Aimee Roh suffers from STWS (Sensory Time Warp Syndrome) which causes her to time travel back to past memories when she smells familiar scents. The episodes are starting to ramp up, and she's heard horror stories of others getting caught in memory loops and never returning. Aimee's dad is convinced she will grow out of it. Aimee is beginning to question if there's more to the story of her mom leaving the family because she was unhappy. Did her mom also have STWS? Is she stuck out there somewhere? Aimee plans a trip to Korea to find her mom's side of the family and find answers.

This one was very intriguing! Being told in first person, it definitely focused more on the emotion and family dynamics moreso than the sci-fi action. I loved it, though! There were still high stakes moments and the sci-fi dynamic was explained, even if all of the elements didn't completely make sense. This was a story you could suspend your disbelief long enough to appreciate the storyline. There are great conversations about family, distance, communication, love, and loneliness. Aimee is a senior about to embark on her college career leaving home and friends for the first time, so there is also great conversation there. The inclusion of Korean culture was so authentically and naturally done. Korean phrases were naturally translated and there were many mentions of Korean cities, markets, parks, and street food. There are stellar elements that come together to create a solid story. It will appeal more to realistic fiction readers who want to branch out to a little taste of sci-fi more than die hard sci-fi fans. I'm glad I gave this one a try!


Note for librarians/teachers/parents -
This one reads like classic YA in that it's very innocent and could be for even younger readers. There are a few mature words (ugly-ass, "don't give a shit," damn, etc.) and one innocent kiss. I loved that it felt younger like true YA... I'd feel comfortable giving this to 7th graders and up.

This was such a beautifully written and really clever concept for a novel. I really enjoyed reading it, and how it covered topics like intergenerational issues. Such a great read!

Loved loved loved this book. Not only does it cover inter generational issues, but I think it also does a great job with time travel and explaining time loops. I think the storyline about grief and loneliness were also well done at highlighting isolation during difficult times. And loved loved loved the mini romance… super cute and look forward to reading more of the authors work!

Beautifully written, truly unique concept. I loved this book. Sarah Suk is a favorite of mine and so excited that she surprised us with a very different book from the ones in her past. Highly recommend.

This was heart-wrenching and both so cute and also so sad. like i was kicking my feet giggling but also shaking screaming crying. anyway definitely mandatory reading for asian daughters who have complicated relationships with their fathers. i found the voice a little hard to get into, but that hurdle fades quickly in light of the emotions the words hold.

the use of a time travel disease to explore a past is soooo,,,, sarah suk does it in a way you absolutely Do Not Expect, and i think it is my actual favourite thing ever. go read this rn

Thank you to NG and HC for a free review copy, all opinions are my own.

This book was heart wrenching but at the same time heart warming. Aimee not only has Sensory Time Wrap Syndrome, but shes going to be graduating from high school and planning to move across the country, and she has a fragile relationship with her dad.

She wants a change in her life and wants to find out more about her mom that abandoned her family, and the only way to do that is to buy a ticket to South Korea and try and find her mom.

The truth of her mom, the way she learns more than she ever knew about her history and her disability, the way she grows, it is honestly such a great book.

My favourite scene is <spoiler>when Aimee comes out of the time wrap at the beach in Korea and her and her dad make up and finally talk things out. Made me almost cry.</spoiler>

This is a great story, and I am excited to see what Sarah Suk has planned for her future books.

Just wow. I read this in one sitting. A very different "time travel' type of story. Intriguing to say the least. The anguish and pain that Aimee goes through each time she disappears into a memory comes across on the page. The stifled relationship between her and her father...oof. Open communication between parent and chid comes through on the page (don't want to say more because of spoilers). This was an intriguing phenomena, STWS. No medical explanation, no reason why one person is afflicted and others aren't. I think readers will enjoy this book. I honestly didn't see what happened with the mother; I truly thought it was going to go a different route. I thought I had it figured out early on in the story, but wow, was I wrong.

