Tag: Maurene Goo

This Chick Read: Throwback by Maurene Goo

High schooler Samantha Kang is coasting through life. Her high school is culturally diverse and she enjoys the anonymity of her high school scene, although being the girlfriend of a popular guy does put her a little more in the limelight than she’d like. Her mother wants her to care more about her prospects for college and thinks her boyfriend is holding her back, so needless to say their relationship is strife with conflict. A pattern that she see’s repeated between her mom and her grandmother. When Sam and her mom have a big blow-up, leaving Same stranded at the mall she calls for a rideshare service to get her to school in time for her first class. What she doesn’t expect is to be dumped back to the 90’s where she comes face to face with an whited out version of her mother whom she befriends. Her mom, Priscilla, has just been nominated for homecoming queen, something that Sam knows she didn’t win. She thinks that by helping her mother win, she will find her way back to the future.

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!

Click this link to purchase this book!* Throwback

Copyright 2023 The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

*Amazon Associate- if you purchase this book through the above link I’ll receive a small stipend.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads

Friday YA: The Way You Make Me Feel by Maurene Goo

Clara Shin is skimming through life having fun and playing practical jokes until one day at school one of those jokes goes a little too far. In order to get out of being suspended she is forced to work with her arch enemy Rose on her father’s food truck, the KoBra, for the summer, skipping her trip to Tulum with her mom. What starts off as torture turns into a summer of making new friends, discovering a lot about herself, and falling in love. She learns there is more to life than living on the surface. Life’s rewards come from caring deeply about the people around you even if you may run the risk of getting hurt.

At first Clara’s life with her single father dad, Adrian, didn’t seem to have any consequence. He was the cool parent, finding himself a father to a teenager while only 34 years old. Clara wasn’t the only person to grow in this book. Her father also saw that he wasn’t doing his daughter any favors by laughing at her antics. A little discipline, while hard for both of them, ended up proving to be the best thing for both of them, forcing them to deal with feelings that neither of them were comfortable sharing.

Clara’s friendship with Rose grows slowly and is really very sweet. Clara’s prior friends were two boys who egged her on in her unruly behavior. Rose was a very structured person and they ended up being the Yin to the others Yang. Perfect complements to each other. Hamlet, the boy Clara meets while working the food truck is totally different then the other boys she’s used to being around. While movie star handsome, he has an old school charm that makes his personality different than any one else. He is polite and her dad likes him for goodness sake! He pursues Clara and her shy uncertainty with this alien creature was very sweet. I enjoyed their growing relationship and was pleased that this author stayed true to the sweetness of their feelings by not advancing them into adulthood too quickly.

This was my first novel by Maurene Goo and I really liked it. It was so easy to read and I liked the growth all of the characters showed from beginning to end. She delivered her message in a way that didn’t preach, instead showed how Clara’s life improved by allowing herself to feel things. That’s a message that a person at any age can appreciate and understand. This was an Uppercase Box subscription book and was totally worth the money spent. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

The Way You

Click this link to purchase! The Way You Make Me Feel

Copyright 2018 Deborah Kehoe The Reading Chick All Rights Reserved

I am an Amazon Associate and will receive a small stipend if you purchase through the above link.

On By deborahkehoeIn A Hot Chick Who Reads3 Comments