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Back to the Future meets When You Reach Me in this powerful novel by National Book Award nominee Lisa Graff, in which a young girl is able to make sense of the present—and change her future—by meeting her father in the past.

As far as twelve-year-old McKinley O’Dair is concerned, the best thing about living in Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, is the Time Hop—the giant party the town throws every June to celebrate a single year in history. That one day is enough to make the few things that aren’t so fantastic about McKinley’s life—like her crabby homeroom teacher or her super-scheduled father—worth suffering through. And when McKinley learns that this year’s theme is 1993, she can’t wait to enter the Time Hop fashion show with a killer '90s outfit she’s designed and sewn all on her own. But when the Time Hop rolls around, nothing goes as planned. In fact, it’s the biggest disaster of McKinley’s life.

Before she knows what’s hit her, McKinley somehow finds herself in the real 1993—and it’s not all kitschy parachute pants and Jurassic Park . All McKinley wants is to return to the present, but before she can, she’s going to have to make a big change—but which change is the right one?

This humorous and heartfelt novel about destiny and self-discovery shines a poignant light on the way life could play out—if a person is given a chance to rewind.

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 22, 2023

26 people are currently reading
3028 people want to read

About the author

Lisa Graff

21 books503 followers
Lisa Graff is the critically acclaimed and award-winning author of the National Book Award nominee A Tangle of Knots, as well as Lost in the Sun, Absolutely Almost, Double Dog Dare, Umbrella Summer, The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower, The Thing About Georgie and Sophie Simon Solves Them All. Originally from California, she lived for many years in New York City and now makes her home just outside of Philadelphia.

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Displaying 1 - 30 of 100 reviews
Profile Image for Stephanie Fitzgerald.
1,199 reviews
September 30, 2023
A fun romp of a time-travel book, for middle-grade readers! ( I’m 54, and I loved it!)
What an absolutely clever idea, to have a small town celebrate a different year in history, every year, with a “Time Hop” day! The former teacher in me was thinking this could be a wonderful idea for a writing assignment, or maybe even an end-of-school year fun day idea!
Profile Image for Anne.
423 reviews21 followers
November 8, 2023
What a hoot and a delight! This book is written for a middle grade audience, but I think their moms who came of age in the 90s will enjoy it even more. In 2018 middle schooler McKinley is beyond excited for this year's annual Time Hop, a town event held at her school that celebrates a year in history with fashion shows, food, movies, historical sketch shows and more. She is just putting the finishing touches on her perfect 1993 outfit that she designed and sewed by herself, when her overly routine-loving and inflexible, no-fun dad tells her she has to miss the fashion show to take care of her grandma. She sneaks out to do it anyway, but then everything goes wrong: she has a big fight with her best friend, and in the middle of the fashion show her dad comes in and yells at her for having gone against his instructions. She runs off in anger and embarrassment and suddenly find herself suddenly transported to the *actual* 1993, where her dad is a middle schooler at the same school, and her best friend's mom Jackie is one of his classmates. Working with Jackie (a most delightfully kooky character), she tries to figure out what she needs to "fix" in order to get back to her present timeline - and she thinks it must be her dad, who is a bit of a jerk as a middle schooler, nothing like the uptight guy she knows in 2018... and she's also got to figure out a way to make sure she doesn't mess up things (time travel butterfly effect and all) to not erase her best friend from the future so that she can go back and make up for their fight - seeing that in middle school Jackie is 100% grossed out by the boy who becomes her husband in McKinley's 2018 life.

