Introduction

I hope you’re hungry – today’s book review is absolutely delicious. (Pun extremely intended.) A Spoonful of Time is an adorable middle grade fantasy novel about Maya, a young girl who discovers that her family has the ability to time travel via food. Not just any food – Korean food, the kind that Maya’s Halmunee (grandmother) makes from memory and scratch. I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review – in case you couldn’t already tell, this is another excellent ARC that I’m grateful to have read. Flora Ahn is a fabulous writer and I’m excited she’s shared this story with us! Let’s dive in to what makes it so good below.

The Good Stuff

As I mentioned above, A Spoonful of Time revolves around Maya, a seventh grader living with her Mom and her Halmunee. We join the story shortly after Halmunee comes to live with Maya and her Mom, which is a source of tension between the two adults that Maya isn’t completely sure how to navigate. Maya enjoys spending time with her Halmunee despite the tension – particularly when Halmunee shares memories of her life in Korea. The story really kicks off when Halmunee declares it to be “patbingsu weather” and makes the icy, sweet dessert that enables Maya’s first time travel experience. From there, Maya and her Halmunee travel back in time to visit Halmunee’s various memories of her life in Korea. Although Maya finds balancing time travel with her schoolwork and her relationships with friends surprisingly difficult, she’s eager to learn more about her Halmunee and particularly her mom, who seems would rather forget the past completely.

This is very much a bare-bones description, but it’s because I’m sincerely hoping you’ll pick this book up for yourself! I do not want to spoil the story at all. It’s a delight because of where the story goes, and Ahn’s pacing is very effective in delivering story points at exactly the right time. There’s a couple of wonderful twists and turns that drive themes of family, love, loss, and healing home. As an extra gift, there are recipes sprinkled throughout the book. Reading this will undoubtedly make you hungry, so Ahn has done us a huge favor by including the recipes she talks about throughout the book along with some extremely adorable illustrations.

There are lots of other positive elements to the story outside of the loving homage to how Korean cuisine ties into culture. Maya’s best friend, Jada, is there to support her even when Maya isn’t completely truthful about why she isn’t hanging out as much over the summer. Maya still has to navigate a new grade and the social tensions that come along with it. Jada herself is also navigating a crush on a school project groupmate, which means that when Maya is facing more challenges at home she’s facing them somewhat without her best friend.

There’s lots of love written into this story – casual LGBTQIA+ representation is a high note, particularly in a story made up of mostly characters of color. The biggest thing that I want to mention here too is that Ahn doesn’t shy away from complex family relationships at all and places a major focus on healthy communication between friends and family members as the way to start healing and making those relationships stronger. All of this is done in a context that is a little magical but not overly so for those readers who might enjoy something a little more realistic.

In Summary

This will be a fantastic read for anyone who likes fantasy, time travel, healthy relationships, and/or Korean food. Do yourself a favor and give it a read when it’s published! This book is highly recommended.

A Spoonful of Time is Ahn’s first full-length middle grade novel. Ahn is also the author of chapter book series Pug Pals as well as an Audible Original related to this book, The Golden Orchard. (Links to all of these can be found on Flora Ahn’s website, linked here.) A Spoonful of Time is published by Quirk Books and distributed by Penguin Random House. You can find it on the publisher’s website linked here. As always, gichi miigwech for reading!