Major Motion Picture Already in Development with Temple Hill EntertainmentOne of the Best Books of April for Brit + Co and Liz and Lisa!Set amidst the breathtaking beauty of Oxford, this sparkling debut novel tells the unforgettable story about a determined young woman eager to make her mark in the world and the handsome man who introduces her to an incredible love that will irrevocably alter her … an incredible love that will irrevocably alter her future—perfect for fans of JoJo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks.
American Ella Durran has had the same plan for her life since she was thirteen: Study at Oxford. At 24, she’s finally made it to England on a Rhodes Scholarship when she’s offered an unbelievable position in a rising political star’s presidential campaign. With the promise that she’ll work remotely and return to DC at the end of her Oxford year, she’s free to enjoy her Once in a Lifetime Experience. That is, until a smart-mouthed local who is too quick with his tongue and his car ruins her shirt and her first day.
When Ella discovers that her English literature course will be taught by none other than that same local, Jamie Davenport, she thinks for the first time that Oxford might not be all she’s envisioned. But a late-night drink reveals a connection she wasn’t anticipating finding and what begins as a casual fling soon develops into something much more when Ella learns Jamie has a life-changing secret.
Immediately, Ella is faced with a seemingly impossible decision: turn her back on the man she’s falling in love with to follow her political dreams or be there for him during a trial neither are truly prepared for. As the end of her year in Oxford rapidly approaches, Ella must decide if the dreams she’s always wanted are the same ones she’s now yearning for.
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This book surprised me. I just selected it because I was in between books and was on wait lists for them and this one looked interesting. The brief description about the book did not do it justice – at all! This book grabbed me, planted itself in my soul and took me through the main character’s year at Oxford. It is the best book I have read in many a year. I was listening to this via audiobook. I am going to get a hard copy. I want to highlight, make notes and hold the words in my hands.
I loved My Oxford Year. The heroine, Ella is sassy and quirky, the story was entertaining and a great blend of funny and emotional. The theme of paths and choices that Ella is confronted with really kept me guessing and invested.
“It turns out, the act of making a choice, of choosing a path, doesn’t mean the other path disappears. It just means that it will forever run parallel to the one you’re on. It means you have to live with knowing what you gave up.”
The narration by the author was wonderful and I would definitely recommend listening to this story.
-5 Stars!-
I had a hard time putting this book down. It pulls at all the heart strings. A young girl loses her loving father, a mother who could not bear the loss. It follows her career in politics to a year at Oxford where she meets someone very special.
If you enjoy JoJo Moyes, this book will be a good fit for you. The main character is fun and has flaws. Great storyline.
Struggled to choose a provided word to describe what I liked about the book although I recommend it. Although the description of the book reads as a typical love story, it is more than that. The story line is very thought provoking. The book may have benefitted from a clearer focus on the main characters – Ella and Jamie, as well as more about Ella’s “Oxford Year”. Certainly Ella matured during her year at Oxford because of the circumstances she chose; however, there should have been more about her Oxford and consultant experiences to balance the focus on the segment of her life that was involved with Jamie. Her collegiate activities were almost non-existent while her consultant experiences were a number of poorly timed phone calls. Before Jamie’s situation was revealed, I found myself frustrated that Ella’s activities were giving up her opportunity for full Oxford experiences in order to follow a guy around. However, after the revelation, not only did my compassion kick in, but, the mature, compassionate, witty sides of Ella came to play.
Favorite Quotes:
His voice is so melodious, so low and soothing, it should be accompanied by choral music.
Everyone else looks very British about it, like this is where fun comes to die.
“Given the lovely turn of your figure, it’s quite gratifying you’re not one of those dreadful American girls who subsist entirely on lawn clippings and glacier water,” Charlie says. My mouth is too full of scone to reply.
He has this ability to go still, as if he’s stopped breathing. Like a vampire. Which makes me realize I’m not breathing.
She also holds a fan. Like, an actual fan. Like it’s Gone With The Wind and she’s about to tap someone flirtatiously on the shoulder with it. She drips money like a leaky faucet.
My Review:
I adored this delightfully crisp and eloquent book; it pleased me and did so in a cleverly amusing and intellectually stimulating manner. I greatly enjoyed the thoughtful and well-chosen quotes and poems that started each chapter, which provided just a little taste of what was to come. Julia Whelan is a master wordsmith with graceful and elegant wordplay. My Oxford Year was written from the first person POV of Ella, an endearing and wholly relatable character that I instantly connected with. I quickly fell into Ella’s vortex and enjoyed hitchhiking in her head and was loath to leave her and her new friends behind. The storylines were unique, relevant, and expertly crafted. Ms. Whelan’s writing was nimble, flawless, lushly detailed, and a felt like a long awaited gift. I will most likely be stalking her listings as long as I have functioning brain cells.
“I came to Oxford looking for a Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience. I chose to experience a lifetime.”
This is my first Julia Whelan book – and I wasn’t really prepared. Sure the blurb says something about Jojo Moyes and Nicholas Sparks, but heck, who cares about those warnings? Well, I should have listened. So should you.
This book broke me.
It broke me to pieces while gutting my heart out mercilessly.
“When you feel more than you can say, when words fail you, when syntax and grammar and well-constructed expressions are choked from your mind and all that’s left is raw feeling, a few broken words come forth. I’d like to believe those words, when everything’s stripped away, might be the key to it all. The meaning of life. I’d like to think it’s possible to remain so devoted to someone’s memory that fifty-nine years later, when all the noise of life is muted, the lats gasp passing over your lips is that person’s name.”
