Life Out of Order()

Audrey Niffenegger

Alba DeTamble has never lived a life in order. Born with the same rare Chrono-Displacement Disorder as her father, Henry DeTamble, Alba is an involuntary time traveler: She slips unpredictably through decades, carrying the weight of a future she can witness but cannot change. Yet she strives to maintain a normal life: As a gifted violinist, Alba finds refuge in her music, as well as in her tight-knit community of artists and activists who fight to take care of each other in an increasingly unstable world. 

As she dips in and out of time, Alba is haunted by secrets she must keep from those she loves most, including Zach, her safe, supportive anchor in the chaos. Her journey takes her from the riot-torn Chicago streets to the eerie, timeless “Yellow House” to the digital corridors of the Museum of Lost Souls, a virtual sanctuary of forgotten memories and lost artifacts.

With every leap through the years, Alba is forced to reckon with the choices that define her, the people she cannot bear to lose, and the question that haunts every time traveler: Can you ever truly belong to the present?