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ju_harue's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Embora seja mais voltado ao público juvenil e recém adulto, não impede que nós, da faixa etária mais velha, goste muito dessa história. Sem dúvida, há reconhecimentos, compreensão e reflexão, seja a idade que tiver.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Xenophobia, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
teabrewer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Dementia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lindsayerin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny
kaynova's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racism, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
arthur_ant18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Body shaming, and Death of parent
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Grief and Death of parent
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Nevertheless, this was an overall really enjoyable story. It's your typical "go back in time to fix my relationship with a parent" type of story, so most of the story was a tad predictable. I did enjoy how Sam gained a new perspective for both her mom and her halmoni. You get that interwoven story of immigration in there, and the way perspectives have changed since the 90s. There was a lot packed in the story, and it made it really easy to read.
There is a slight plot twist in there that I didn't see coming, so I appreciated that! If I remember correctly, Sam is a sophomore, so I was a little confused as to why she was completing college apps? But maybe I'm remembering that incorrectly. Some of the time travel details were also a bit vague, though that's maybe on purpose. Time travel itself is vague.
This would also make a great movie, so movie companies take note! Stop re-making things and make new movies instead. I would watch this in a heartbeat.
Moderate: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
novelty_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Dementia, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Classism