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An Off Year

by Claire Zulkey (Goodreads Author)

3.14 of 5 stars 3.14 · rating details · 358 ratings · 91 reviews

Cecily has always done everything as she was supposed to: taken the right classes, gotten the right grades, applied to the right colleges. But after a lifetime of following the rules, she surprises everyone by arriving for her freshman year of college . . . and turning around. There are infinite possibilities for Cecily's unexpected gap year. She could volunteer, or travel...more

Hardcover, 304 pages

Published September 3rd 2009 by Dutton Juvenile (first published August 29th 2009)

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New Adult Literature

185th out of 600 books — 1,258 voters

2010 ALA Best Books for Young Adults

79th out of 94 books — 332 voters

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May 31, 2012 Cara rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-needs-to-get-it, 2011, realistic-fiction, sibilings

So I must talk about the cover first. Pretty eye catching but maybe too much huh? I'm here to tell you that main character does have fuzzy slippers and a pink rug in her room but of course this is not what the book is about. Well the main character does sort of scuffle around in those slippers, but I didn't read the book because of the cover but the premise.

Cecily is a normal smart girl and is set to go to college. She has spent all summer preparing, buying, and packing to set herself up for th...more So I must talk about the cover first. Pretty eye catching but maybe too much huh? I'm here to tell you that main character does have fuzzy slippers and a pink rug in her room but of course this is not what the book is about. Well the main character does sort of scuffle around in those slippers, but I didn't read the book because of the cover but the premise.

Cecily is a normal smart girl and is set to go to college. She has spent all summer preparing, buying, and packing to set herself up for this chapter in her life. She and her dad drive together to the college and they are at her dorm room door, but she just can't do it. Cecily does something that nobody can fathom; she has decided not to go to college, at least for now.

I'm not sure why I kind of responded well to this book. For some reason I thought it was going to be more fun and light-hearted but it wasn't. I think what I appreciated was that it was realistic. Cecily can be kind of infuriating because there is no clear cut reason she gives for why she just decides not to go school and have a gap year. She doesn't do anything particularly special either, but again this was okay for me. I think as a society we are kind of obsessed with having so much going on and though it’s important to be productive, people shouldn’t do something for the sake of looking busy. I think that may have been the appeal for me because not everybody has epiphanies and great things planned for themselves. Real life is not that well planned out. Then there is the dynamic of the family, which is not ideal but definitely realistic. Cecily is the youngest of three. She has a brother away at college and an older sister who lives at home and has already graduated and is looking for a job. Then there is her dad, who is a college professor, so you can imagine that being surrounded by so many college people can make her decision to have a free year inconceivable.

The novel also explores how people can drift apart and by the same token come back together. Even though this not a "college" book per say, there is a lot of college talk so it feels like the reader is experiencing some of the college feel without having the character be in the actual environment. There was so many topics touched at but not fully answered and I think this may frustrate some readers.

With that in mind I can't highly recommend it to everyone because it really won't be for everybody. People going away to college or thinking about going to college may get something positive out of the book. This is the first book that I have encountered that even breaches the topic of a gap year so it gets brownie points for that alone, and I'm interested to see what else this author has to offer.

Side note: Now this point is irrelevant to the actually writing of the book, but I can’t let this slide. Cecily has an old friend who goes to Harvard but then transfers to the University of Kansas. When they talk about the school together they talk about the chant the school has: Rock Chalk Jayhawk UK! WRONG! It's KU not UK. UK is the University of Kentucky. I live in a town where people follow Kansas college basketball religiously, so I easily caught that. What makes it worse is that it's mentioned more than once, and they even talk about the guy's shirt saying UK. *puts head in hands in disbelief* It shows a lack of research on the author's part. Again I know it's not a big deal, but my gosh it bothered me to pieces. (less)

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Jul 19, 2012 Stephanie A. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: contemporary-ya, girl-protagonists

A cover blurb from John Green says that this novel "should be read by everyone who's ever felt paralyzed thinking about the future." There's no better way to state it, but GoodReads gets my personal reaction anyway.

An Off Year features a girl who gets to college on Move-In Day and abruptly decides she can't do it -- so her dad lets her turn around and go home with no plans whatsoever, whereupon she proceeds to spend most of the next year doing nothing but co-existing with her family, playing wit...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Oumiie rated it 3 of 5 stars

AN OFF YEAR, by Claire Zulkey

This book, An off year, is about Cecily~! Who doesn't really know what to do, with her life. She is confused! She had left her, school, but she unfortunately came back for her Last Grade! She didn't go to school, for a lot of years, due to the fact that she travels a lot! AROUND THE WORLD! I won't tell you a lot, read to find the rest!