“Two minutes is not nothing. In that time, you can make a cup of tea. Meet the love of your life.” 🫖

How do you go about living your daily life when the slightest scent can transport you back in time? Yanking you out of the present and making you a bystander in your own memory? That is exactly what 17 year old Aimee lives with every day - as well as the countless other individuals suffering from Sensory Time Warp Syndrome.

⏳Time Travel
🫶 Family
📜 Complicated History
🏫 Coming of Age
✈️ Adventure
♥️ Love
🧬 Genetic Disorder

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk is one of the most fantastically unique storylines I have ever read! 10/10 recommend! 📚

Thank you so much Quill Tree Books, StoryGram Tours & Epic Reads for the gifted copy!

Sensory Time Warp Syndrome is a rare condition that causes people to disappear back into their past. Aimee has dealt with STWS since she was a kid but now in high school, the disappearances have become more frequent and she's desperate for help. After being stuck for nine hours in the memory of when her mom left, she decides to go to Korea to see if she can find out the truth about her mom. Aimee's trip to Korea brings her back to the time when she visited as a kid and she stays with her Aunt and meets her old friend Junho as she tries to find out more about her mom's time in Korea as well as her grandparents. Overall, an interesting story about a girl trying to understand her past and trying to move forward. The relationships between all the characters were complicated but understandable and the author did a good job of showing how they changed, as well as their motivations.

This was a very fun (clean) YA! Sensory time warp syndrome made for a very interesting plot, and I am glad that the book did not center on being stuck in a time loop — I always get a little sick of those books. This book is full of family and friends and their dynamics. Every side character was enjoyable. I would have liked to see Aimee have more time with Goma and Nikita, but I’m not complaining.

The rich descriptions of Korea (particularly, the food) was one of my favorite aspects. This is definitely not a book to read on an empty stomach! My only complaint is that the ending felt a bit rushed and didn’t tie up as nicely as I had wished.

4⭐️

4.5/5 stars

The Space Between Here & Now is a Young Adult time travel coming of age story.

The heroine is 17 year old Korean Canadian Aimee. She has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS), a rare condition that has her disappearing from the present to re-watch moments from her past. She smells something linked to a past memory. And she time travels to view said memory. But only as an observer. She can't change anything.

This book focuses a lot on the Korean culture, which I loved. And honestly everything about STWS is so fascinating and original. I loved all of the questions that Aimee had and I was so invested in her story.

This book is so unique. It features time travel and magical realism. It is our world, but where this condition exists. There is a mystery to do with her mother who left when she was little. Also much of the book takes place in Korea. The whole story is so interesting and unpredictable.

The supporting characters include her dad (who is very closed off and doesn't want to talk about her condition, her aunt (who supports her), her best friend (who always want to help), and a boy (who she met as a child). There is a bit of romance (but it's not the main part of the story).

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes an original premise and lots of Korean culture.

i love stories that play with time and this was such an interesting concept that integrated the magical realism element so well. loved that the story went a lot into better understanding and connecting with your loved ones. an easy and enjoyable read!

thank you to HarperCollins / Harper360YA for the e-arc!

I really enjoyed Aimee's character and her relationship with Junho. They're so cute and this provided a much needed humor break from the seriousness of Aimee's experience in Korea. The time warps are terrifying for her and you can really connect with the anxiety and trepidation of the character. I found myself really feeling for her in these tense, emotional moments as she tries to find out more about her mom.

This was such a pleasant surprise and ends like a warm hug. I highly recommend this book if you're looking for a book to read in one sitting.

I really loved this. It was such an interesting concept and had a combo of so many things I love like Canadian characters, family drama, all the emotion, a dash of romance, and obviously the magical time travel element. This was such a gorgeously crafted novel and I cannot wait to read more of Sarah Suk’s work!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with an eARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!

