how does a family memory taste?

Maya’s life just got more complicated. While she’s trying to keep up with her schoolwork and her friends, now her grandmother is moving in. Maya’s Korean grandmother, who she calls Halmunee, is struggling with her memory. She forgets things sometimes and gets tired easily. And it’s up to Maya to help watch her because her mother is working a lot. So it’s Maya who is left home with Halmunee, to make sure she stays safe.

One summer day, when Maya is too hot to do much except lay on a bamboo mat to cool down, Halmunee says that it’s patbingsu weather. Maya is confused because it’s much too hot to cook. But as Halmunee starts to gather the ingredients and goes to dig something out of the garage, Maya goes to help and discovers that patbingsu is a delicious dish of shaved ice with red beans and fruits and condensed milk.

Maya is excited to learn more about Korean food, as her mother is usually too tired to cook when she gets home from work. And the patbingsu is so tasty! What else could Maya be missing?

But when Halmunee takes Maya’s hand as they’re eating, Maya finds herself not just lost in her patbingsu but lost in time. She is in another place, watching a young girl eat patbingsu. As Maya looks around, she realizes that she is in Korea, and based on the fashion she sees, it’s many years ago. She must be seeing her mother eat patbingsu with her grandmother, but this was when her mother was very young, younger than Maya is now. Maya can hardly believe what she’s seeing, and before she knows it, she’s back in her own home, in her own time.

Maya has so many questions for Halmunee, but her grandmother will only tell her so much. As the weeks go on, Maya finds her cooking more often, and sometimes those dishes will bring back a memory for Halmunee and she will take Maya back to another time. Maya loves these times, because not only does she get to taste more delicious homemade Korean food, but she also gets to know more about her family.

On one of her trips through time, Maya meets a boy around her age, Jeff. She talks to him, and he says that the next time they meet up, he’ll teach her more about the time traveling. But as much as Maya learns about her family and their ability to time travel, the more questions she has. But with Halmunee’s memory deteriorating, and her mother working so much, will Maya be able to get the answers she craves, or will she stay hungry for more?

A Spoonful of Time is the latest book from Flora Ahn, and it is a celebration of family and food. Maya gets a chance to learn more about her Korean heritage through the food she cooks with Halmunee, and we all get the chance to share in that, as there are several recipes included with the story. These characters are interesting and complicated, and the family relationships are multi-dimensional as well. There is a lot of love, but there are secrets keeping them apart also. There is a lot going on in this story.

I really enjoyed A Spoonful of Time. I was surprised at the depth that Ahn was able to accomplish in a short time with this book. The time travel element brings a lot of drama to Maya’s story and eventually takes a big twist that caught me completely by surprise. I love the recipes, complete with Maya’s notes and drawings. And I appreciated the way I got to learn more about Korean culture through the food, the stories, and the family bonds. The time travel element makes this one a better read for more mature readers (not unlike A Wrinkle in Time), but for those readers ready to take on a challenging book, they will be very lucky to find themselves in Maya’s world and all the places she travels to.

Galleys for A Spoonful of Time were provided by Quirk Books, with many thanks.