In this I would really love to be Cecily friend, cause she has a really great personality and she's really nice, but she sometimes has...more

1 like · like · see review

Aug 29, 2010 Jacki rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

This book explores a great concept: taking a year off between college and high school to assess what you really want from life. The narrative voice is winning and quirky, if not actually laugh-out-loud funny, so the book is extremely readable. Character development is decent.

Unfortunately, none of the characters are really likable, starting with the heroine. Her journey of self-discovery is completely passive and contains exactly zero epiphanies. She searches her soul, ponders why she decided no...more

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Jan 28, 2010 Brandy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010, for-reviews, teen, realistic

After years of good grades and preparation, Cecily stands outside the door to her freshman dorm room--and promptly turns around to go home. What happened? Even she can't explain it, but fortunately her dad is understanding enough to take her back home and sort it all out later. "Later" stretches into months, and Dad's patience slowly runs out. Cecily has no idea what caused her to turn around at the very last moment, and even with the help of her friends, a psychologist, and a college counselor,...more After years of good grades and preparation, Cecily stands outside the door to her freshman dorm room--and promptly turns around to go home. What happened? Even she can't explain it, but fortunately her dad is understanding enough to take her back home and sort it all out later. "Later" stretches into months, and Dad's patience slowly runs out. Cecily has no idea what caused her to turn around at the very last moment, and even with the help of her friends, a psychologist, and a college counselor, the best she can come up with is that the time was wrong. But taking a year off isn't exactly right, either--Cecily is bored and frustrated with her directionlessness, and doesn't know where to begin fixing it. Her frustrations are straining the good relationship she has with her dad, and what hope can there be for the already-hostile relationship with her sister? This year is Cecily's chance to sort things out and get back on track--if only she knew where, or what, the track was.

Cecily's voice is full of depression, anxiety, and frustration. Watching friends grow and change in their own college experiences is a part of growing up, but without having that experience herself, Cecily finds it increasingly difficult to relate. This isn't a topic frequently addressed in teen books--college has so often become the Next Step that nobody really thinks about not going, or if they do, it's for a Clear Reason. Not to imply that turning around at the dorm room door is a great decision, but this is a great book to address those feelings of "why am I really doing this?" that can haunt high-school graduates. While Cecily is a bit brattish, it's easy to understand where that emotion is coming from.

[Disclaimer: I took a semester off in the middle of my sophomore year, involving phone calls to my parents begging to let me come home and stay there, so I do identify, at least partly, with Cecily. I could have used this book then to at least confirm that I wasn't the only one for whom college was a poor fit at that moment.](less)

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Oct 25, 2009 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story, of a girl who suddenly decides she doesn't want to go to college, hit home with me. My parents tried to talk me into taking a year off before I started college, to travel, volunteer, discover what I wanted to study, etc. I didn't, because I was so caught up in the machinations of school applying, grades, etc. I ended up really regretting that choice (and really hating college the first time around).

An adult reading this book is going to find the protagonist extremely sulky, spoiled,...more

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Oct 05, 2009 Karin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-needs-tags, borrowed-from-the-library

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Cecily is standing in front of her new dorm room at Kenyon College in Ohio when she has a sudden epiphany – she’s not ready for this. Her dad takes a few moments to process this and then asks, “Are you sure?” before taking her back home to Chicago. When she gets home she’s equal parts relieved and freaked out, because what everyone wants to know – Cecily included – is “What now?” Because she herself doesn’t know, Cecily tries to avoid the question, tries to avoid her friends and family (who keep...more Cecily is standing in front of her new dorm room at Kenyon College in Ohio when she has a sudden epiphany – she’s not ready for this. Her dad takes a few moments to process this and then asks, “Are you sure?” before taking her back home to Chicago. When she gets home she’s equal parts relieved and freaked out, because what everyone wants to know – Cecily included – is “What now?” Because she herself doesn’t know, Cecily tries to avoid the question, tries to avoid her friends and family (who keep asking her), and spends a few weeks hanging out in her pajamas and spending time with her dog, Superhero.

