What a fun read this was! As you travel alongside Oona Lockhart while living her life out of order, quite literally, you experience the most delightful mix of fun adventure and enduring nostalgia. Beginning in 1982, on the New Years Eve of her 19th year, Oona faces a crossroads of decision. After a fainting spell, once she awakens, she is literally at a different time in her life in a different year and different age. Each year, she will leap to a radon age and it ever-changing. This book kept me on my toes and was really just a pleasure to read as I continually learned various aspects and times in Oona's life. The themes of love, family, and aging in general abound as you are highly entertained with the story in itself. Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book the minute it releases. It is certain to leave you fulfilled and entertained!

Thank you Libro.fm and Flatiron for both my audio and physical copy.

I’m going to go ahead and put this out there. I freakin love Oona.

I’m not going to lie. I didn’t really know what to expect when I started this book. It was blurbed as a similar What Alice Forgot and while I enjoyed Alice…..I freakin loved Oona.

The premise is simple. Every year on December 31st…or at midnight January 1st….Oona time travels. Yea I know. Time travel is tricky. It can work for me in some cases and not in some cases. In this case it worked. It worked well. I freakin love Oona. Yes, there is a trend. It worked because I connected with Oona. Her life is not together. She keeps trying to play with fate and change it up and spoiler….you can’t mess with fate. I get her on a deep personal level. I have a hard time seeing that inner circle of what I can control vs. what is out of my control. Sue me….as I have aged I have come to terms with me as a person. Much like Oona does as well throughout the novel. The difference. Oona wakes up every year on January 1st to no idea what happened the year before. It is a brilliant premise.

I’m really not going to say much more about the novel.

It has some romance, some heartbreaking moments, some laugh out loud moments and it is tied with this delightfully wacky ribbon.

If you are a fan of the movie About Time….pick up this book for me ok? I don’t think you will regret it.

In the meantime. Oona , I will miss you, but I know you will remain in my heart girl.

I tried to like this book, I really did. The premise was cute but I found it too twee and a bit silly. I really feel like it might be a hit on the book club circuit so I should try it again.

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Pub Date: 2/25/20
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Imagine that you could time travel to any point of your life. You body would be physically representative of that age, but your mind would age chronologically. This is the premise for Oona Out of Order. As the clock strikes midnight, welcoming 1983, Oona Lockhart passes out. She wakes up on New Year’s Day, 2015. Physically she is 51, mentally she is 19. Predictably, everything she knows about her life in 1982 has drastically changed. At the stroke of midnight on the following New Year’s Eve, Oona makes another time jump. As Oona jumps through time, she begins to learn about her life lived out of order.
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I LOVED THIS BOOK 😭 Ignore the cartoon cover (my personal pet peeve) because this is not a juvenile read. The premise is so unique, making this a story unlike any I have read before. There is so much heart packed in these pages. I laughed, I cried, I said “what the fuck”, I had my mind blown 🤯 This one has moments of hilarity and heartbreak, and it is SO well written. Montimore has created a masterpiece that I can not stop thinking about... this one will stick with me for a long time. It’s only February, but I’m predicting that this will be one of my top reads of 2020. Thank you @netgalley and @flatiron_books for my advanced readers copy. Oona Out of Order will be released on 2/25/20 ⏰

I absolutely loved this book. I wish it just kept going and going so we could experience all the years with Oona. This is a very creative and well-written story that manages to be both heartbreaking and heartwarming.

Oona wakes up each January 1st, her birthday, in a different year of her life. Think 13 Going on 30, but better. Each year Oona doesn’t know if she will be young or old, married or single, and surrounded by a world of people she may or may not know. She has to learn to navigate her relationships and take care of herself and her emotions through this strange, non-chronological life she lives. It’s a fun coming of age story with a magical twist.

Thank you to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book! It has potential to be one of my very favorites this year.

This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. The time travel element kept me engaged the whole time, I loved her character and the people around her. The nostalgia mixed with contemporary elements was flawless and I was so sad when it ended!

New Year's Eve 1982 and 18 (soon to be 19) year old Oona Lockhart's life is just beginning. She's in love with her boyfriend, Dale, and their band is making great music and even toying with going on tour in the summer. She's not so sure about school. She's been offered a wonderful opportunity to study in London, but doesn't want to let Dale and the band down. But everything changes once the clock strikes midnight and Oona passes out.

When she awakens she finds herself in her 51 year old body living in 2015. Oona quickly learns that she's been experiencing her life "out of order". Every New Year's at Midnight she wakes up in a different year, a different age on the outside, but still progressing at the same age on the inside. She's left herself letters about what to expect in each year and certain guidelines (no mentioning social media in the early 90's please) without giving too much away. Oona experiences what we all do: heartbreak, love, loss, gain, happiness, she develops constants in her life, she just does out of order never knowing where or when she'll end up next.

Oona Out of Order takes an interesting spin on the time-travel trope in that there's not a lot of focus on the <i>why</i> instead choosing to focus how someone (in this case the titular Oona) lives.

