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! ❤️

After getting in an argument with her mom, Korean-American teenager Sam ends up in a ride share that takes her to the 1990's and the life of her mom as a teenager. Although targeted for teens, anyone who grew up in the 90's should get a kick out of this book. I especially loved the mentions of some of the language and references that were used in the 90's that are now considered offensive. A fun book with lots to discuss.

I was excited for this book and it didn’t disappoint. The MC was spoiled but funny and it was interesting seeing the dynamic between her and her mother. Really liked the back in time element and the way the author implemented it. I like the author’s style of writing and will keep an eye out for future work. I definitely would have loved it as a teen and I definitely loved it now. A must read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for the ARC.

This was such a fun book that really spoke to me. Sam travels back in time to the 90s where she befriends her mother as a teenager and tries to understand her mother’s past and it plays a part in why they never get along in the future.

I loved the whole 90s setting and it was funny reading about Sam struggling to live without her cellphone and trying to figure out how to use outdated technology. I also really liked how the story portrays the generational and cultural differences and complicated relationships between Sam and her mom and between her mom and her Korean raised grandmother.

Since this is a young adult book, I think teenagers will really connect with the struggles and misunderstandings between mothers and daughters, but adults may find something in the story they relate to as well.

Samantha Kang has a hard time relating to her mom. Priscilla Kang is a first-generation Korean-American who has bought entirely into the American bougie dream. She’s a lawyer, Sam’s dad a doctor. And now Priscilla wants their family to join a country club. On top of that, she wants to help Sam campaign for homecoming queen.

One day, after a big fight with her mom, Sam finds herself in a rideshare to get to school. But when she gets there, things don’t seem quite right: her phone doesn’t work, her locker won’t open, all the students are wearing old styles, and she doesn’t know any of them. Well, except one — Priscilla Jo. Her perfect mom is now a perfect high school senior. And she’s a candidate for homecoming queen. Sam knows her mom had lost, but she figures maybe she has to help her win this time so Sam can get … back to the future. The ’90s are not somewhere she would like to stay: no cellphones, research done at libraries with weird things called “microfiche,” and casual racism and misogyny.

Complicating matters, too, are the feelings Sam’s developing for a cute and really nice guy. He’s gonna be old when she gets back home, so that’s not good.

At first glance, it seems Sam and Priscilla have nothing in common. But Sam does persuade Priscilla to let her help her campaign, and as the week between her arrival and the night of homecoming progresses, they start to become friends. Sam has an opportunity to begin to understand why her mom is the way she is — both as a teen and as a mom.

Throwback is a really fun and sweet book. I couldn’t help but chuckle at all the issues and things (or lack of things) Sam encounters in the past that throw her for a loop. The romance plot line is cute. And, of course, the heart of the story is the mother-daughter relationship and the opportunity for Sam to appreciate and understand her mom and become closer to her. Maurene Goo also helps readers appreciate the immigrant and second-gen experience. Loved it.

Maurene Goo's THROWBACK was the ultimate read. Sam, the put-upon and fed-up daughter of Tiger Mom Priscilla, goes back in time to the 1990s when her mother was 17 and wanted more than anything to fit into her brave new American world, with all the stereotypical high school joys and challenges of that era. While Sam is desperate to reconnect and create a better relationship with her mother and zoom back to her real life and time, her mission is complicated by meeting the boy of her dreams. The characters were pitch perfect, the dialogue and situations realistic, and the pace just right in an easy-reading, humor-filled, warm story. This is the first book I've read from Maurene Goo and I can't wait to read more. I received a copy of this book and these opinions are my own, unbiased thoughts.

ARC kindly provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

Ever since I read I Believe in a Thing Called Love and Somewhere Only We Know I have loved Maurene Goo's books. When I got the review copy of Throwback I knew I was in for a treat. With a pitch like "Back to the Future meets the Joy Luck Club" how could you not get excited? I was saving this book knowing this would be my next bookish obsession and I was right! I feel a book hangover coming on.

Throwback follows Samantha Kang, a seventeen year old girl who has a rocky relationship with her mother. Where Sam perceives her mom as cold, stoic and obsessed with presenting a good image, Samantha can't help but feel like they are worlds apart. When a fight leads to Sam taking a magical ride share all the way back to 1995, Sam realises that maybe her mom and her have more in common than first thought. She realises that by helping her mom win Homecoming Queen and preventing a fight afterwards between her and her grandmother she can return to her timeline and complete the mission she was brought back in time for.

Admittedly, this book took me a while to get into. I wanted it to be a little more fast paced because it did have a slow build up. The build up was necessary to develop the characters and their backstories but I was just waiting for a bit more action during the first two thirds of the book.

Action aside though, the build up was necessary because it meant we wouldn't be able to connect with Priscilla and Sam otherwise. We were meant to side with Sam of the present and see Priscilla as unreasonable but in all honesty, both characters had their flaws and none of them could be framed as bad, just misunderstood. This was the case when Sam time traveled to when her mom was a teenager where she discovered the girl behind her mom's tough exterior. Sam started understanding her and her mom started understanding her back, discussing how even though they don't understand each other all the time, they still love one another and show this in ways the other may not always understand.

It did take me a while to like Sam to be honest. She always saw her mom as unfair but in the process of showing her mom as such, she seemed that way herself. By the end though, I started to like her. I liked Priscilla, the 1995 throwback version, from the get-go. She seemed tough like her future self but I liked how the closer she and Sam got, the more those layers fell away and we got to see this girl who just wanted to fit in and live out her dreams.

