilla's relationship and Sam's understanding of her family's immigration journey, which was given a unique and compelling twist by drawing Sam into her mother's past to show both generations as teenagers together.

This is a YA novel, so as an adult I'm not really the intended audience. I bristled at Sam's eye-rolling attitude toward 1990s' politics and aesthetics, and her attacks on native 1990s-ers failure to conform to her 2020s-woke view of race, gender, and technology, came across as insensitive. But her posture softened over the course of the novel, or maybe I became too absorbed in reading to mind.

This book is magic.

Not as in time-travel magic. Although that's the delightful plot premise that holds this book together.

It's really about the magic of finding who you are. And discovering your past. And figuring out that your past (and your ancestors) are part of what makes you who you are!

Sam is absolutely relatable, and 100% the main character we all wish we could be. And 5 stars to Priscilla!

On a personal note? The weird Homecoming traditions described are spot-on accurate, and still alive & well in the American South.

And BTS is, in fact, the best group on the planet.

And you can't sue a magical rideshare. Remember that.

Maurene Goo's "Throwback" was an absolute delight. I loved the premise of trying to heal relationships between mothers and daughters through real empathy and letting Sam see exactly what her mother's life was like when she was a teen. It was also a great eye-opener for me, as someone who went to high school in the 90s to remember how much has changed since then, and how different a world our teens our living in. I wasn't sure that I would love this book, but it was a really great read that I highly recommend.

Well-written, with engaging characters and a compelling storyline that keeps you hooked from beginning to end. Goo's prose is witty, sharp, and infused with humor, making the book an enjoyable read.

I absolutely adored this book! It is funny, moving, heartfelt and will bring a smile to your face, as well as a possible tear to your eye. Throwback tells the story of what happens when a girl goes back in time to help her mother and ends up finding out who she really is, as well as how culture helps to shape a family. It is a story of identity, love, family, and mother/daughter relationships. Sam is a spunky, out-spoken, liberal, Korean daughter who learns how her mother's youth shaped her in to the mother she is today. Read this, you will not be disappointed. This was my first book by Maurene Goo, but will not be my last!

A cute time travel story with a lot of heart. Although this was difficult to get into at first as Sam is a bit much in the present day, once she goes back in time to interact with her mother as a teen, the story really gets going and is a lot of fun. I enjoyed the constant contrast of the world and society of the 90s to today, and there are some surprising developments with several characters. It's a little eye-roll worthy that so much of the plot hinges on developments at homecoming, but this is completely understandable in a young adult novel and Goo pulls it off without allowing the tale to feel shallow.

This is an absolute gem of a story, funny and heartfelt and dealing with tough topics in a way that you can contemplate without getting lectured at. Maurene Goo's best book by far!

Wow I loved this book! The two central mother-daughter relationships were so layered and nuanced, and the way those layers were peeled back was so beautifully handled, my chest was tight while I sped through the ending. The themes about different diaspora experiences and the way pressure is passed down through generations resonated in my bones. The premise was so fun and allowed the emotions and themes to come out even more powerfully for how this wacky, absurd time travel element opened up space for them. And I loved the romance! I was invested in Jamie's character, he and Sam had great chemistry, and I thought their story felt completely natural alongside all the other threads of the book. This was a big-hearted, emotional, fun read I'll be thinking about for a long time.

Okay, this was a good story with “Back to the Future” vibes. But…I really wish the author and the editor would have done their research better. Multiple times in the book, they reference microfiche – when they are using microfilm! And yes, there is a difference. And maybe that’s not a big thing—and 99% of the people reading this won’t even know the difference—but when you’re writing a historical based book, even if it’s just thirty years back, you should get the references right. Microfiche is a flat piece of material with pictures on it. Microfilm is on a reel that you scroll on a machine. They were clearly using microfilm.

Okay, now that my history lesson is done, the story is a good one about parents vs. teens and what we perceive as nobody understanding what the other is going through. Sam is frustrated with her hard-nosed mother—and her mother with her. When Sam is transported back in time to when her mother is a teen, Sam learns a lot about why her mother is the way she is. And a lot about herself as well. There’s also a bit of romance as Sam and Jamie meet up in the past… and find out some surprises about themselves as well.

Recommendation: If you don’t mind the occasional historical hiccup, this is a really good coming-of-age story that shows the age-old clash between parent and child in an interesting light.

