A review by marshmallowbooks
My Oxford Year by Julia Whelan
3.0
My thing with this book is that I read a story a bit different based on the expectations I formed from reading the cover summary. I thought I'd read about a girl spending the year at Oxford University, going to classes and having a once-in-a-lifetime Adventure in England, while actively participating in American politics from overseas, and getting to know and love people she crossed paths with along the way.
It was kind of about that, but all rearranged in different levels of priority:
That's not to say it's not a good book. It is to say I found the cover summary to be misleading. I would have enjoyed it more if I'd had a better expectation for what I actually read. Or maybe I mis-read the summary in the first place.
I read other reviews that compare this book to Me Before You which I absolutely agree with. I read others that compare this book to Pride and Prejudice which I don't really agree with.
It was kind of about that, but all rearranged in different levels of priority:
Spoiler
A girl does go to England and does attend Oxford, but most importantly she falls in love and spends a ton of time sleeping with a guy with whom her relationship is a non-relationship and who's keeping some really important things about his life a secret from her until the secret is out and their relationship is effected into actually being a relationship. Oh, and sometimes she talks about homework for a second. And sometimes she has to answer the phone so she can talk to someone in America about politics.Honestly, if the entire American politics angle were removed from the story, the book would be a about 3 paragraphs shorter and the story not impacted at all.That's not to say it's not a good book. It is to say I found the cover summary to be misleading. I would have enjoyed it more if I'd had a better expectation for what I actually read. Or maybe I mis-read the summary in the first place.
I read other reviews that compare this book to Me Before You which I absolutely agree with. I read others that compare this book to Pride and Prejudice which I don't really agree with.