A fun and heartfelt time-travel adventure about family, identity, and finding your place. Nate is a relatable lead, and Chan’s writing is warm, witty, and full of energy. Great for fans of fast-paced stories with emotional depth and a touch of history.

This book is very representational of a diverse family. Nate Yu is a Chinese boy who wants to know more about his background and he does this when his friend steals a dragon engraved shell casing. Very well written book.

Funny, adventurous, and full of heart 💥🕰️. Nate Yu's Blast from the Past is a fast-paced, feel-good story bursting with humour, family secrets, and time-travel mischief. Maisie Chan crafts a lovable hero in Nate Yu, whose journey through the past is packed with laughs, surprises, and meaningful lessons. I adored the quirky characters, clever twists, and heartfelt moments. Perfect for readers who love fun, fast-paced adventures with heart and history.

Nate Yu Riley is a marvellous protagonist, balancing his thirst for knowledge and understanding (massive shout out to his journal and ant-monitoring subplot) with the emotional complexity of navigating his identity. Maisie Chan has captured the beauty of the various types of relationship he engages with too. His friendships with Missy and Ryan, his brotherly relationship with ghost Jirou, and his familial relationships with his parents, are all explored so deeply but without any sacrifice from the plot. Every dynamic is natural and enjoyable, and this cast of characters is one to savour.

Jirou’s storyline is absolutely heartbreaking and taught me so much I never had a clue about surrounding the war and the glory the British took that should’ve also been showered down onto various other countries and their people. The fact Maisie Chan mentions about the history we’re taught often being a one-sided thing is so true, and I’m grateful for what this book taught me. I cried at the relationship between Jirou and Nate, Jirou and Ping An, and Jirou and his army superiors. He’s one of those characters you leave a book and think about often.

The plot is driven by discovery and transformation, blending mystery with personal growth, and it works sensationally. Nate’s move to the city, his resistance to embracing his heritage, his hesitance about life in general, and then the added appearance of the ghost all intertwines seamlessly, creating a story has you turning from page to page without realising how fast you’re devouring Maisie Chan’s marvellous words. There’s always a concern for me in historical fiction for it to feel like a history lesson and come across as being lectured too, but Maisie Chan has found that magical balance and woven that thread throughout.

I also have to give the obvious shoutout to Maisie for bringing Liverpool to life on the page! As a scouser, I can be a tad biased, but Liverpool really is the most amazing place, but unfortunately in children’s fiction, it, like a lot of Northern cities, doesn’t get much of a look in. And when it does, it’s often non-descript and evident the author has never visited the city nor understands the place they’re writing about. Maisie Chan has translated Liverpool to page perfectly. I’ve spent a lot of time in Liverpool’s Chinatown, my former office of 3 years located within it, and I can say Maisie has done a tremendous job of getting that heart into her novel and I can’t wait for kids in Liverpool to see themselves in this adventure!

Side Note – The inclusion of Atomic Kitten’s Whole Again made my heart burst as I’ve sang that exact song in the very karaoke booth depicted in the novel and have had multiple connections/interactions with Atomic Kitten over the years, so this meant SO much to me. This is where I say a personal, heartfelt thanks to Maisie Chan for creating this heartwarming energy in your writing.

Whilst I head off to belt out Whole Again into a hairbrush like I’m Lizzie McGuire in the opening of the movie, I highly recommend this book of absolute Middle Grade perfection from Maisie Chan…