Maurene Goo

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Yochanan Vered 

To start, I’ll say that I love stories about time travel, so I was pretty sure I’d enjoy this book, but it really managed to exceed my expectations. Maurene Goo set up an interesting premise to showcase intergenerational differences between a mother and daughter - one who is the child of an immigrant and one who is not. In a way, this reads as two coming-of-age stories told from the point of view of one person. While still being a fun teen story, this book delves into the way someone’s upbringing affects how they later raise their children and how first generation Americans and second generation Americans see their cultures differently.

Kweh Quiambao

Thank you Zando Projects for sending me a digital copy of this book! [Full review in my reading journal]

Rating: 4.5 / 5 ⭐️

This book did not blow my mind but it exceeded my expectations. It was not the most intense or the heaviest but the message was delivered. It also wasn't just gimmicky.

Sam from 2025 travelling back to 1995 is a good study on how things have changed. A time when racism was blatant and normal and maybe even cool. As a POC, Sam sees first hand how difficult it was to navigate high school; you are either a "loser" or you become white washed, like Priscilla (Sam's mom).

Other than nitpicking that Sam was a tiny bit the annoying gen z stereotype in the beginning, I have unexpectedly gained appreciation to the progress new generations have made. We are doing great, I think!

Back to the mommy issues, it explains the cycle pretty well. It did not attempt to oversimplify this thing I've been trying to understand my whole life. It did not gaslight me by instilling that the mother had a hard childhood too. 

"It's not your fault your mom doesn't get you. You're doing nothing wrong, okay?" -Sam to Priscilla

As with the ending, it was the right balance of forgiveness and work in progress. I liked how Sam going back changed changed things in 2025 but it did not remove all their unresolved issues.

Oh, and I also really liked the side plot romance! I often never do with stories like this.

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