But it was beautiful. It was so beautiful that I can’t help but gush over it while in tears, excitedly typing out my review while telling my sister and some friends who were avid readers to read this book. Because it is truly a must-read. Especially when it says it will be a motion picture.
This book is intelligent, insightful, heartbreaking and hopeful. I love travelling all over the history-filled place, Oxford. Not to mention meeting scholars and different kinds of people, least not forget getting drunk in pubs. Julia Whelan made sure that her readers gets first hand experience as she described it vividly in her book, making you feel that you are in their, experiencing it, feeling it.
Who would not fall over Jamie Davenport? He’s charming, intelligent, and hot. But he’s straight forward. He doesn’t want any relationships. Then came the equally smart Ella from Ohio. Who was living her dream coming to Oxford through a scholarship, and a dream job waiting for her once she’s done with her one year schooling. But life has other plans – what happens after a year might not be what one plans to do.
Julia Whelan takes us into the rollercoaster ride of Ella’s year in Oxford – it’s exhilarating, it will leave you breathless, and somehow – this novel will make you just FEEL. It’s a touch of reality. I just couldn’t explain how good it was, or how much I loved it. But one thing is for sure: READ THIS BEFORE IT BECOMES A MOTION PICTURE.
“We were never forever, Jamie and I. Nothing is in this life. But if you love someone, and are loved by someone, you might find forever after. Whatever and wherever that is.”
A Huge, Dynamite 5 Stars for Julia Whelan’s “My Oxford Year”, you’ll be reading this book long into the wee hours of the morning! What an amazing read! We start off with Eleanore (Ella) Durran as she’s struggling to get through customs, she receives a phone call from none-other-than Gavin Brookdale, former White House Chief of Staff. At first, she thinks it’s a prank, but no, it’s legit. He’s calling to request her help in assisting with Janet Wilkes Presidential campaign. She’s all for it; however, there’s just one problem, she will be spending the next year in Oxford, England where she’s received a prestigious scholarship to study English Literature. Whilst literally straddling between the US and England, she makes a quick decision to take on the campaign responsibilities whilst continuing to pursue her studies in Oxford. Off she goes to Oxford and although she’s there to study literature and work, she soon finds herself very drawn to her English Literature prof, she soon begins to fall in love with him, awakening quite the dilemma within. What and whom does she choose? Her heart or her political dreams?
Whelan’s writing is impeccable, one can’t help but fall in love with Ella and root for her to achieve her dreams but also get the man. Jamie Davenport is a wonderful character as well, very witty and very loving. Whelan also draws one into the scenery and atmosphere of Oxford, England, you feel like a student there! I really loved this story, filled with so many adventures and Ella is just one amazing character! This would make a wonderful summer read!
Ella is focused, knows what she wants, and is something of an overachiever (i.e. helping to run a political campaign while simultaneously doing a year of study at Oxford). Throw in a casual relationship that takes a turn toward serious, and Ella’s definitely got a lot on her plate. This description might make her sound hard to relate to in some ways, but Ella is actually very human, with flaws and foibles and quirks. We see her loving and loyal side when it comes to the friends she makes at Oxford. We also see some of the complexity of her character portrayed in the relationship she has with her mother and the reasons behind why that relationship is complicated.
Here are a few things I loved about the book:
The setting. I probably have a romanticized notion of studying abroad, especially someplace like Oxford, but I just loved seeing everything through Ella’s eyes. I actually kept googling things I was reading about to make sure I was visualizing them correctly.
All of the literary references. I love literary fiction, even when it references things I haven’t read, because it shows the author’s love of literature. It also exposes me to something I maybe haven’t read much of before. This time it’s poetry from the very specific period that Ella is studying.
Ella’s circle of friends at Oxford. They are eclectic and goofy and awesome.
Julia’s writing. It is intelligent without feeling academic (which would be easy to slip into since this is a book that takes place at Oxford and does involve academic conversations and discussions), but it’s also engaging, poignant, and funny.
The relationship between Jamie and Ella, which was simultaneously everything and nothing like I expected (and which I can’t say much about here without giving things away).
My Oxford Year is smart, fun, funny, poignant and touching, and I definitely recommend it.
Ella Durran sets out on a journey she has been dreaming about since she was a young girl, she has always wanted to study at Oxford, and now she finally has the opportunity to make that dream a reality. But before she even arrives, a political front runner comes knocking and wants her to help prepare her for her campaign for presidency, it’s an opportunity of a lifetime, but the same can be said about Oxford too…
So, with not wanting to give either opportunity up, she decides to tackle both at the same time, knowing it will be a lot of hard work and long hours ahead for her, but it’s not anything she can’t handle. With her already full plate she then meets a man who awakens something in her she never knew was there, and before long the sparks are flying, but she makes it known to him that she can’t offer him anything more than a fling. She is only at Oxford for a short time, and plans to head to D.C. once she is stateside, a commitment just isn’t in the cards for her right now. But the more time she spends with Jamie the more she begins to realize, he is a once in a lifetime kind of guy, and what they share is far more than the fling she intended to carry on, but staying with him would mean giving up her dream…
My Oxford Year is delightful tale riddled with adventure, love, humor and inspiration! I thoroughly enjoyed following Ms. Durran on her life changing adventure, the story line painted a beautiful picture of Oxford giving me the sensation of being there alongside her, and experiencing everything first hand just as she was… at times it left me a little awestruck! I must say that Ms. Whelan is quite the gifted storyteller, rarely do you come across a read that makes you feel like you are an integral part of the story, when Ms. Durran hurt, I felt it, and when she laughed I was right there giggling along with her too! This moving debut is one that should not be missed, the adventure that lies within it’s pages is sure to inspire and leave your heart overflowing! Highly recommend!!