This story starts on New Year's Eve 1982; at the stroke of midnight, Oona will turn 19. She expects to be making a decision about whether to go to school in London the next year or stay in Brooklyn and tour for a year with the band she and her boyfriend are in. But when midnight comes, Oona is jerked out of her current situation. She awakens in a lovely house, in her 51st year. She is appalled to see how old she is, and that she is overweight.
Oona is living one year of her life at a time, but out of order (hence the title). She has awakened in 2015. Fortunately, there is a man waiting there for her to explain the situation, and she is living in a gorgeous home. The man is Kenzie and he introduces himself as her personal assistant and friend. She freaks out and he does his best to calm her down.
After that, every year at midnight on New Year's Eve, the same thing happens; Oona either jumps ahead to a future year or goes back to an earlier year that she has not experienced before. It makes poor Oona very cranky to be jerked off to a different year in her life every New Year's Eve.
This is a time travel book, but there is no explanation of why this phenomenon is happening to her, thus it is more fantasy than science fiction. I enjoyed this a lot while I was reading it; I gave it five stars, and I still think it deserves that rating, but I am pretty generous with my ratings. So as far as entertainment value goes, it did very well.
Family is a recurring theme in this book. Of course, I loved that part of it. Most of the time I liked Oona's mother Madeleine and Kenzie better than I liked the lead character. Oona is often bratty and immature. She may look older at times but she hasn't had that many years of actual living to mature.
I was frustrated that not that many years in Oona's life are covered. In a way, each year was approached as if it was a short story and you are getting a glimpse of her life. But because she has no memory of any year that she leaves behind... the reader sometimes knows more that she does.
In summary, I liked the premise of this book and it was fun and the writing was well done. As with many time travel books, I was confused at times. It was 340 pages long and it was the rare book that I wish was much longer.
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Publisher: Flatiron Books, 2020.
Length: 336 pages
Format: Trade Paper
Setting: New York City
Genre: Fantasy / Time Travel
Source: I purchased my copy in 2024.
My big problem with time travel books is the confusion, for instance The Time Traveller's Wife, many years ago. But while I'm reading them I tend to be ok, it's only after I tend to think, 'Well, what the heck was that all about?' LOL! This sounds like fun though. You mentioned that there was no explanation... none at all?
ReplyDeleteCath, there was no explanation. Which did not bother me until the end. It was sort of like The Time Traveler's Wife, except that the time traveler in that book seem to travel at random times.
DeleteI spent some time after I finished this book trying to decide how much I liked the book, then I just decided it was fun while I was reading it, and that was enough. I do plan to hang onto it because I would enjoy rereading it, if I have the time.
Making each year like a short story was an interesting (and perhaps easy) way to organize it. Not sure it would work for me although I usually like time travel. But this doesn't seem to encompass things I generally like it time travel. Like an explanation of how it works. And what it all meant.
ReplyDeletePatti, I prefer to have some explanation too. And it makes more sense for it to have some science behind it. I am generally willing to try any variation on time travel, though, so I took my chances. I had a lot of questions while reading the book and afterwards, and a longer book could have filled some of those in.
DeleteTracy, I appreciate your thoughts on this book. I've had it on my Kindle for quite some time, but haven't read it as yet. Think it would have to be the 'right' time. Curious that there is no explanation for this happening in Oona's life. You think there would be something. We'll see when it appeals. I suspect I got it as a sale book.
ReplyDeleteKay, I kept expecting to get some information on what was going on or if not that, at least some feeling for the meaning of it all. I guess the author just leaves that to the reader's imagination, which is one way to handle it. I like a little more explanation in my stories. But I enjoyed the story anyway.
DeleteI don't usually care for time travel stories, Tracy, if I'm being honest. Still, this does have an interesting premise, and I can see how going back in forth in a life could give a person a reader an interesting perspective on a character. And the family theme appeals, too. I'm glad you liked this one.
ReplyDeleteI have a weakness for time travel novels, Margot, and this one seemed different. There were a lot of challenges in living the years out of order.
DeleteIt's a crazy premise! And if she can't remember anything each time she jumps that would make it even harder to thread a coherent story line through all the shifts in time. I'm glad it was an entertaining story. And her name is certainly fun to say. Oona. Did the ending satisfy?
ReplyDeleteIt is a strange premise, Lark, and it was challenging for me to figure out what was going on. A person would be in one year but not in the next, which makes sense but is confusing. I kept wondering how the mother dealt with it all, since she was still living her life in normal order. Challenging is actually a good word for the book. The reader just has to drift along with where the story is and not worry about it, or spends a lot of time trying to fit all the pieces together.
DeleteGreat review, Tracy! You've convinced me to tag it at Libby. I enjoy books like this.
ReplyDelete