When Cecily finally finds the courage to call her best friend, Kate reassures her that taking a “gap year” is all the rage – that she should travel, write a novel, do something amazing before she commits to college. Cecily’s somewhat encouraged, but in the end isn’t motivated to do any of those things. And after awhile her dad sends her to a therapist, so she can talk to someone else (someone impartial) about what’s going on. Later she talks to a college counselor, gets a part-time job at her dad’s university, audits an art history class, visits her brother at school in Madison, and then her sister (who until recently was a college graduate, living at home unemployed) at her new apartment in the city – all the while trying to find out what college is really like, and whether she’ll find herself and/or the answer to her question (what do I do with myself?). It’s kind of a rocky journey – one that ends without the kinds of decisive answers that Cecily is looking for. But at the end she’s ready, despite her fears and misgivings, to give college the old college try.

Like Kate, I hoped that Cecily would do something a little more amazing with her time off than she did. Sitting around the house watching TV all year isn’t really all that relaxing – especially when you’ve got people pressuring you to figure out what it is that you want from life. But I really understood where Cecily was coming from. Most of us, most of the time, live our lives without really examining them – we go to school, we go to work, we get married, we have children, we do the things we’re supposed to do. Occasionally we have a moment to think about what’s going on and it can be terrifying, to question “Is this really what I want? What am I doing?” Cecily gets a chance to ask the uncomfortable questions and really think about the uncomfortable answers and then find the strength and courage to continue.
(less)

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Sep 13, 2009 Scott Smith rated it 5 of 5 stars

Full disclosure: My wife and Claire are good friends. Oh and she and I work in the same building so when we see each other in the elevator, we chat. But none of this matters. If I didn't like this book, I would have just not written a review and if Claire asked if I read it I would have said "Oh, yes, it's good" and nodded, smiled and figured out a way to change the subject.

All of that gives me clearance to say: Wow, this book is fantastic.

Zulkey manages to capture the uncertainty and sadness of...more

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Feb 25, 2013 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

I read this in one day. Enjoyed it from start to finish. Zulkey created a true person in the protagonist Cecily -- a protagonist I frequently wanted to throttle, to be sure -- someone who hems, haws, shuffles, and avoids uncomfortableness in ways we all recognize. If I want to throttle her, it's because I want to throttle the me that's been that way in so many times of my life. It's a very specific story that carries into very universal and personal impulses -- fear of the unknown, fear of chang...more

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Sep 10, 2011 Rachel rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-lit

I found this very lifeless. Some books have protagonists that aren't relateable because they're too interesting, but I can't relate to Cecelia because she's too dull. She decides not to go to college as she's about to move into her dorm room, because . . . why? Meh, who knows? And given her tepid inner monologue, who cares? But what made me quit on it was the terrible sense of time. Because Zulkey wanted to do a whole month per chapter (and the chapters aren't very long), everything happens at a...more

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May 05, 2010 Carol rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book resides in the young adult shelf, which is wonderful, because that designation boosts the quality of literature there by many percentage points. However, labeling An Off Year as YA will also likely discourage many adults from reading it, as will the Barbie-pink cover. But let's change the color in our minds: this book is like a kiwi fruit -- a quick snack that's a burst of mental vitamins.

Cecily is all ready for college -- until she gets there, and turns around and goes home. No, she's...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Taylor rated it 3 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jul 30, 2009 Lenore Appelhans rated it 3 of 5 stars

Cecily did nothing. NOTHING. That’s why I’m surprised I was not bored out of my skull reading about her year off. You see, even though Cecily lacks drive, she can banter with the best of them and the writing sparkles with subtle, sly humor. She banters with her father (resigned to Cecily’s inertia), her siblings (envious that she can get away with doing nothing as the baby of the family), her shrink, her career councilor, her best friend (increasing distant and slutty as her year at college prog...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 28, 2009 Kelly rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fiction, read-in-2009

Reading this made me feel like Cecily -- I couldn't decide whether I wanted to keep reading it or not or whether I liked it or not or what the heck I was doing, so I just kept doing it. I'm glad I did. This was a refreshing book because, well, nothing really happens and that's reality. I liked Cecily and her quirky relationship with her family. I liked the concept and felt she was pretty well drawn. I won't say this was a totally realistic book because it's not, but it reminds me of a dirtied up...more

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Nov 24, 2009 Lisa rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: abandonment, anxiety, families, alcohol, friendship, school, values

Indulged Cecily changes her mind about college before entering her dorm room at Kenyon. She returns to live at home with her professor dad and her sister who just graduated from college and is having her own issues. Cecily isn't sure why she balked at moving forward. She does nothing for quite a while until her dad forces her to see a counselor. Cecily's mother left the family to pursue her own interests when the children were young, and has a casual phone relationship with them.
I found Cecily'...more