The Space Between Here & Now follows Aimee, who had Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, which means she gets transported back to a memory associated with her trigger, which is smell.

“I guess that’s how memories are, even for someone like me who can go back and visit pieces of them/ some you hold on to tight, some you lose to time. Some you find again in the present in a new and different way.”

I was in awe of the gorgeous cover created for this book and second by the idea of Sensory Time Warp Syndrome or STWS. I was super intrigued and couldn’t wait to dive into this book!

The story itself stars off super interesting, with a great introduction of Aimee, the main character, and STWS and how it influences her whole life. It was very easy to get sucked into the story just by the first few chapters. To be honest the very first sentence was enough to grab my attention;
"It’s not easy explaining what it feels like to disappear in ten words or less"
I also really liked how this sentence kept coming back with different answers every time. It was a nice was to tie the story together at multiple points in the book. What I also really liked where the bits of context and information at the end of the chapters! A very fun way to give us as readers more information or context without it feeling rushed or like an infodump.

The writing also was phenomenally done! The story was so easy to get lots in and I breezed through the pages. Before I knew it, I was already in the last few chapters! I read this whole book in one setting, because it was so great and I honestly hadn’t noticed how much time had passed.

Aimee is such a great character! I really liked going on this emotional journey with her, trying to find out what happened when her mom walked out on them and at the same time navigating the world while having STWS. She grew beautifully, becoming more confident in herself and wanting to continue living her life fully instead of always at attention due to the possible disappearance that could happen at any time. I also really like how aware she was of her own behavior in the end and could say sorry and acknowledge that what she did was hurtful.

The relationships in this book were so good and complicated at the same time! Especially between Aimee and her dad! Both struggled communicating with each other and Aimee felt misunderstood or often unheard. I think that especially is something a lot of teenagers or young adults can relate to, which makes it real and believable. Seeing them learn to communicate more and more was beautiful!

I also really liked the friendships! Natalie is the best cheerleader Aimee could ask for and their friendship was honestly so fun to see and read! I also loved the tiny bits of romance added between the emotional rollercoaster this book is. It didn’t take over the main theme in the book, but was really complementary.

Overall, The Space Between Here & Now is a great contemporary fantasy book with a super interesting element which is Sensory Time Warp Syndrome and has great characters that take us on a beautiful, emotional journey.

Thank you to NetGalley, author Sarah Suk, and HarperCollins Children's Books: Quill Tree Books for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for my honest opinion!

I'm so sad that I didn't enjoy this more, as I had really high expectations for this read! I have been really into science fiction lately, and the premise of someone being able to revisit memories sounded so interesting. When Aimee was actually talking about her Sensory Time Warp Syndrome, I thought it was well-done and a fascinating topic for a YA book. I also really enjoyed reading about all the places in Korea that she visited and learning more about her Korean heritage. Even the small romance plot line worked pretty well for how short of time they had to develop it! However, besides the fact that Aimee has a condition that doesn't exist, it would be a STRETCH to call this a "science fiction" book. There's basically no context or world-building of any sort to place this condition in the setting of the book. The book reads like present-day, so it makes this "syndrome" even more confusing to read about. I wish Suk would have leaned more into the backstory of STWS and explained more. I also really did not like the reveal about Aimee's mom, as I thought it came a bit too late in the story for the manner in which it is revealed and handled. This was a quick read that had enjoyable parts, but ultimately, I was let down, as it wasn't quite what I was expecting in terms of a marketed sci-fi book.

sarah suk could write anything and i would read it in an instant and this one definitely did not disappoint!! this was such a fun sci fi travel book and i am definitely adding this to my collection

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk.

✔️ Time travel
✔️ YA fantasy/sci-fi
✔️ Asian lit
✔️ Family drama

Seventeen-year-old Aimee Roh has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS). This is a mysterious condition that transports her to the past when she smells certain scents linked to specific memories. Her father won't talk about it and her mother disappeared two years ago without a trace. It's happened nine times, the longest being ten minutes. Aimee wants to know more about it and find a way to stop/lessen the times she disappears.