It's a fun middle grade read with spunky characters and some good lessons about trying to understand where people are coming from, learning to be a good friend, and having the right intentions - but it's also a super fun and quick read for grownups who love 90s nostalgia (so many delightful references to childhood loves like Dunkaroos and having all of the episodes of Saved by the Bell recorded on VHS, and naming all of the chapter titles the titles of 90s songs, that probably go over the heads of kids actually). Also in a way great for fans of Emma Straub's This Time Tomorrow with this father/daughter relationship and gaining new understanding of oneself/one's familial relationships by seeing a younger version of a parent and thus seeing them as more of a full person, not just as parent. 4.5 stars
Profile Image for Kate McMurry.
Author 1 book124 followers
March 6, 2025
Entertaining, time-travel, middle-grade novel

I won't bother summing up the plot here, because the publisher's blurb attached to this listing does a good job at that, except for one central issue that I disagree with. I don't recall, having lived through the '90s myself, that there was a recognizable style of fashion in that era that people of all ages and backgrounds adhered to. In specific, all of the children at my daughter's public middle school, both boys and girls, wore unisex jeans and t-shirts. They weren't expected to wear that, it was just the most affordable and comfortable clothing available. It still is. A universal, socially-mandated style of clothing seems to have vanished forever from Western culture after the hippie era of the '60s and early '70s. Yes, of course, contemporary soap operas on TV and contemporary movies, which focus on the exorbitantly wealthy elites of society, who can afford pricey, designer clothing, employ talented costume designers to clothe the actors in particular styles of clothing, which pertain to specific eras. But the vast majority of us, who have been raised in the middle and lower classes, have neither the time, money, nor inclination to follow the dictates of snooty fashion designers.

This is a G-rated children's book suitable for all ages. It is not nearly as funny as Gordon Korman's comic, MG novels, but it works fairly well as an entertaining, grade-school-level homage to the movie, Back to the Future.
Profile Image for TheNextGenLibrarian.
2,963 reviews113 followers
August 27, 2023
Back To the Future meets When You Reach Me in this MG time travel book.
💿
McKinley O’Dair loved living in Gap Bend where every year the town throws a Time Hop party in June to celebrate a particular year in history. This year they’re celebrating 1993 and she can’t wait to walk the Time Hop fashion show she designed and created herself. But when McKinley is actually transported back to 1993, she realizes in order to get back to her time period she’s going to have to make a change. And that change might involve her dad, who is 10 years old in the past!
🕶️
What an adorable novel that deals with lots of important topics surrounding friendship, families, and growth. This is a great one for kids to read with their parents, as many of us lived through the 90s and can have great conversations with kids about what McKinley experiences. Out now!

CW: stroke, misogyny & racism due to the time period

Cute. Nothing that particularly stood out to me though and it was hard to read the obnoxious boys’ sayings from the 90s even though I know many talked like that. Some diversity conversations would have been great here.
Profile Image for Carrie.
2,635 reviews60 followers
January 16, 2024
This book is a lot of fun! The time travel works well enough, there are great characters that experience growth throughout the book, and everything comes together neatly in the end. Sometimes with throwback books, the jokes and references feel more for the adults than the kids, but that didn't feel like the case here. The way McKinley interacted with the 90s culture was funny and informative and will work for today's kids even if they don't have any frame of reference. I also like the way McKinley didn't shy away from pointing out some of the problematic racism and microaggressions of the past. It's doesn't take over the plot, but it does make the reader briefly pause and reflect. Now if you need me, I'll be looking for my Koosh ball and eating Fruit by the Foot...
Profile Image for Keri.
154 reviews3 followers
November 27, 2023
Such a fun read! Bonus stars because of all the fun references to 1993 which was the year I was a freshman in high school. And how can you go wrong when the chapter titles are all 90s songs?! Plus the table of contents is a playlist of those songs. ❤️ 🎶 And also it’s somewhat hilarious that all of those clothing styles have come back and are so hot right now! 😂
Profile Image for Jennifer.
414 reviews
September 2, 2023
Read ebook. Cute and fun middle grade book that gave me total back to the future vibes! Time traveling back to the
90s threw in some great nostalgia, and time travel is always a favorite of mine. I don’t read much middle grade so clearly this read young but was enjoyable.
51 reviews2 followers
January 23, 2024
I found this book randomly searching for some audio to knit with. I loved everything about this book and recommend it to any one of all ages.
Profile Image for Ms. Yingling.
3,923 reviews605 followers
April 25, 2023
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

N.B. I LOVED this book. It had so many good details, and it made me cry. And look at that cover! However, I managed to delete the E ARC before I wrote the review, so I didn't have some crucial information, like the name of Meg's mom. My apologies for the fuzzy quality of my details. You need to read this book!

