NATIONAL BESTSELLER A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK AMAZON EDITORS’ 20 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR PICK “With its countless epiphanies and surprises, Oona proves difficult to put down.” –USA Today “By turns tragic and triumphant, heartbreakingly poignant and joyful, this is ultimately an uplifting and redemptive read.” –The Guardian A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means … Guardian
A remarkably inventive novel that explores what it means to live a life fully in the moment, even if those moments are out of order.
It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and Oona Lockhart has her whole life before her. At the stroke of midnight she will turn nineteen, and the year ahead promises to be one of consequence. Should she go to London to study economics, or remain at home in Brooklyn to pursue her passion for music and be with her boyfriend? As the countdown to the New Year begins, Oona faints and awakens thirty-two years in the future in her fifty-one-year-old body. Greeted by a friendly stranger in a beautiful house she’s told is her own, Oona learns that with each passing year she will leap to another age at random. And so begins Oona Out of Order…
Hopping through decades, pop culture fads, and much-needed stock tips, Oona is still a young woman on the inside but ever changing on the outside. Who will she be next year? Philanthropist? Club Kid? World traveler? Wife to a man she’s never met? Surprising, magical, and heart-wrenching, Margarita Montimore has crafted an unforgettable story about the burdens of time, the endurance of love, and the power of family.
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I loved this book! While reading this book, I can easily say that my emotions matched Oona’s unexpected rollercoaster ride of a life. Not only was the story very well-written, but it was more than interesting to watch all of the various choices Oona made and how they unexpectedly changed her life. This book had me laughing, crying and wondering about the mysterious complexities of life. I highly recommend!!
For me, this was ultimately a sad story with moments of sweetness and sass. I think it was a bit more depressing for me than what the the author probably intended. From age 19, Oona is jumping from one random year in her life to the next, never knowing what year or bodily age she will be entering. The reader is living those first “jumps” in time right along with Oona and therefore, not always knowing what happened in the preceding years. This might sound confusing, but the author was very adept with story fluidity, regardless of the jumps in time. She used those “jumps” wisely as she slowly revealed plot points to maintain reader curiosity and to show character growth. My feelings of melancholy stemmed from empathy for the heroine’s loss of meaningful relationships beyond her immediate family, as well as her unfamiliarity of preceding years which made her vulnerable to disappointing missteps and the harmful motives of others. There were moments of sweetness and hope, but they were few compared to the inevitable heartbreaks. In the end, I kind of felt that her life was meant to play out a certain way and the time-jumping was her “normal.” I can’t think too hard about it or it makes me weary with the innumerable emotional repercussions of living such a life.
A time hopping 19 year old goes through her life “out of order” and you never know what year it is after the first strike of midnight. This was definitely a page turner , I could wait see what was going happen to her next!
This was such a cute story and I enjoyed the time traveling. I wish there was a few more chapters so we could see what else happened to Oona during the other years.
This book is worthy of more than 5 stars. A million. At least. I haven’t read a book this enthralling, heartfelt and immersive in such a long time. I kept pausing, wondering what I would do if I stepped into my life years into the future, or even years into the past. Everything about this book was perfect. The only problem with it, it ended (I kept advancing in my Kindle hoping there was a whole other book waiting). If anyone is in a book club and you guys read it, can I crash the discussion? Pretty please!
clever, well-written, good premise, touching. quite enjoyable.
Clever and inspirational. Makes you appreciate life events differently.
BOOK REVIEW
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
Pub Date: February 25, 2020
352 pages
-DESCRIPTION-
It’s New Year’s Eve, 1982, and Oona Lockhart is about to celebrate her 19th birthday. At the stroke of midnight, the adventure begins. We learn that Oona, every birthday, age 19 and on, is lived out of order for one year. Her chronological age may be 26, but she wakes up during her 45th year.
-THOUGHTS-
So I loved the premise of this book. I’ve realized that I may have a thing for time travel books. There were so many times that you want to shake Oona. She is like a rebellious teenager during her first 3 “leaps”. It’s when it starts to really dawn on her that what really matters are those we love is when the book becomes magical. On one hand we pity her circumstance….but then we also envy it.
-RATING-
4/5 stars
I recommend this book!
-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
The Time Travelers Wife
Big Lies in a Small Town
YOU
If you like unrealistic stories then this is for you. It is time travel, but in no logicaI order, very.random.if you you forget about the yearly change of ages( thus years) you will enjoy the following of Oona and her life. Her life and the people she meets are interesting, but a lot of follow up is not always there. Unpredictable, but entertaining and engaging. A fun read.
The best book I’ve read this year, possibly ever! You will fall in love with Oona! She is easily relatable no matter what age!
There’s very little that I didn’t love about Oona Out of Order. It’s original and emotional and a book that I won’t quickly get over. I could honestly talk about the book for days without end, but it would be so hard to do so without spoiling the reader.
It was easy to see myself in Oona. Feeling so young but seeing an old(er) person in the mirror. The melancholy that follows you throughout life as you move onto something new. Failed relationships that leave a mark. How our mother is our mother no matter how old (or young) we are. It was clear, that regardless of time travel, we will face the things that Oona faced, though not out of order. Of course there are also moments that only a time traveler could experience which lent a bit of science fiction to the story.
I definitely recommend Oona Out of Order!
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for honest feedback.
this quirky book is such a delight–full of music and mystery and so much pop culture–it’s like dropping into several novels in different decades. It’s sexy at times, funny at times, heartbreaking at times–it was a joy to read, and difficult to put down. highly recommended!
A fascinating and beautifully crafted tale which explores identity and relationships in one woman’s unpredictable and radically-changing world. Unputdownable and uplifting, what Montimore has penned is a treasure that will remind you of the importance of living life fully in the present.
This was such a creative book about a young woman, who every year during New Year’s Eve on her birthday wakes up into a random time of her life. She can wake up in the future or the past and get to live her life for that year.
I found the story made me look at my own life and pondered the pivoting choices we have made causing major life changes. The career we choose, our partners in life, or the small decisions we make each day all cumulate to how our lives’ trajectory will be. In the end, we live with ups and downs, happiness and sadness, surprises and disappointments which are all part of our life and defines who we become. Life isn’t all a bed of roses full of perfect moments, and this story tells it so in such a beautiful and poignant way. I loved Oona and all her flaws, her courage, and how she wears her heart on her sleeve proudly.
I have never read anything like this. I absolutely loved and enjoyed this. I find myself looking forward to what point in her life she will me moving to – sometimes it’s in a 51 yo body of a 20 yo Oona, and so forth. I loved seeing her growth and progression as she is maturing and understanding more of what should be experienced. I loved reading about her young self waking up 35 years forward and learning about the internet, smart phones, the changes in our colloquial speech like ‘my bad’ or ‘Cray’ that someone from the ‘80’s would have an issue understanding. There were many instances like that which made reading fun, well researched and very witty read.
I loved it!! I highly recommend this!! Amazing!!
Oona Out of Order is haunting ― a fascinating, sometimes heart-wrenching exploration of life lived moment-to-moment.
Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore wasn’t exactly what I expected, and I love that about it!
I listened to all of Oona Out of Order, and while I wish I would have had a physical copy in hand as well, it was still wonderful on audio and I loved the narrator, Brittany Pressley. I honestly would have rated this book a 5 but a couple times Oona’s decisions just really irked me and there were a couple small things that didn’t make sense to me as far as plausibility even within the world of this novel.
I love that Oona Out of Order is something different from the norm and I really enjoyed the time travel aspect. There was so much depth and it was actually a bit of a tearjerker which I wasn’t expecting. The concept and plot both really worked for me and it made for a very unique read. I would consider it a bit on the heavier side even though there are definitely a lot of lighter aspects and it did make me laugh out loud a few times.
I really liked Oona and she was a strong, take-no-shit character which I appreciated. I love female leads that I want to be friends with and that was Oona all the way. The time jumps were both heartbreaking and exciting, and at times I almost got a 13 Going on 30 vibe (the movie with Jennifer Garner). There was so much to love about Oona Out of Order and if you are a fan of books about time travel I would definitely recommend checking it out.
Song/s the book brought to mind: Memories by Maroon 5
Final Thought: Oona Out of Order is perfect for someone looking for something different! It is such a creative novel and so much more than I expected it to be. The audio and narrator were wonderful, and I would highly recommend it. Prepare to tear up, laugh, and gasp out loud! There was also some steam which was an interesting surprise. I would love to read another book with Oona so hopefully there will be a sequel…?!
Thank you to Libro.fm and the publisher for my advance listening copy. All opinions and thoughts are my own.
Every year on New Year’s Eve, Oona travels through time. On her first leap, she travels to 2015. On the inside she is 19 but on the outside Oona is 51! As every year passes, Oona lives her life completely out of order a year at a time. She never knows what year it will be. Some years she finds letters from herself to help her understand what is going on with her life. Other years are just a complete shock. Some years are good for Oona some are not. She has her mother Madeline to help guide her way. I loved this amazing book and its wonderful characters. I wish I could give this book 100 stars as it is that amazing!!!