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Apr 01, 2010 evelyn rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: readin2010

Two things kind of got in the way of me really linking this. 1) While I was reading this I was switching back and forth between this and John Green's "An Abundance of Katherines," which is about pretty much the same time in teendom but also by John Green, who is tough to beat in the YA arena, and 2) I was not like Cecily AT. ALL. I was psyched to go to college right after high school and I went and it was awesome and I'd do it again. The entire year of hemming and hawing she did just didn't clic...more

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Mar 26, 2011 Les rated it 2 of 5 stars

Totally unlikeable lead character. Bails on college at literally the last moment, then spends the next year laying around watching Oprah and the Simpsons and making no effort to figure out what happened or where to go from here. Her stock answer is "I don't know" and essentially implied "I don't want to make any effort to figure it out so leave me alone and let me wallow in my angst." Friends and family make multiple suggestions on things she can do during her off year but she would rather do no...more

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Dec 13, 2011 Ariel rated it 2 of 5 stars

It was an easy read to say the least.

I had picked this book up since I'm in a similar situation (albeit I've already gone through college and am in the transition between school and the 'real world') and I had hoped that this would inspire me somehow. It didn't. There were a few nice, helpful lines towards the end of the novel but nothing that made me really think or feel really connected to the story or the characters.

I felt like there wasn't much that was actually accomplished in the story. I...more

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Dec 28, 2010 Jessica rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-books

An Off Year tells the story of Cecily, a teenager who, upon arriving at her chosen college, decides she no longer wants to attend college, but would rather take a year off to figure her life out. Rather than just pointing readers to Cecily’s reasoning for making this quick decision, author Claire Zulkey takes readers on Cecily’s journey of discovery herself that flows smoothly from one page to the next.

Cecily’s character is both quirky and inquisitive, while being completely believable. Like man...more

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Jun 27, 2012 elizabetht rated it 4 of 5 stars

I've been meaning to pick this up for a while and grabbed it on a whim at the library the other day... and then read it in two sittings. I really loved it, and more than anything wish something like this was around when I was in college. She manages to hit that fear of not fitting in/not being a partyer/losing touch with high school friends/not knowing what on EARTH to do with your life. And yeah, sometimes the main character is annoying but... that's how it is. I wished for a bit more resolutio...more

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Sep 11, 2011 Jordyn rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, ya, b-list

After going through the college application process and showing up at her college dorm room, Cecily does the unexpected -- she turns around and heads home, leaving her freshman year of college untouched. Without thinking about it or making plans, she ends up taking a gap year as she tries to figure out just why she suddenly felt that starting college was impossible for her.

I have to be upfront and tell you that not much happens in this book. Cecily's year is one of ennui and is broken up by mont...more After going through the college application process and showing up at her college dorm room, Cecily does the unexpected -- she turns around and heads home, leaving her freshman year of college untouched. Without thinking about it or making plans, she ends up taking a gap year as she tries to figure out just why she suddenly felt that starting college was impossible for her.

I have to be upfront and tell you that not much happens in this book. Cecily's year is one of ennui and is broken up by month as she narrates, with her quirky and dry wit, the nothingness that is her life. Her dad is perplexed at why she's chosen not to go to school but, surprisingly, he doesn't try to change her mind. Her older, college-graduate sister is jealous of the time she gets to spend doing nothing, while Cecily herself is about as confused as the rest of them. She hadn't planned on ditching college, but once she does she doesn't second-guess herself. She watches as friends turn into "college clones" and becomes annoyed with the passive-aggressive hints her parents are sending her way about heading back to school the next year. Mostly though, she does nothing.

And yet that doesn't stop the book from being awesome. Cecily -- unsure and bucking what's expected of her -- is refreshing and realistic. There's an honesty here and as Cecily looks at her choices and why she did what she did, the topic of the future and what lies ahead is addressed so incredibly well. Cecily is accused of being lazy, spoiled, and self-absorbed... all of which is somewhat true. But she's also honest in confronting her flaws and unafraid of not knowing what happens next. The secondary characters that people the novel, from her dad to her siblings and friends, are all unique and realistic in their own ways. Her older sister has yet to find her first post-college job while her jet-set mother thinks that the gap year Cecily's taking is absolutely glamorous and that she should do something amazing, like write a book or travel.