It's 2018 and the town of Gap Bend, Pennsylvania is getting ready for it's yearly Time Hop. This time, the town is focusing on 1993, and McKinley O'Dair is ready! With the help of her best friend, Meg, her grandmother, and her Aunt Connie, she has sewn a fanastic costume and is looking forward to being in the fashion competition. Meg is more interested in the trivia tam that both girls are on, but McKinley is tired of that and wants the two to find another activity in which to be involved. When McKinley's overworked and somewhat hidebound father has to work on the day of the competition, he tells McKinley that she will have to miss it in order to make sure that her grandmother gets her medication. Her grandmother, who is only 65, had a stroke when her father was about McKinley's age, and while she does a great job compensating, still is in a wheelchair and faces a lot of health challenges. McKinley and Meg decide to go to the festival anyway, and manage to run afoul of Mr. Jones, a teacher who has been around forever. Meg's mom locks him in a closet, and the next thing McKinley knows, she is back in 1993. She meets an obnoxious boy, Billy, whom she is mortified to find out is her father, and his best friend, Ron, who is equally obnoxious and Meg's father! Meg's mother tells her parents that McKinley is an exchange student who will be staying with them, and since it's 1993, they don't ask a lot of questions. The time hop in 1993 was highlighting 1939. Meg's mom does some research and realizes that Mr. Jones time traveled from 1969 into the past, and a blurry picture of him appears in a news article from the time to which he traveled. The girls contact him, and he is most concerned about hiding McKinley away until she can return safely to her own time without changing anything in 1993. Me'g mom realizes that there are a number of teens who had time traveled (thank you, microfiche newspaper!), and they seem to be fine. McKinley decides that the reason she time traveled was to help her father. She is so happy to meet her grandmother when she is young and healthy, and the two work on costumes for the 1939 play together. McKinley tries to talk to her father and make him less of a jerk; jerky boys in 1993 are a whole different ballgame, and she tries to introduce some diversity and inclusion sensitivity to the era of parachute pants. Will she be able to accomplish something in 1993 in order to return to her own time? And will her life be any different?
Strengths: I adore time travel books, and this had some really great features. An entire town celebrating a year in the past? Multiple children time traveling and getting written up in the newspaper? Meeting one's family and friends thirty years in the past? Trying to change things? Yes, yes, yes! Definitely my favorite Graff novel, right ahead of her 2015 Lost in the Sun. The characters were particularly well developed and engaging; the father read like a 1990s drama dad (think Beverly Hills 90210), there's a little friend drama with Meg and McKinley, the grandmother and her friend Connie are fantastic, and Meg's mom was perfect. She knew about the time travel in the present but never said anything, which is just mindblowing. I also enjoyed that there really wasn't a particularly strong motivator for the time travel, and there's not really much different with her father when McKinley returns; it's more that she gains a new understanding of herself and of her father. Throw in a lot of name dropping of popular candy, descriptions of fashion, and chapter headings that are a play list of popular songs (including Weird Al's Jurassic Park from Alapalooza!), and this is an absolute winner. Buy it for today's kids whose parents grew up in the 1990s, and attempt to keep it for 30 years for the next generation. Better yet, buy two-- one to circulate and one to keep for later!
Weaknesses: I'm not sure how it would fit into the story, but it would have been good to have some explanation as to why Billy and Ron were able to act in such horrendous ways. Having lived through the time, I know that this was behavior that occurred. Even if it wasn't really acceptable behavior, there were more people who acted like this and got away with it. Young readers could use some background, but since many of their parents would have been in middle school in 1993, perhaps this can start some family conversations. Also, while I had a friend who had a stroke at 40, I would have liked to see the grandmother, who is roughly my age, in better health! Of course, it was poignant when McKinley was able to see the more vibrant version of her grandmother, so I'll forgive it. (Maybe I'm just in awesome shape for my age?)
What I really think: Until I can successfully travel back to 1980 and convince my 15 year old self to major in the hard sciences or business management, I will continue to love middle grade time travel books.
Have to pair this with Eulberg's The Best Worst Summer (set partly in 1989), and I'm sure that there will be a lot more 1990s nostalgia coming from these young whippersnapper authors!
Profile Image for Becky.
6,175 reviews304 followers
September 14, 2023
First sentences: In most ways, Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, was just like any other small town.