The world building was great. I loved diving into Korea. From the food, language, and cultural practices, I could picture everything. Aimee wrote journals about disappearing. She's confused and scared going about her day then poof, she's gone. She's disappeared in front of people and feared getting stuck in a time loop. Life at home with her father wasn't the best, never discussing her condition or her mother. They grew distant once her mother left, and he refused to take her to a doctor.

The characters- Aimee Roh was longing to know what happened to her mother. She wanted to know more about her STWS, so she read forums and even did meetups with other people w/ STWS. Her father James Roh kept telling her it would go away if she tried to make it so. He was in denial and kept so many secrets from Aimee. I loved her aunt Gomo because she made Aimee feel at home cooking for her. I thought Mr. Kim and Junho cared about Aimee more than her father because they talked to her and tried to help find her mother. There was a cute little romance spark between Aimee and Junho. They shared their art with each other-Aimee film photography and Junho illustration of webtoons. I felt sympathy for Aimee and her father because of how Aimee's mother Baek Youngmi treated them. I thought she was just selfish for abandoning her family even if she was unhappy.

Overall, I enjoyed this Asian inspired time travel YA fantasy. It reminded me of the movie Jumper with Hayden Christensen. Aimee didn't have as much fun, but the family relationships were similar.

Rating: 4/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

~•~•~
Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins (Quill Tree Books) for this ARC 🧡! I voluntarily give my honest review and all opinions expressed are my own. Publication date is 10/31/23.

4.25 stars

I had no expectations going into reading this other than that the premise sounded interesting and I loved the cover. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it!

Aimee was a great MC, and she handled situations in a way I would expect a teenager to handle with the little information and agency she had. She is wanting to know more information on her diagnosis and her mother. She makes a last minute decision to book a flight to Korea to stay with her aunt for spring break despite her father’s wishes. She spends time with her aunt in Seoul and also unexpectedly gets to spend time with Junho, her childhood crush. The moments they shared were so cute, and I loved how easily their friendship flowed with open communication and working to trust each other. Their texts to one another were the CUTEST. I loved every moment they shared.

Once her father shows up in Korea as a surprise to her, she is forced to make a decision to share her experiences and feelings with him or continue on their path of isolating one another from their lives. I enjoyed how she discussed the difficulties of speaking with her father and also that he is so reserved. When they reconcile, I found it it be such a real and vulnerable moment for the both of them, especially about Aimee’s mother, why he chose to keep things from her, and his hesitation for her to seek mental health treatment for her STWS diagnosis. He acknowledges that he was raised to look down on mental health treatment, and it really is a great moment between the two of them.

CW: abandonment

The Space Between Here and Now by Sarah Suk, 320 pages. Quill Tree Books (HarperCollins), 2023. $20.
Language: R (30 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
Going back in time sounds like a superpower, but, for Aimee (17yo), it’s a nightmare. Aimee has Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS), which, for her, means that sometimes a smell will send her back in time to watch an old memory, making her physically disappear from the present for an uncontrollable amount of time. But her dad is in denial about the issue, even as the disappearances are starting to occur more frequently. Aimee needs help, and she’s desperate enough to fly halfway around the world to find it.
The story was initially unclear about whether Aimee’s disappearances were mental or physical absences, and the book was more enjoyable once that detail was made clear: the disappearances include a change in her physical location. While Aimee’s condition is fictional, her struggles to talk about and find help for STWS are relatable. She wants to be in control of STWS before she lives her life instead of learning to live with STWS and the ways it might disrupt any given day. The ending is more about closure than solutions, more about mindset than being bestowed with a magical happily ever after.
Aimee, Junho, and their fathers are Korean-Canadian; Nikita is Taiwanese-Canadian; and most of the other characters are either implied Canadian or Korean.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen