First, let me say I never wanted this book to end! The synopsis alone hooked me, and the book itself held me captivated. The idea of leaping to an unknown year in Oona’s life every midnight on New Year’s Eve, while mentally she ages chronologically, is so different from anything I’ve read.I love the way Montimore writes. The story makes me, as a reader, feel right there in New York with Oona, going through the different years and experiencing the many changes. She nails the culture and especially the music of each era Oona finds herself in. Montimore’s writing is smooth and seamless, accomplishing the difficult task of engaging the mind without trying to confuse.This book is fascinating and heartfelt. It made me laugh, it made me cry, and I couldn’t put it down. When I closed the book, I reflected on my own life. Great writing invites readers into character’s shoes, and somehow places us more firmly back in our own and Montimore did exactly that. I will be recommending this book to everyone!💜THIS IS AN ABSOLUTE MUST READ💜
This was a fun book! I wish it was longer, but there really wouldn't be a perfect place to stop it due to the nature of the story. I would suggest it as a fun simple read that makes you think about time travel.
Nothing riveting, a decent easy read. Character development left something to be desired but the book was light and interesting.
I was hoping we would see a lot more of wise Oona who thought before acting, but that didn't really come about. I get it, just taking 7 years to adjust sorta killed me lol.
Original yet old fashioned. Hopeful and engaging. Ridiculous premise with so much well thought out conflict and revelation. I didn’t think it could work but the story captivated me. So interesting!
“Everything has its time.”This was a very interesting book told about Oona who somehow travels through different years in her life each year, in no particular order. Each time she wakes in the “new year” she has left herself a note to sort of adjust to whatever year she has coming up…and a brief cryptic summary of the year previous.If you don’t get hung up in the actual science and unexplained “how” of her time travel, then you will love this book. The only reason I didn’t give it all 5 stars was that we never find out how or why this is happening, aside from a brief explanation from Oona saying, “I have a condition”.I did appreciate reading a book unlike any I have read lately though! Very interesting way to tell the life story of someone!
I liked this book but it got me reeling with existentialism. Time travel isn’t easy to follow but the author did a good job, I wasn’t super confused!
Albeit a unique story line with what could have been a promising read, the author left many gaps and too much room for unexplained/unanswered questions. There's a chapter that's so strong, the author probably should have put a trigger warning somewhere. The ending was lacking and seemed abrupt. The biggest pet peeve of mine is when any author makes their political views so heavily known in their writing no matter which side of the fence they stand in and this author made hers wildly known which is a pity because the book could have been perfectly fine without a behind the scenes agenda and deep nod to a specific political party/stance. Overall, intriguing story plot/idea with strong characters but too many things that didn't add up or make sense and then the personal ideology remarks made this a book I wouldn't put in my top 100 or ever recommend.
This book was really fun and enjoyable! I had no idea where the plot was going to go (though I had a suspicion of where it would end) so each chapter was a bit of a surprise. That being said, there really isn’t a ton of plot here, beyond Oona jumping to a different year every birthday. It was interesting to see her navigate the future—not knowing what happened in the past—and the past—knowing what happens in the future.I really liked Oona’s relationship with her mother, which I think is a driving factor of the book. Some years, Oona is mentally older than her mom, and some years, Oona’s mom has to decide what to tell Oona about the past (which is Oona’s future—time travel fun!). I liked the “no spoilers” policy she had.Overall, this book was a fun read, though I don’t think it’ll stick with me long term. If you enjoy rock music, you might have a stronger appreciation for it. Also, don’t go into this expecting any explanation for the time travel—Oona’s condition is just accepted, but it’s not the kind of story that really needs an explanation for *why* this is happening.
It's the nineteen-eighties when the story begins. Oona is nineteen, at a New Year's Eve/birthday party. At the stroke of midnight, she time-travels for the first time, landing in her future. Her body is 40, although she's still a 20-year-old inside. She must quickly learn the setting and cope with her life as it is now. Every year, she'll time-shift to another point in her life, sometimes older, sometimes younger. This, she learns, will be her fate for life, never in one setting for more than a year. At the end of most years, she leaves herself a note advising future-Oona as to circumstances, for when she arrives there.This was a creative idea to demonstrate the theme of "enjoy the present." The author is a good writer, and each setting was interesting and compelling. Oona is a delight. The problem for me was that such a life seemed unbearable...I don't know how a person could live this way. It would drive me insane. I kept wondering how the story would end. Would something happen to force Oona's timeline to return to sequential form? I won't spoil the story but overall, it struck me as sad.
3.5 Rounded to 3I was seriously torn with this one as far as how to rate it. It starts off so strong and I was invested in the story, the situation, and the characters. I LOVE books where time travel is the main premise.As I kept reading, I laughed, I hurt, I felt bad for Oona and was riding the crazy train right along with her. I do love the underlying message I felt throughout. It's ok to make mistakes..feel them, live them...OWN them. Take the good with the bad and make the best out of rough situations but most importantly...LIVEBUT ... the way this one ends and how it just drops off where it did left me extremely frustrated. There is so much buildup around Oona's "affliction" that I actually expected more and I felt let down which just ruined it ... for me.For those that have this on their list I would say go read it! It may hit you in the right spot and you may love it to pieces. That's what's great about our reading community and why books are just so special. What doesn't work for one will undoubtedly work for another.
I was in the mood for a light read and this was definitely better than just a silly book. This kind of book is a little out of the box for me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Had some romance as well as personal struggles and growth but mostly done in a light hearted way. There was always the question of “how do you/ can you change ones future”. It also pointed out that we must appreciate what we have when we have it as you don’t know how special it is until it’s gone.What bothered me was Oona’s changing between years. I was always frustrated w the character w how she handled it... but no spoilers here. Enjoy!
Oona Out of Order was a wild ride. It opens on New Years Eve to Oona Lockhart, on the eve of her nineteenth birthday. When the clock strikes twelve, she is somehow transported into her fifty-one-year-old self, thirty years in the future. Here she learns that every year at midnight on New Years Eve, she will be transported to another year of her life at random, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. As she jumps through time, Oona finds love, heart-break, and self-discovery as learns what’s truly important.It’s challenging to review this without inadvertently revealing spoilers. The story is so layered that you don’t even realize until the end how it all brilliantly fits together. It’s a true gem in that it’s original, but also has such a deep familiar feeling. In way it reminded me quite a bit of The Midnight Library by Matthew Haig, probably because of the different lives tried on and the do-overs tried here. The question of going back and fixing life and avoiding regrets which the protagonists in both books need to realize is the wrong goal to pursue.Oona Out Of Order is a brilliant story, one that deserves to be read and indulged.
I enjoyed this book, intrigued by the idea of living one’s life out of order. But I was bothered by several questions that were never explained. There is no way to describe them without spoiling what happens so be forewarned. Spoiler Alert! If Oona’s first time travel takes her from age 19 to 51, how was she able to write herself a letter the previous year- she hasn’t lived it yet, right? And how is Kenzie even born? When she transports to another year, does she just disappear out of the lives of everyone she knew- they go on living their lives but without her? Or is there a version of her that exists in those years that creates the future life she finds herself in? But if that self doesn’t time travel, why couldn’t she have kept her child. When she transports back to age 19, everyone seems to have been frozen in time even though years have gone by. To enjoy this book definitely required me to suspend all rational thought and just appreciate the story.
What a great book to herald in a new year. I might just re-read Oona every December.Oona Out of Order has been on my radar for some time. I wish I would have read it earlier.I've seen some classify the book as scifi. I would disagree. Although the plot is unbelievable, there's never an explanation for Oona's time shifts. That's part of the intrigue of the novel. (Be aware, there are a lot of unexplained things going on, but that's OK. I was too caught up in Oona's life to be bothered by them.)Since I was reading the Kindle version and I was too caught up in the story, I was unaware that I was nearing the end of the book. As the final chapter started I did think, "Oh, no, Montimore is wrapping this up." I wanted more of the story. I could time shift with Oona until her last days (or will she just keep jumping?).I had a bit of a hard time trying to figure out a few plot points early on and how things really happened but that's a minor issue. I really did love this book.If you haven't read it, start it this New Year's Day.