Premise/plot: Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, has a tradition of hosting a 'Time Hop' community event. McKinley O'Dair is super excited. This year the Time Hop will be celebrating all things 1993. She realizes--foreshadowing--that 1993 was the year her father was her age.

After an explosive argument with her father--in which she runs away at the Time Hop--she finds herself traveling back in time. She's IN the "real" 1993. Her father is her own age. And she is clueless as to how to return to 2018.

My thoughts: I wanted to love, love, love this one. I didn't love it. I will try to share why I personally didn't love this one so that you can make up your own mind as to if this is one you'd be interested in picking up and reading for yourself.

What I liked: I liked the premise of time travel. I LOVE the premise of time travel. I seek out time travel books like they're candy. I was super excited about the premise of this one. The fact that she'd be able to "get to know" her father when he was her own age was intriguing. It had potential.

The chapter titles are song titles. I wasn't familiar with most of these songs, but, it could make a good side project for those that love music OR that love quests in general. Not having listened to these songs, I'm not sure if the song lyrics themselves have anything at all to do--themes? tones?--with the plot of the book. Perhaps they do. Maybe they don't. I will say that the characters themselves don't really talk music--artists, songs--all that often (if at all). (And when they do bring up a song title, I *think* it was a song actually released in 1997. Granted, perhaps the Backstreet Boys only covered "Hey Mr DJ Keep Playing That Song". But any internet search showed that the Backstreet Boys as the artist and the 1997 as the year it released.)

What I didn't like: I found almost all the characters (except McKinley's grandma) insufferable. I truly found them so incredibly annoying and obnoxious. The characters in 2018 and the characters in 1993--both were so unlikable that even the premise of time travel didn't really keep me loving the book. McKinley, our main character, was SO full of it. I just couldn't stand her smugness. And I don't think she was purposefully written to be smug. She wasn't the only annoying character, but, she was the one readers never got away from.

One thing that definitely bothered me was that every single character was disrespectful, rude, unkind, bully-ish. All the conversations McKinley and Jackie had in the past were SO rude and obnoxious. The way they treated others. The way they treated each other.

Profile Image for Danielle.
141 reviews4 followers
June 17, 2024
Rewind is a middle-grade novel about a 12-year-old girl who time travels to 1993 and has to figure out how to play the game to get home.

Things You'll Find:
*Way too many 2010s references*
*Pretty awful kids*
*Not so subtle dialogue*

Traveling back in time is supposed to be fun, right? It’s 2018 and in 12-year-old Mckinley O' Dair is excited about the Time Hop festival. But Mckinley’s day takes a turn for the worse and she ends up humiliated in front of the whole town. Through a series of unfortunate events, Mckinley actually ends up back in 1993. From there, she has to figure out how to get back to her own time. The comp title on this is pretty accurate, it's very Back to the Future. Graff totes the line between contemporary and historical realism in this time-travel journey. This novel’s language is geared toward 3rd-5th grade readers. The third-person narration is snarky, yet spirited, and colorful descriptions embolden each character, bringing them to life on the page.