And the ending? The ending made the whole book all the more worth it. I loved every bit about the ending and found it so perfect. If you are a rom-com fan, this will definitely make you swoon and happy grin like I did reading on my iPad. I'm so happy about Priscilla's ending and Sam's ending. I'm giddy just writing about it.

All in all, if you want a feel good book with the kind of 90's vibe you felt like you've been missing, definitely give this book a read. If you're in the mood for a rom-com that's more than just the girl gets the guy with a few shenanigans thrown in the mix, that discusses big themes and has lots of heart, then this one is for you.

ACTUAL RATING: 3.9 STARS

this was cute. very much enjoyed the 90s references, did not enjoy how much they reminded me that I could theoretically could have a high-school aged child. however, despite that, as someone who had a troubled relationship with her mom as a teen, this resonated with me. When I got older and was able to talk to my mom like an adult, I started to understand her better and our relationship improved greatly.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for this eGalley!

A deeply funny and tender coming of age story with a Freaky twist! Teen Samantha is always butting heads with her first-generation Korean American mom. They have different goals and want different things-- for themselves, and for each other. When Sam is sent back to the 90s to attend high school with her teen mom, it becomes clear that they will have to come to some kind of an understanding to get what they each need. As I said this book is very funny-- Goo's Gen X AND Gen Z speak are immaculate!!-- but also a very moving story about mothers, daughters, immigration, and identity.

A huge thank you to NetGalley, Zando Projects, and of course, Maurene Goo for providing me with an eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

This was such a fun, quick read and I enjoyed every minute of it. What a fun throwback to the 90’s, perfect for anyone who wants that dash of nostalgia.

Humorous and with a realistic mother/ daughter dynamic to boot. This was fantastic and I can’t wait to see what others think when it’s out on shelves.

Sweet, charming, funny. A quick, easy read.

I was a little concerned it would fall into the trap of feeling too saccharine sweet and melodramatic, but Goo's writing has energy and character to it that prevents it from the pitfalls of some family-centered YA novels.

Enough 90s references to power a cruise ship, and humor and heart behind every word. Absolutely loved this.

I was surprised at how much this tugged on the heartstrings - with so many YA book featuring absent parents, this one showed the realties of the mother/teen daughter dynamic

What an absolutely fun trip back to the 90's, couched in a gooey feel-good story with a mother-daughter hug cherry right on top. Having grown up in the 90's, it was so fun and interesting to see my world through the lens of a younger MC. The writing was clear and the tone just perfect for our trip back through time. Fantastic supporting characters, wonderful growth arc for both mom and daughter, and a very sweet low-key love story just rounded out this hit for me. Freaky Friday, but better and with better food descriptions. A+.

Brimming with lots of 90s nostalgia, this was such a moving and fun read! This book explores the Korean American experience and the intergenerational effects of immigration in such a heartfelt and genuine way. I couldn’t put this book down and found it to be cute and straight up hilarious.

Sam has a fraught relationship with her mom, Priscilla. Sam feels like she doesn’t understand her mom, and feels frustrated by what her mom wants vs what she wants. After a massive fight between them, Sam finds herself thrown back in time, with her 17 year old mom. She learns that she has to help her mom win homecoming queen, which will help repair her relationship with her mom before she can return back to the present day. Along the way, she learns a lot about her mom, love, and 90s fashion.

Maurene Goo writes the characters in such an authentic way. You cannot help but fall in love with Sam, Priscilla, Jamie, Sam’s Halmoni, Aunt Grace, and the whole cast of characters along the way! I loved the mother/daughter relationship and how it evolves over the course of the book. The family theme is strongly embedded throughout the story, particularly cross-generational relationships. I appreciated Sam’s journey learning about her mom’s experience, which gave her so much more empathy and understanding in the present. It also felt very genuine to see how Gen Z would react to the 90s.

Overall, this is a such an endearing and entertaining book for any generation! Thanks to Zando Young Readers and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

I wanted to like this book more than I did... I didn't care for the main character or her mother very much. So, while the time travel bit was interesting, it wasn't new; at least, it wasn't until two-thirds of the way through the book, by which time I'd spent too much time wishing the story was over. So it wasn't enough to salvage the story for me.

Thank you to Maurene Goo, Zando and NetGalley for an advance review copy.

Thank you to Zando and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This is a story that takes you back, like "Back to the Future", a fun read, my first time reading from this author, and when I got the chance to read this book, Thanks to NetGalley, the cover got me curious and so glad to have read it!! A Fun read!!. It's a great story about mother-daughter relationships and how we see things differently.

Definitely pick it up!! It will not disappoint!!

I really enjoyed this book. I think this will really resonate with daughters and mothers who struggle to understand each other.

I loved the nostalgia that this book brought to the table, with family relationships being the main focus. Thanks again to NetGalley and Zando Young Readers (Zando Projects) for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for feedback.

I loved every single second of this story and the nostalgia that came with it! If you love Back to the Future and the wild adventures that Marty goes on to change certain events in the past to reflect in his future, then you will LOVE Maurene Goo’s latest book! After having a fight with her mom, Samantha Kang ends up time traveling in a rideshare and gets stuck in the ‘90s. She has to help her teenage mother win homecoming queen to fix an event that happened in the future and figure out how get back home to her current timeline. What Sam finds out along the way could help her learn about her family, how to change attitudes/outlooks during that time, and deal with a current crush on a guy named Jamie (who has a secret of his own… 🤔). I have loved reading many books by Maurene Goo and can’t wait to get this copy in my hands to add to my forever shelf! Plus, I freaked out a couple of times when a certain K-pop group was mentioned 🤗💜🎶7️⃣