My Oxford Year" by Julia Whelan, ©2018 Temple Hill Publishing. 323 Pages.
Quick Summary: Since she's been thirteen, Ella Durran has had the same plan: leave the U.S. behind and study at Oxford. Finally it has happened, at twenty-four she has earned a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship. This just so happens to coincide with her being offered her most desired job. Now she just has to make it through her Oxford Year. One tiny problem... Jamie Davenport. Will her end the way she has planned or will she choose a path she had never thought would be possible?
SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!
I binged this book so hard! I started this book around 10:30pm and next thing you know I'm closing the book in emotional turmoil at 7am. I had been seeing a lot of booktubers marking this "to-read" or "read" on Goodreads.com and I figured I'd check it out. I am so glad that I decided to! This for me was a quick contemporary read, it only took me about 7ish hours to read. I think the book flowed fairly well aside from a few places. It kind of starts out as a love to hate story but not so much. That lasts all of three chapters maybe? It's instalove at first sight. He slights her, she has a quick wit, badda bing badda boom! Ella is the focus minded American girl on her scholarship. Jamie Davenport is the charming Brit who seemingly keeps running into Ella (quite literally). It's a timeless trope that I can't seem to get to tired of.
It seems crazy that almost an entire year takes place in 323 pages. Personally I feel that this book could use a bit more character and story building, which could be achieved with a few more chapters. I know that's not always an option. The characters in this book are funny, lovable and hatable. The time jumps and you just have to expect that when you start a new chapter it could be a continuation of an on going scene or starts at one month later. I don't mind it so much, just wished it was a bit more consistent.
With that being said everything in the book was still really good. Each character had a distinct personality. Ella is determined but has self doubt. Jamie is a man wanting to experience everything but his past threatens to be his future. Her new British friends have their "smarty pants" quirks. Through out this book we see the characters not so much as grow but mature. They're all adults, their growing as people is minimal but the maturing is all a huge part of the story. Single mindedness changes, your ability to think not for yourself but for others expands, it's all quintessential for this story and these characters.
This book made me feel things I wasn't expecting to feel. Whelan has such a way with words. I marked some pages with quotes or scenes that really stuck out for me.
"Because everything is sex and sex is everything. It's love, and lust, and intimacy, yes, but it's also power, and violence, and domination. Hell, it's creation. Genesis. The beginning of everything."
That just struck me so deeply. Love is such a strong driving force for all of us, motivation if you will. And when you think of love you almost always think of sex. It's the most natural thing in this world, at least with the right person. Sex is often held to a sacred moment(s) in your life. For some it's just sex. Then for others sex is merely a way to get what one wants. Or it could be used to show control and to hurt people. It might be one of our most powerful natural weapons. Sex this and sex that.
"My Oxford Year" took poetry, something I thought was very intricate and needs extremely deep understanding and broke it down so simply and beautifully. I actually went out after reading this book and picked up a few classics to expand my poetry knowledge. It made me want to know more.
The ending in this book had me hyperventilating in the early hours of the morning. So many events and emotions happened in the last few chapters. Jamie is going to live, Jamie is going to die, Jamie is going to live again? It was so much to take in. You didn't know if this was going to turn into another Hazel and Augustus (please tell me you all got that reference) moment or a Cinderella ending. Quite frankly I am still unsure which ending we got. The epilogue tells us little. Jamie lives but is he still sick? How long does he have if his is? I would love to see a little novella of Ella and Jamie's traveling shenanigans. It would wrap up their story quite well I think.
Long story short this book was a great read. It opened my eyes to the beauty of poetry and how if you change the way you go about something you could see what you've been missing this whole time. Plans change and sometimes that's for the best. I need more of this happiness in my life. More love and more traveling. This book has been a major inspiration to visit Oxford. The old buildings and history call to me in my dreams. I can't wait to see what other fantastic books Julia Whelan writes in the future.
Let me know if you've read this before. What did you think of it if you did? Did this review make you want to pick this book up? Let me all know what you think down below in the comments.