The Space Between Here & Now by Sarah Suk

The quick cut: A girl with a medical condition that causes herself to time travel to the past finds herself traveling to Korea for answers about her mom.

A real review:

Many of us have imagined what it's like to be able to travel to the past, but what if it was involuntary? For seventeen year old Aimee, this is a reality with Sensory Time Warp Syndrome.

Aimee has struggled for years with a condition called Sensory Time Warp Syndrome (STWS): a rare condition where her sense of smell can take her to a memory from the past connected to that memory. She never knows when it will occur and wishes she understood why it happens. Even more than her condition though, she wishes she understood why her mom disappeared and is never discussed. Are the two connected?

Aimee has spent years struggling with STWS, but her father refuses to acknowledge it as anything than a difficulty she'll grow out of. She continues to feel more isolated and unsupported until she disappears for 9 hours - her longest time frame - into a memory of her mom she's never remembered before. Her mom is another topic her dad won't discuss. Are her condition and her mom connected? Is her mom also a STWS sufferer, trying to reach out?

I was pleasantly surprised by how intriguing this story was. From page one, I adored Aimee and her struggle for clarity on her disappearing mom and her disappearing into memories issue. The journey to discovering if they're connected and what she's missing from the past is one that is the central focus of the story.

Aimee has a difficult relationship with her father because she has certain things she struggles with and that her best friend & even school counselor notice. Her dad refuses to acknowledge them though and it in turn makes her feel alone. Alone is her condition and alone in her wanting to understand why her mom just disappeared from her life. The way the two topics intersect surprised me.

While Sensory Time Warp Syndrome isn't real, it's shockingly well developed and explained by the author. I believed every moment and it felt genuine the pain the STWS sufferers go through.

The end felt a little rushed but it didn't suffer in story quality.

A well balanced story with dynamic characters and world building.

My rating: 5 out of 5