Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

GIRLS IN WHITE DRESSES by Jennifer Close

Publisher: Knopf (a division of Random House)

Publication Date: 8.16.11

Pages: 304

SUMMARY: Wry, hilarious, and utterly recognizable, Girls in White Dresses tells the story of three young women grappling with heartbreak and career change, family pressure and new love—all while suffering through an endless round of weddings and bridal showers.

Isabella, Mary, and Lauren are going to be bridesmaids in Kristi’s wedding. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, eat tiny sandwiches, and drink mimosas. They’re all happy for Kristi, but they do have the ups and downs of their own lives to cope with. Isabella is working at a mailing-list company, where she’s extremely successful, and wildly unhappy. Mary is in love with a man who may never love any woman as much as he loves his mother. And Lauren, a waitress at a midtown bar, finds herself drawn to a man she’s pretty sure she hates.

With blind dates and ski vacations, boozy lunches and family holidays, relationships lost to politics and relationships found in pet stores, Girls in White Dresses pulls us deep inside the circle of these friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life.

REVIEW: Jennifer Close’s debut novel Girls in White Dresses explores the complexity of being a single woman. The novel follows the lives of three women, Lauren, Isabella and Mary, as they navigate the often treacherous waters of relationships, friendships, work, and the fear of the unknown. The novel is told in a series of connecting stories and is a wonderful approach as it allows the reader to observe small moments within the lives of these women. Each character is real and authentic and the writing is pitch perfect. Conversations between characters are so honest that you will feel you are listening in on conversations you have had with your own friends. A sign of a great book is when you forget you are reading and are just trying to learn more about the characters lives. This is exactly what happened when reading Girls in White Dresses. I think most women will identify with many of the experiences of these characters. Experiencing the lives of others, vicariously through literature, is a truly wonderful and unique adventure. When you can relate to characters, it makes that experience even more meaningful. We read to learn about new lives but also to learn more about ourselves. Girls in White Dresses will give every woman a glimpse into their own lives from an outside, objective perspective and you will find yourself recommending it to all of your girlfriends.