However, Graff struggles with creating an immersive version of 1993. Anytime she would describe something around McKinley once she time traveled, whether it was clothes, a place, or an item, I struggled to picture it. Instead, it felt like the ploy to hook readers was a slew of references from the 2010s. We get mentions of Pokemon Go, the Incredibles 2, and just a bunch of really random things that felt out of place when they came up. It read a lot like an adult trying to throw out a bunch of kid's stuff to try to relate to them. Anti-bullying, anti-racism, and self-reflection themes play out more like a retro after-school special than a fully fleshed-out story as Graff drops textbook definitions into clunky dialogue. At one point, McKinley dives into a convo about "microaggressions" and while I get that today's kids are a little more progressive than those of the past, I somehow doubt a bunch of 12-year-olds are sitting around sneaking that into their everyday, nonchalant conversations. Subtlety is not something this book has.

I also just couldn't stand any of the characters, other than Grandma Bev. McKinley is assuming, forceful, and obstinate, and even though she's supposed to be that way, she's hard to like and root for. Even by the end of the book, I'm not sure she genuinely learned a lesson, or if she's just going to be better today. Her father is also (in kid and adult form) the worst and so are Jackie and Ron. They're all just really mean kids! Mr. Jones is nuts and not in a fun Dr. Emmett way. Overall, this book might resonate with someone with its theme of self-awareness, but if you're looking for a fun time travel story, maybe choose a different book or just pop in Back to the Future.
Profile Image for Caroline.
1,886 reviews23 followers
September 7, 2023
I was surprised to realize this is the first novel I've read by Lisa Graff because her name is so beloved in kidlit. After reading Rewind, I can understand why.

This book was a lot of fun and had a perfect balance of paying homage to other time travel stories and adding to the genre. McKinley O'Dair is the bossy main character of my dreams. She is confident she knows what is best, and is always happy to push people into the direction she thinks they should go. On the day of her town's Time Hop celebration -- a town event where her community picks a year in history and goes all out with costumes, decorations, and activities -- she is most excited to compete in a fashion show where she can show off her 1993 inspired fashion designs. But her plans are disrupted when her rigid, order-obsessed father, a single dad, asks her to stay home to help her grandmother who is partially paralyzed from a stroke. McKinley decides that instead, she'll sneak her grandma with her to the Time Hop, where everything goes wrong. In the midst of a fight with her best friend, Meg, and an imminent grounding from her dad, McKinley is transported back in time to 1993. In the 90s, she encounters younger versions of the adults in her life and is surprised to discover that the kid version of her dad is an angry prankster and that Meg's mom is a nasty bully.

This book is a lot of fun, with 90s nostalgia on every page and recurring hints that time travel is maybe not so unusual for residents of Meg's town. A quick read that is approachable and heartfelt with a fun dose of sci-fi.
109 reviews
January 29, 2024
3.5

Fast-paced read. Clever “play list” chapter titles. The themes are middle grade appropriate and well handled, though the book gets a little preachy and overly woke at times, sometimes with no explanation or plot reason (ie. using a character from 2018 to call out issues from the culture of the 90s or 30s - sometimes with no background or information given), though I appreciate literature trending toward inclusivity and discussion, it can sometimes go too far in one direction if it becomes distracting from the book and plot.

The time travel and 90s nostalgia was fun, especially the focus on fun foods and costumes. Though sometimes it did seem to pander to adults and not middle graders. I appreciated the character growth, though the book did take me a little bit to hook me as I wasn’t very invested in any of the characters at first. Many plot points also seemed too convenient and didn’t provide enough of an explanation. I am intrigued by how time travel works in the novel, though not sure I’m satisfied with the explanation and I have a lot of questions.

Overall, it was a cute MG read about friendships and acceptance, it’s worthwhile if you don’t over-analyze it.