For the most part I felt like Margarita Montimore handles the mechanics of time travel pretty well. I thought she brought an interesting perspective to each jump in seeing the advancements or retrogression of things like pop culture, fashion, and technology, or just the state of the world in general in any given time. I will say that the jumps weren't so far apart that changes were dramatic, but regardless seeing the advancements from, for example, 2004 to 2015 was interesting. However, if I sit and actually think too much about it, I started having way too many questions, which would open a hole to more questions and quandaries. I had to remind myself while reading to go with the flow of things like Oona does. I was impressed that even when Oona would wake up in a time in which has been influenced (or will be influenced) by another time, there were still opportunities and moments of surprise. I think that Margarita Montimore did a wonderful job making the surprised appear so natural and not entirely expected, but also not pulled out of thin air in order to keep readers on their toes.

Montimore touches on the idea of fate being malleable, but mainly, as I stated, it's about how Oona chooses to live each year with whatever information she has - or doesn't have - going in. In this case I think the story speaks a lot more about how we live our own lives (those of us whose time continuity is not disrupted of course) and that sometimes there's comfort in knowing what will happen even if there's nothing you can do to change the outcome. That sometimes the idea of changing something that might have bigger repercussions later, is more scary than jumping into the unknown.

It's a surprising story and wasn't exactly what I expected when going in, but I enjoyed it immensely. I would have liked to see a few more touchstones for Oona throughout her time jumps. There are a couple of key people she counts on, and I realize telling a lot of people you're a time traveler might not elicit someone's confidence in you therefore one of the reasons why Oona is more of a solitary figure, but I would have liked to see more frequent appearances of friends over the years even just in passing.

Regardless, I enjoyed seeing Oona navigate her life Out of Order and the ruminations on what it means to live life to the fullest.

You know how when you read a book you really want to love it but you just like it instead? That is me with this one. The concept is a great one, time travel to different points in your life but I think I was expecting more. More of what, I’m not sure.

Oona is a wonderful character and you feel for her coming into every new year not knowing what to expect but my favorite characters were her mom, Madeleine and Kenzie. To me, they were the heart of the story..

I love a good time travel novel and this one definitely takes the cake. There's a lot of creativity involved, as Oona is jumping from year to year in no particular order and trying to piece together her life at the beginning of each new year. I didn't know what to expect from one year to the next, as I never knew where Oona would end up. I liked the upsides to knowing the future, but also felt bad for her being in this complex situation. I also liked Oona's relationships with the integral characters (Madeleine, Kenzie, etc.). Her relationship with Kenzie reminded me of my relationship with someone with whom I'm really close. I enjoyed the pop culture and other references that really made the distinction between the years Oona traveled through.

My one main issue is that the time travel aspect was confusing. This usually happens when I read novels about time travel. Oona is supposed to only live each year once, but it felt like she lived the years more than once, if she's sending herself letters from those years. Also, I wasn't so keen on all the drug use in the eighties and nineties. However, none of these issues took away from how much I loved this novel.

The concept reminded me of The Time Traveler's Wife in some ways and 50 First Dates in other ways. I was able to guess at only one aspect of the story, but everything else was a surprise. This was an incredible story that had a strong emotional impact. I wish there were even more time jumps to witness and I didn't want it to end. I still can't stop thinking about it.

I highly recommend this imaginative and unique story that will make you look at time in a whole new way. I look forward to reading anything Margarita Montimore writes in the future.

Movie casting ideas:
Oona (twenties/thirties): Florence Pugh
Oona (forties/fifties): Kathryn Hahn
Kenzie: Charlie McDermott
Madeleine: Daphne Zuniga
Edward: Hugh Dancy
Dale: Ansel Elgort
Cyn: Alex Newell

Such a unique story that is crafted beautifully, if you are looking to read a quirky and fun read, then this is the one for you!

Well this was a delicious treat! I fell right into Oona and her ridiculously weird conundrum - starting with her 18th New Year's Day birthday, every new year finds Oona in a different year of her life (out of order). So when she wakes up on her 19th birthday, she finds herself in 51 year old Oona's life. It's weird - but it doesn't feel too weird when you're reading it. I read it in two big chunks so it was pretty easy to keep track of everything. Fast and breezy-feeling, this definitely felt like bingeing your fave netflix show. 4.5 rounded up!

What if you every New Year you awoke in a different year in your life. One day you1 18 at the stroke of midnight you are 50 and then the next year you are 27. Oona Lockhart is living that life.

This book begins New Year’s Eve 1982, and the day before Oona’s nineteenth birthday. She has met the man of her dreams, she has a big decision to make whether to study abroad with her friend, or go on tour with her band that her boyfriend also fronts. She is living her dream. As the countdown to midnight occurs, Oona starts to feel strange and the next thing we know, she wakes up 31 years later. This this first leap that Oona takes.

She will have many relationships when she jumps, but her mom and Kenzie who she meets in her first jump our the only people that know about her condition. She leaves herself letters to give her clues about the upcoming year. With each jump Oona learns to live each year at a time, but takes her knowledge with her to each year she goes to.

This book as so much charm, and just extremely smart. I think like Oona there are many lessons in this unique tale. Maybe don’t take life so seriously, and accept what is meant to be. I think this will be a hit for many readers, I personally could not put it down.

Thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for an Advanced Reader’s Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

In 1982 Oona is living in Brooklyn, New York. She is madly in love with her rockin roll boyfriend Dale and they are throwing a New Year’s party with all their friends to celebrate Oona’s birthday at midnight. Their band has been offered a killer gig to open for the coolest band, Oona is beautiful and only 18! The world is her oyster! But the darnedest thing happens. When midnight strikes Oona finds herself in the body of a middle aged woman, an unrecognizable version of herself. In a beautiful mansion her handsome assistant Kenzie begins to explain that it’s 2014, she is a generous philanthropist and along with her mother Madeleine, no-one else knows about this mysterious affliction Oona has developed. Every year on her birthday she is sent on a time traveling experience to another year of her adult life. Out of order. She can hop from 19 to 40 and will remain there for one year. As society, technology and her heart goes on a rollercoaster through time Oona tries to figure out the meaning and value of each day when she knows it’s all about to disappear. Oona experiences good years and bad, trying to leave clues for her future and past selves to smooth over the often confusing transition. WARNING: If you want to enjoy this unique, well written story you must be open to time travel that doesn’t always make sense. There is some meaning here but it is in tiny little bits scattered throughout and you just gotta roll with it.

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!!

This book was a delight! It did hurt my brain a little bit trying to wrap my head around all the alternate timelines in Oona’s life, but that was part of the fun of it. I loved the concept of this book, and it was really well done. I enjoyed how the reader learns little things (and big things) that happened in Oona’s life over the years in unexpected ways, like how she meets Edward and why her champagne glasses are different from one year to the next. I wish there was some sort of epilogue, but maybe that’s just because I didn’t want it to end!

If you could know what the future had in store for you - would you want to know now? It’s New Year’s Eve at the end of 1982. Oona is at a party with her boyfriend and friends to celebrate the new year and her 19th birthday - both arriving at midnight. However when midnight comes - Oona instead finds herself in 2015. 19 on the inside but in her 51 year old body.

Every year when the clock strikes midnight at the start of a new year, Oona jumps to a different part of her life. Sometimes her physical body is older, sometimes it’s younger. How would you navigate? What would you do differently if you could travel to your past - or want to bring back from the future? What if you could suddenly see all the ways the world has advanced in 30 years - in a blink?

I really enjoyed the concept and the story - but I wish at some times it could have gone a little deeper. I wish we had felt more of the emotional connections with some people in Oona’s life.

Thank you so much to Netgalley, Librofm and the publisher for the advance reading and listening copies. I listened to most of the book and the audio narration was excellent - definitely recommend.

What a refreshing and fun concept for a book!! I loved Oona, and following along her life, all out of order. It was so enjoyable going through different decades: 80s, 90s, 2000s and seeing how she would grow and mature and learn what was really important (and when to let loose!). Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a eARC of the book. I can't wait for you all to read it!!

Oona Out of Order could have been a kitschy, shallow time travel romp of a story. But Margarita Montimore wove themes of heartbreak and family into it, giving it depth and staying power. Even though I finished this book in December, I had to think about my review and dwelled on the book for 2 months. It'll stick with you in a good way.

If you love time travel stories, fish-out-of-water humor, family drama, and uplifting character journeys, you'll enjoy Oona Out of Order. I'm excited to see Montimore's future work thanks to this book.

This was a fresh take on the idea of a woman displaced in time. She doesn't have amnesia that makes her forget the last decade. She isn't communicating with her past self. Instead, starting on her 18th birthday, Oona starts living each year of her life out of order. In addition to making it hard for her to maintain relationships (except with her frankly astoundingly supportive mother), during the course of this book she has to contend with being a very young woman (18, 19, 20...) in an older body (50s, 40ish, even just late 20s). (Presumably, based on hints we get from her mother, who lives her life chronologically, she will eventually have to deal with being an old woman in a very young body.) In the guise of a relatively light, fun read, it's impossible not to find oneself considering what age really means, the nature of the different relationships one has over the course of one's life, and how we define ourselves. It's a pretty well balanced combination.

I also really liked Oona, even if she did some incredibly stupid things in her life. To be fair, she was a teenager untethered from her life's chronology. Either situation would be difficult on its own. Other characters aren't as well drawn, but it's better that way because it completely fits with the plot—the story is told from Oona's point of view, and essentially everyone she meets is a stranger on January 1. The sense of place is also pretty good, although in this book "place" should really be replaced with "time." Because she doesn't have enough problems, keeping up with the appropriate slang, available technology, etc. are also things Oona has to deal with.

In addition to Oona constantly finding her feet, there is another plot thread that tightens up the looser story, but with a gentle tugging rather than a hard yank, if that makes sense. It flows well. It's engaging. It's moving. It's thought-provoking. It's one of those books that will make you happy you're able to read and that fiction was invented. So why not 5 stars? I guess as usual I am being greedy and I just wanted more more more.

Highly recommend.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked this book, but I did not enjoy the amount of time jumps in it. The book its self is full of heart break and frustration and it makes the story feel more real. I can really see how people relate to it.
The author really builds a character you can care for and about. It makes for a good book that will stick with your for days.