But Cecily didn't think that far and she doesn't necessarily want to do something amazing, she just wants to figure out what happens next, which is the overwhelming theme of this book. What happens next? What does the future hold? Where do you want to be and how do you get there? The book explores these themes with realism and humor, making it stand out from the crowd.(less)

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Sep 09, 2009 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars · (Review from the author)

Shelves: books-i-wrote-or-contributed-to

I cannot put this down nor quit reading it over and over again! I recommend everyone buy 5 copies! This book will solve all your problems and make you laugh and laugh.

5 likes · like · see review

Jan 12, 2011 Monica rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, 2011

Cecily arrives at college with her father ready to move in and start a new chapter in her life. The problem is, once Cecily arrives, she realizes she actually is not ready and tells her father to take her back home. Her father does not argue and so begins Cecily's "Off Year."

I wanted to like this book more and was hoping to see more growth in Cecily and her relationships with her father, mother, siblings, friends...or SOMEBODY! Maybe I missed something but it seemed like she (and everyone else)...more

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Nov 09, 2011 Somer rated it 3 of 5 stars

An Off Year had a promising start, but it was ultimately disappointing. I very much related to the main character, Cecily, who, upon arriving at college her freshman year, turned around and went home for a year. I wish I could have turned around and abandoned my plans my freshman year! I don't wish I hadn't gone, but I sure would have made different choices now. Wouldn't we all? While I wish Cecily would have done more with her year off, the book was pretty realistic. I think that was the proble...more

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Apr 25, 2013 Clare rated it 4 of 5 stars

The characters are genuine and fully formed and I think there is a little of Cecily in all of us.

It's an easy and fast read (I took it out in a weeknight evening) and a definite recommendation to any high school girls (and possibly boys) you know.

In addition, if you are the kind of adult that likes the Harry Potter series (for reasons other than a love of magic and dragons) you may like it as well. It's got the unsure, exploratory feel with the easy-language, storyteller rhythm common to well-...more

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Oct 19, 2010 Jody Sparks rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorite-ya-books

It's possible that I gave this a five star rating because it has one of the best covers I've ever seen. But, I think it's more than that. Do you ever feel like you belong to a book instead of it belonging to you? That's how I felt when I read this book. And though reading it didn't blow my mind and I didn't weep and wail, I think this book accomplished exactly what it set out to do.

I couldn't necessarily relate to Cecily not wanting to go to college, but I loved that she stopped being the obedie...more

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Jul 30, 2009 Rebekah rated it 2 of 5 stars

IDK, Zulkey. If you're going to write a book about a girl doing nothing but having the same anxiety about growing up we all have, for a year, it needs to be a pretty compelling story. Think I finished this because of inertia, and because I hoped there would be payoff. Spoiler alert: she decides to go to school like everyone else. On the one hand, it's kind of nice to read a book articulating a phase you went through. OTOH, EVERYONE GOES THROUGH THIS. You are not nearly as unique as you think you...more

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Oct 05, 2011 Laurie rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: library-donations-jan-2013

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 04, 2012 Ashley rated it 1 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Jen Lancaster

Shelves: 2012-books, fluffy-fiction

I love Jen Lancaster and her books, but think her taste in author's for her reading pleasure is a bit different than mine. I got this from one of her summer reading lists and it's not been the first to disappoint.

The main character in this book, Cecily, balks on the day she moves in to college as a freshman. She has her dad take her home without even moving anything in and takes the next year off (which consists of her doing nothing of any importance). The rest of the book is a long, protracted...more

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Mar 17, 2010 Kristin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: yaf, read-2010

"An Off Year" is the year in the life of Cecily (whose last name escapes me), an eighteen year old who decides to forgo her first year of college the minute she gets to her dorm. Supposedly this is not typical behavior for Cecily, she is not a drama queen. She spends the following twelve months justifying and demystifying her decision. The story is realistic, but a good portion of American teenagers might have a hard time relating to a privileged kid from the suburban sanctuary just outside of C...more

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Kristin so far so good! some continuity issues, but otherwise interesting characters with distinct, funny voices - not those contrived teen voices that are an...more
updated Mar 14, 2010 09:03am

Kapila "gayer"? You're kidding, right? I guess once someone's written a whole entire novel it becomes really hard to see the "odd" things. But wait, I though...more
Mar 20, 2010 06:06am

Kristin I just saw this comment today. I should probably change the settings on here. Anyway, that totally sucks that the books are "censored" and the relevan...more
Jun 14, 2010 08:29pm

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