Minor Spoiler: I was very put off by her father and the expectations he puts on his 12 year old daughter. He expects her to fully prepare and cook their dinner and to provide medical care for her grandmother. I’m sure this is normal for some families, but I’ve not encountered it. The ending explains his need for “schedules” but it doesn’t explain why the burden should be put on McKinley.
Profile Image for Katie Reilley.
1,028 reviews41 followers
July 25, 2023
I received an advanced copy at ALAAC23.

Time travel fans: this one’s for you!
Twelve year old McKinley lives in Gap Bend, Pennsylvania, where each June, a giant party called the Time Hop is thrown to celebrate a single year in history. This year’s theme? The year 1993.
But when McKinley suddenly finds herself in the REAL 1993, she’s shocked to discover so much she never understood about her family & friends’ pasts.

I LOVED that introduction included a playlist for 1993, and that each chapter was a song title from that year. Also loved the 1993 references (Saved by the Bell, Jurassic Park, VHS tapes - Be kind. Rewind).

With themes of family, friendship, and self-discovery, I can’t wait to see the final copy when it publishes August 22, 2023. Pre-order now!


Favorite lines:
6: As McKinley’s dad liked to say, “A struggle is simply an opportunity to find a creative solution.”

132: “I don’t think you can ever really know if what you’re doing is the right thing or not,” Jackie said…”So what you gotta do now is ask yourself if you’re more afraid of doing something wrong - or of not doing something right.”

150-151: “Not mentioning the bad stuff, doesn’t make it go away,” McKinley had explained. “It just makes it so kids like us don’t know what really happened. And talking about the awful stuff doesn’t mean you can’t talk about the good stuff that happened that year, too.”
Profile Image for Corene.
1,398 reviews
June 12, 2025
Time travel middle grade book that starts in 2018 with twelve year old McKinley. Her small town celebrates a different year in time annually, and this year it’s 1993.

While McKinley leans into making the costumes of that era, she also copes with a father who needs her to take on the responsibility of her grandmother, who lives with the after effects of a long ago stroke.

After a fight with her best friend and also disobeying her dad who told her not to attend this year’s festivities because her grandmother needed her, McKinley suddenly finds herself in 1993. There she meets Jackie, her best friend’s mom, along with her own dad and Jackie’s future husband, all of them in middle school in 1993.

McKinley must learn some lessons before she gets herself back to her own time, and in standard time travel fashion worries about the space time continuum and affecting the future. A cute book for the intended age group, and interested adults who remember the ‘90s. I listened to the audio edition, which was well performed.
Profile Image for Darla.
4,820 reviews1,225 followers
December 11, 2023
While celebrating the year 1993 at Time Hop Day in Gap Bend, PA, McKinley finds she has time travelled back to that same year -- from 2018. And she finds herself face to face with her father as a bratty 12-year-old. Talk about culture shock! McKinley figures she must have a mission. Change her father? Make sure her best friend's parents fall in love so Meg can be born? There are others who have time-travelled before her and they have varied philosophies. Should she avoid any interactions or forge ahead and rock the boat? By the time McKinley is back in 2018 she might just find that the person who changes the most is herself. If you loved the 90's, you might find this nostalgic bit of a time capsule to be rewind therapy. Lisa Graff has a customized playlist you can listen to on her website -- a song for each chapter. My favorite = "What Is Love" by Haddaway. Are you nodding along right now? 🎶
Profile Image for Diane.
7,285 reviews
June 26, 2024
“Anyone could change, really, as long as they were allowed to do it their own way.”