3.5 stars (rounded up to 4)A unique plot premise with great writing. A strong mother-daughter narrative. And if you lived through the pop culture trends, “current” events, and music during the 80s thru early 2000s, this story will take you down a winding and wildly fragmented memory lane, which was fun and nostalgic for me. (The time travel element wasn’t fully explained, but I didn’t question it too much).Even with all this goodness baked into the story, I still couldn’t grasp many of Oona’s choices and kept wondering if there would be an overarching growth in her character or message to the story. I caught glimpses of that message in a few lines (found in Oona’s letters to herself and from her mother), and then finally read it at the end.Despite these frustrations I had, I still enjoyed the story-telling. It stuck with me.
This book caught my eye after reading a review in a magazine. Oona "leaps" to a different adult year every Dec 31, and it's interesting to see how she relates to important others in her life at different ages. At that level it was enjoyable. However time travel always has the built in inconsistencies and this book doesn't really attempt to reconcile them. At times I was confused at what she could and couldn't remember with each leap. Since she knows more and more about the future, why don't earlier behaviors change the future? However those questions are not really answerable, and I thought the book did a reasonable job not getting into it much. The ending seemed a little abrupt, but I'm not sure it could keep going with too many more leaps.
Oona starts the book as a teenager in a band, living with the man she will remember as the love of her life. It’s New Year’s Eve and her birthday. At the stroke of midnight she leaves that timeline and awakens as a middle aged woman. Needless to say, it is traumatic and disorienting. She is going to live every year of her life, but not in order. Coping is made a bit easier because she has gotten rich with her knowledge of the past/future and she leaves a letter for herself each year. This is a book that is interesting and intriguing, even if it rarely touched my heart. You are presented with a young woman gaining her emotional age and maturity in a linear fashion and while her physical age bounces back and forth. There are things that are occasionally inconsistent about changes in the time line and never any explanation about why this is happening to Oona. The writing is good, so you are immersed in each time with enough details (for example of fashion, drugs, or events) to recognize the era. The book is filled with music and musical references which add richness and emotional depth to what otherwise would feel a bit shallow. It is creative and usually entertaining. The characters change over frequently as well, with only Oona, her mother, and Kenzie as the constants. Well if you don’t count the sainted first love (who was really only perfect through the eyes of Oona’s teenaged infatuation). I’m not faulting the author for the lack of other characters since it makes sense that Oona would have few deep connections to people when she drops in and out of her timeline each year with only the knowledge of the years that she has lived. Most of the men in the story serve as plot devices so they always seem to be only partially developed. I longed for another person to also be living this way. This book is not a literary read, and it is not a great book, but it kept me turning the pages just to see where Oona was going to take us next. The 4 stars are for creativity and the minus is for a lack of true empathy for Oona and the price.
This was a great story about a woman who finds herself propelled into a different year of her life at the start of every year. She goes back and forth from young to old, to middle-aged and all the years in between. She gets a glimpse of what is ahead without always knowing what was behind her.This was a fun and interesting read with a hint of mystery since you follow along with Oona in all of her confusion, restarting each year with a new perspective. It takes her a bit to get her footing and make any sort of plan, but she starts to pull it together near the end.I liked the idea of exploring how we behave and what means the most to us at different stages of our lives. The chance to think about the what-ifs and potentially make a change to them. How to live with decisions that will impact the rest of your life. Would you change things? Should you change things?The only reason this is not a 5 star rating is that it could have been edited to make a bit more sense of the transitions and there were a few instances where things did not seem to add up...but not enough to just overlook and enjoy the rest of the story.I recommend you have some fun with Oona whether you are young or old.
Oona out of order caught my eye because Margarita Montimore brought the world a unique time traveling story, that is far different from all of the others! I devoured this book under the suspense of not knowing what was going to happen to Oona next! I appreciated the relationship between Oona and her mother, even the raw difficult times. My daughter and I looked forward to reading this together every night (sparing her ears of some language and content) and my daughter began saying "Let's see what Oona is up to!" she thoroughly enjoyed this story as much as I did. I could relate to Oona's friendships, romantic relationships, although she experienced them chronologically out of order, I can very much relate to the obstacle of change. Oona delivers an important message of staying in the present moment, not taking things for granted and appreciate the people and things in your lives while they last, because they will not be there forever. An impeccable reminder to us all!
