Young Adult Book Reviews

Genre: Sci Fi/Realistic Fiction

Sam and her mother, Priscilla, often do not get along because they tend to value different things in life. Priscilla has worked hard as a first generation Korean American to find the American Dream and feel accepted by those around her. Meanwhile, Sam is very modern and doesn’t want to be labeled in any way and wants to be free to just be her, even if that means some people don’t understand her. When Sam is nominated for homecoming queen her mother is over the moon, but this actually leads to a huge fight between the two of them because Sam isn’t sure if she wants to participate in the archaic traditions of Homecoming. Plus, her grandmother is in a coma and although Priscilla and her mom are not close, Sam is surprised how cavalier her mom is about the situation. Sam is very close to her grandmother and is struggling with the fact she has no idea if she’ll ever wake up. After their fight, Sam calls a rideshare service who ends up taking her to the 90s where she can see first hand what her mother and grandmother were like when they were younger and its very eye opening for Sam. Not only are the social norms much more rigid, but there’s a lot Sam didn’t know her mom had to deal with growing up. Can Sam find a way back to her own time in time to make up with her mom and hopefully see her grandmother wake up? Who is the mysterious boy she keeps running into and why does it feel like they have a connection even though they are from different times?

This engaging story says a lot about how much society has changed in the last 30 years, as well as how complicated mother/daughter relationships can be. Sam finding a way to navigate this time is much more than her learning to live without Internet and smart phones. Instead, she finds instances of racism, classicism, bullying, and so much more. She also sees that the grandmother she knows and loves was a lot different when her mother was growing up due to the fact that she was a single mother working day and night to run a dry cleaners in order to keep the bills paid. In the meantime, Priscilla was expected to run the house, maintain good grades, and stay involved at her school. The pressure to succeed was immense for her mom and helps Sam to understand how understanding and supportive her parents actually are. The ending is well explained and very satisfying and most teenagers will find a way to relate to Sam and her struggles.