The town of Gap Bend, Pennsylvania celebrates what they call a “Time Hop” every year. Each year they celebrate a different time. This year, it’s 1993 and McKinley is stoked because she knows that her costume this year is the best. But after a big fight with her best friend Meg, and a humiliating experience thanks to her Dad, McKinley finds herself back in 1993. Now, all the adults in her current life are 12 again, including her father who is kind of a jerk. She also meets her best friend’s mother, Jackie, who believes immediately when McKinley tells her she has traveled through time. What’s that about? At least McKinley gets to see her Grandma Bev before the stroke and see how amazing she is. But how is McKinley going to get back home? And what happens if she “steps on a butterfly” in the past and changes her future.
Profile Image for Alexa Hamilton.
2,483 reviews24 followers
November 25, 2025
What happens if McKinley gets sent back in time to the 90s at the Time Hop? Will she meet her dad? Her best friend's mom? Her grandma?! What could go wrong...well, just about everything including the fact that she reveals she's a time traveler from the beginning. But Jackie, who will eventually become her best friend's mom, if so helpful, it's like she's always expected McKinley to show up.

It turns out, the Time Hop is a constant spot for time travel and there's a whole subplot with a mean teacher that adds some stress. But it's really about learning about people as kids, learning people's whole stories to help understand growing up and changing--because in the present, McKinley and her best friend are growing and changing, and McKinley doesn't want them to grow apart. She gets the gift of time to think and grow while she time travels. A little too well packed up at the end, but who doesn't love a chance to head back to the 90s?
Profile Image for Donna.
1,652 reviews
Read
August 14, 2023
DRC from Edelweiss and Penguin Random House
A time travel story with a twist. McKinley loves living in the small town of Gap Bend. She especially loves the Time Hop party the town celebrates each year. What she doesn't realize, because those who have gone before her haven't said anything, is that this year is going to be different. In more ways than one. When she gets into a fight with her best friend Meg and then is embarrassed by her father, she ends up in the bathroom with Meg's mother. Then she wakes up and finds herself in the past - when her father was a just 10 years old. What follows is adventure, frustration, and the quest to get back to the present.
There is a lot of character growth along with some self realization and the knowledge that we don't always have to change people, just learn to adapt with them.
Profile Image for Megan.
2,065 reviews
September 4, 2023
McKinley is so excited to have designed her costume for the town’s annual Time Hop celebration. This year, the theme is 1993! But then when she is at the festival, she gets more than she bargained for when she actually gets sent back in time to 1993. The question is, why did she get sent back in time and how can she return to 2018?

I was first intrigued by this book because McKinley is 12 years old in 1993, and so was yours truly for the first 8 months of that year. The chapters are all songs I remember listening to on the radio way back when, and there is a lot of name-dropping of candies/snacks that I haven’t thought about in decades as they have faded from existence. Also, nice touch putting in the stuff about Jurassic Park, that movie got so much media coverage it was all anyone heard about for months…
Profile Image for WKPL Children's/YA Books.
389 reviews10 followers
October 23, 2023
Miss Lori grabbed this book directly from the delivery box (right from the book distributor). I LOVE time travel stories! This travel takes place in 1993 when a young girl (McKinley) is transported back in time, to her dad's middle school! The main character fusses a bit about her town, her school, her super-scheduled dad but when she is thrown back in time and she meets kids who are adults in her own time frame she begins to understand a bit about why things are the way they are.

Rules of time travel can mean you shouldn't do anything that might impact your reality when you "get back to your own time". McKinley isn't sure what to do about those rules. All she wants is to get back "home" with her friends and family intact.

Read this fun story to find out what happens! A good read for middle school children (and their parents!)
Profile Image for Anne.
1,866 reviews1 follower
April 2, 2024
I refuse to categorize this as "historical fiction" even though McKinley time travels. 1993 is too soon.
This title will definitely appeal more to the girls than the boys. I would describe it as a girl version of "Back to the Future" for middle school. It's actually really fun and cute and is an excellent book about being a good friend.

The reason it doesn't have a higher rating is because Graff just has to put in how people in 1993 are uncouth for using the word "stupid" when one kid is bullying another. (I've heard children use much stronger words today when they are bullying others). She has McKinley preach about "microaggressions" to Jackie, which is only talked about in a paragraph but it is out of nowhere and takes you out of the story. And on the second to last page, Billy takes the Lord's name in vain.

