Girls in White Dresses

✍ Scribed by Jennifer Close

• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 164 KB
• Edition: 1st ed
• Category: Fiction

✦ Synopsis

Amazon.com Review

J. Courtney Sullivan Reviews *Girls in White Dresses*

J. Courtney Sullivan is the author of two New York Times bestselling novels, Maine and Commencement. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Book Review, The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, and New York magazine, among others. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Like a lot of women in America, I was awake at 4 a.m. on April 29th. But unlike the rest, I wasnt waiting to see Kate Middleton walk down the aisle. I was reading Girls in White Dresses.

This hilarious, pitch-perfect debut more or less took over my life for three glorious days. I cancelled dinners, ignored deadlines and went without sleep, all because I could not stop reading it.

The author introduces an unforgettable cast of characters who navigate post-college life in the city. I laughed a lot while reading this novel, nodded knowingly, and occasionally wondered if Jennifer Close had been secretly reading my emails for the past ten years.

Any woman who has been a twenty-something can relate: There are first jobs (Isabella knew [her boss] thought the Greek salad was super healthy, and for that she pitied him.) First homes (They hung mirrors on the walls to make the apartment seem bigger.) First weddings (You never want to be the first one of your friends to get married. If you are, just resign yourself to the fact that your wedding will be a sh-t show.)

With wit and wisdom, Close captures every little detail of New York life in ones twenties; that decade that so often begins with late nights out and ill-advised infatuations, yet somehow ends with bridal showers and babies and mothers-in-law named Button. Close leads her characters from the days of living together in cramped apartments straight through to a time when life has gotten hectic, obligations have increased, and a stolen weekend away at a beach house is the only bonding time they get.

Through it all--through drunken nights and hungover mornings, evil bosses, cancelled engagements, and that time Mary lost her mind and named her newborn baby Gertrude for three days--their friendships remain a constant.

Girls in White Dresses is reminiscent of Melissa Banks The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, but at the same time its a total original, perfectly reflecting the events of recent years: One character loses her boyfriend to a charismatic political candidate, campaigning on hope and change. Another gets married the same weekend that the King of Pop dies, and her wedding turns into a Michael Jackson tribute concert.

Only once in a very blue moon does a book captivate me as much as this one did. Read it immediately and prepare to be up all night.

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Review

"What a delight! The young women in this hugely appealing book are charming, funny, rueful, poignantjust like their creator, in other words, one of the freshest and most appealing new voices in fiction. I cant wait for more work from Jennifer Close." Ann Packer, bestselling author of The Dive from Clausens Pier and Swim Back to Me
"Mixed in with the trials and tribulations of the protagonists are humorous vignettes from the lives of some of their other friends and acquaintancesmany of whom are on their way to the altar or trying to find a way to get there. . . . Reminiscent of Melissa Banks The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing. It is modern and funny, with original, wry observations. Closes debut novel will appeal to both fans of contemporary womens fiction with a hip vibe and readers who enjoy old-school chick lit." Library Journal (starred review)

"These Girls are smart, funny and extremely engaging.You will adore them and their poignant--andoftenhilarious--romantic yearnings." Danielle Ganek, author of *The Summer We Read Gatsby

"The only way to express my love for Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close is to tell you that this is the one book that I will be recommending over and over again to all of my friends. I laughed, I cried, I nodded knowingly as the characters waded their way through the hits and misses of their twenties and thirties. I can't remember the last time I loved a book as much as this one." Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of The One That I Want and Time of My Life*

"Girls In White Dresses is a dark, funny, intimate romp through boyfriends, first apartments, and great friendships--but beneath the surface lurks the jealousy, disappointment, and love that didnt quite end up the way you thought it would. Jennifer Close's brilliant, deadpan humor made me laugh so hard my own roommate thought I was nuts." Margot Berwin, author of *Hothouse Flower

"If Elizabeth Bennet were post-collegiate, hungover, lovelorn and living on the Upper West Side, she would definitely be rooming with the Girls in White Dresses.This debut is hilarious, warm-hearted and wise, and I couldn't put it down." Holly LeCraw, author of The Swimming Pool

*"*Girls in White Dresses is about a group of smart, funny, unapologetically grouchy, always-hungover female friends who kvetch their way through one another's weddings and showers, stare blearily at one another's offspring, sometimes barely tolerate one another's men, but nonetheless have one another's backs through thick and thin. Jennifer Close has written an unsentimental, frank novel about female friendshipits lifelong loyalties and unconditional love." Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of The Great Man and The Astral
*

Library : General
Formats : EPUB
ISBN : 9780307596857