---

SYNOPSIS

It’s New Year’s Eve 1982, and when the clock strikes midnight Oona Lockhart will be 19-years old. Oona is a bit of a wild child. She’s deliriously in love with her boyfriend, Dale, and excited to start creating music with their newly-formed band. But when the countdown is over, Oona is shocked to discover that it’s not 1983 that she’s ringing in—and she’s definitely not 19. Instead, she has somehow warped in time to become her future self. Internally, she is 19, but externally she’s 51. Predictably, she doesn’t take it well…

Every year after that, Oona experiences the same thing. Inside, she’s aging chronologically, but on the outside she’s jumping back and forth in time, experiencing all kinds of major moments without much context or continuity. With only a couple of trusted souls who know of her predicament and who are around to steer her in the right direction when she “lands” each new year, Oona has to gracefully navigate her way through unfamiliar decades, relationships, housing situations, career choices, technology, and, of course, market booms and busts.

MY THOUGHTS

I only picked this book up because so many Instagram friends recommended it to me. And I have to say, it’s phenomenal. The premise is obviously completely fantastical and not something I would normally gravitate towards. But the writing is literary and insightful, and Oona’s unconventional “world” is perfectly and intricately executed. Even after finishing the book and mulling it over (A LOT), it still—shockingly—makes sense.

As a character, Oona reminds me a lot of someone that Taylor Jenkins Reid would create (think Evelyn Hugo or Daisy Jones). She’s feisty and independent, smart and fearless, emotional but also determined. She’s easy to root for and easy to relate to. My only complaint about the book overall is that I wanted more!—more time with Oona, more time with her mother, and more time with Kenzie. I don’t usually go for sequels, but I almost wish there was one in the works.

In short, no question, you’re going to want to read Oona Out of Order. It’s unique and kinda weird but all kinds of heartwarming. I loved it start to finish.