Pleasant Valley Library Online Book Group discussion

Post your thoughts and impressions about Oona Out of Order here!

"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."

Hi Everyone,

Have any of you been reading (or have finished) Oona Out of Order?

I just finished it. I think it might be a hard one to discuss without giving away spoilers, because of each of the different parts and timelines having its own ending, leading up to all the discoveries toward the end.

I really loved the premise, and could relate to the idea of someone feeling much younger internally than their external age. I feel like that sometimes and think - where did the time go?!

I liked the live-in-the-moment theme, and the author's creative and unique take on time travel. I thought the depictions of the times/settings that Oona "traveled" to were descriptive and well-done. The pop-culture references were a good shorthand way to show the changes in the different years that she experienced.

And I loved that music was a constant thread throughout the story, and how the author used song titles as titles of each part of the novel - many of my favorite songs. Very cool.

One thing that gave the story more depth was its sense of loss. I liked the quote, "Oona was still learning, everytime she leaped no matter the year someone important would be absent from her life." I think it shows how essential it is to have meaningful people in life.

There's much more to say, but let's hear what you think! Looking forward to your thoughts and comments!

I'm a little confused right now. I'm still in the first 25% of the book. I'll keep reading!

PugMom wrote: "I'm a little confused right now. I'm still in the first 25% of the book. I'll keep reading!"

Yeah, the timeline is pretty confusing! It does help that on the title page of each part, the author gives the year that Oona has traveled to, and the age she would be (outwardly) in that year, and then the actual age she is inwardly. So she first goes to 2015, where she be 51, but it's her actual 19th birthday. It all became clearer to me when reading part 4 and part 5, that take place in 2004 and then 2003.

Glad that you'll keep reading! :)

Hi Everyone,

I'll keep this thread open for anyone who would still like to read Oona Out of Order and add their comments.

Thanks!