Found in L4M OT Volume 110.
Profile Image for Kelsey.
202 reviews2 followers
January 19, 2024
Strong Back to the Future vibes!

It's an enjoyable middle-grade book featuring lively characters and valuable lessons on empathy, friendship, and good intentions. While designed for younger readers, it also serves as a delightful and quick read for adults who have a fondness for 90s nostalgia. The book is filled with charming references to childhood favorites like Dunkaroos and the VHS-recorded episodes of Saved by the Bell. The chapter titles, named after 90s songs, add an extra layer of nostalgia that may be appreciated more by grownups than by kids. From an adult perspective I could appreiciate the exploration of father-daughter relationship dynamics and how one can gain new insights into oneself and familial connections by witnessing a younger version of a parent, thus perceiving them as a more complete individual rather than just a parent.
Profile Image for Kelsey.
942 reviews
January 26, 2024
This was a fun book with Back To the Future vibes except make it 90s.

The small town of Gap Bend, PA, has a Time Hop each year where a different year is celebrated on a June day. This year is a flashback to 1993, and McKinley is excited about the costume she has sewn for the fashion show. When her dad tells her he has to work and she cannot go because she must stay on a routine to give her grandmother (who has had a stroke) medicine, she is determined to still find a way to go despite her stick-to-routine father. While there, something happens and she finds herself in 1993.

I read this book solely on the cover, and it did not disappoint! Great selection for middle grade readers - or parents who were kids in the 90s!
Profile Image for Shelley.
2,508 reviews161 followers
February 20, 2024
12 year old McKinley loves her town's annual Time Hop event, where every year brings to life a different year in the history of the town. This year is 1993, and somehow she has time hopped from the pretend 1993 to the real one, and has to figure out how to get home. I adore the premise so much, but this didn't really work for me--mostly because I didn't like McKinley and how holier-than-thou she was. The 1993 middle school experience felt very familiar to mine, and I absolutely am glad that to see that kind of casual cruelty fall to the wayside, but it really did feel like McKinley didn't see bullying or flaws in the present, and ha, that is so not the case. But I guess that is part of her story arc, I just didn't really see any changes with her!

Profile Image for Ms. B.
3,749 reviews76 followers
November 30, 2024
Back to the Future for Gen Z. In this Back to the Future like story, McKinley travels from 2018 back to 1993, the same year her father and best friend's parents were sixth graders. Can McKinley right the wrongs of the past to make the future better for all? Or will her well-intended but ill-received attempts leave her without a future to return to?
If you grew up in or loved the 1990s or like a good time travel story, you'll enjoy this latest book by Lisa Graff.
Profile Image for Yapha.
3,274 reviews106 followers
September 10, 2023
I love time travel books and this was a great one!! My only quibble is personal -- it's hard to wrap my head around how far back 1993 seemed to McKinley. And, yes, math tells me it was 30 years ago, but still...

McKinley travels from 2018 back to 1993 and ends up hanging out with her dad and her best friends parents. She has some interesting revelations as she sees what life was like back then, and how her father and his friends acted. The biggest question throughout is whether she was sent back to change things or to make sure that they stay the same. An interesting conundrum. Highly recommended for grades 4 & up.
Profile Image for Sarah.
1,147 reviews
September 20, 2023
I had to read this because I was so appalled that my beloved genre time travel now had someone time traveling, straight up like Back to the Future, to the 1990s. What?! I cannot be that old. That cannot be that far in the past. That cannot be like Marty McFly going to the Enchantment Under the Sea dance. But it was!!
I enjoyed the 90s fashion details and especially a child of now experiencing life pre cell phone. Insight into the adults she knows (including her dad) was good, though not resolved enough for me. I especially enjoyed her investigations into if this had happened before (that annual Time Hop event is just asking for it.)
Great intro to time travel for a younger audience.
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