Disclaimer: I received a final and/or advanced reader copy of this book with the hope that I will leave my unbiased opinion. I was not required to leave a review, positive or otherwise, and my opinions are just that… My Opinions. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Goo has written a fun, fast, and fulfilling novel that teens and adults will enjoy. She tackles tough subjects without being preachy, and she adds in fresh elements and twists that keep the book from becoming predictable. This is the perfect novel for my teen Lit Club at school, and I will recommend it to my friends who are parents of teens as well.

Throwback follows Sam as she finds herself stuck back in the ‘90s and her only way home is to help her mom win Homecoming Queen.

This was just so cute and unexpectedly emotional all at once. I loved that Sam had the opportunity to get to know Pricilla as a person and as a friend instead just being her mom. She also got to see the pressure that her mom had been under as a child of a widowed immigrant mother and the racism that she faced.

I don’t want to spoil anything, but I really enjoyed how this all came together to make the most perfect ending!!

Overall, this was a fantastic read and I highly recommend it to teens, moms of teens, and anyone looking for some good old ‘90s nostalgia.

Thank you so much to Zando Young Readers and NetGalley for this arc. All
opinions are my own.

This story follows Sam who is a spoilt girl with a strained relationship with her mother and she doesn't want to follow the stereotypical expectations that her mother has for her to study and get good grades and be a perfect student. She gets into a fight with her mom and travels back in time to the 90s where she has to befriend her teenage mom and help her win homecoming queen! It's a crazy plot but it worked nonetheless. This thing that didn't work for me was the main character. Sam was too preachy and had the i-know-better attitude that i didn't vibe with at all. For me she wasn't a likeable character. Overall good story, unlikeable characters.

A fresh take on traveling back in time travel and learning what makes our parents become who they are today. I truly enjoyed this story, characters, and the throwback to my own adolescence.




Spoiler: I did think the way the love interest showed back up was a bit awkward. What brother, with no knowledge of what we as readers knew, would be OK with a surprise introduction like that?

This was such a fun read! It was like an updated Back to the Future revamp, but instead of getting mom and dad back together, it focuses more on healing mother-daughter relationships.

Another heartwarming, hilarious, charming stunner from Maurene Goo. What a wonderful premise, deep family dynamics, and, of course, heartwarming love.

Estuvo buenísimo!! Lo leí súper rápido y tiene una trama de lo más interesante, cómo me gustan a mi 🔥 espero poder conseguirlo en físico 😍

Sam has never really understood her mother, Priscilla, or why she doesn’t get along with her own mother, who came to America from Korea. After a huge fight with her mother, Sam magically finds herself in high school in the 1990’s… with her mother.

Books like this remind me to step outside of my usual genre and try something new. This may be my favorite read of 2023 so far! It was so cute, so fun, but also meaningful and highlighted the struggle of children/grandchildren of immigrants. I went to high school in the 90’s, so the setting was perfect and a great nostalgic ride. The best was the mother/daughter relationship and how the entire story worked through that on so many levels. This was a great read that I never wanted to end!

“It wasn’t that different from what my mom did for me in the future. Except she didn’t realize we loved two different high school realities. Completely different worlds. The armor she needed - it was for a battle that didn’t exist for me.”

Throwback comes out 4/11.

Throwback by Maurene Goo is a fun young adult read that captures the feeling of Back to the Future but spins the story into a multi-generational mother-daughter relationship healing adventure instead. I think this book will appeal to teens and adults, as the throwback takes the main character, Samantha, back to the mid-90s.

The writing and voice were appealing and engaging. Samantha is a great main character and her POV is illuminating. She has a voyage of self-discovery as the book progresses, but she learns so much about her mom and grandmother as well, to everyone's benefit.

The author handled the time travel back to the 90s well--it hit quite hard, how much has changed from a time that really doesn't feel all that distant to me! But the technology changes are IMMENSE and the book handles those well.

The story was a very creative way to show us a relationship in crisis and then brings the focus on the individuals and their viewpoints. The book highlights the generational differences but also has a very nuanced and empathetic take on the immigrant experience and the second generation experience as well. I am not Korean but so many moments resonated with my own experience with my immigrant parents back in the day.

It was heartfelt, entertaining, engaging and well written. Definitely sets the scenes well and the dialogue kept the story going.

Great book.

My thanks to net galley and the publisher for this digital ARC. This is my honest opinion.

Intriguing concept with a mixture of contemporary romance, "Back to the Future" and "Peggy Sue Got Married." I only wish I could catch a Throwback ride myself but it is only fiction. Started off not liking this book, but gradually warmed to it. The format is out of my usual bailiwick but I ended up enjoying "the ride."