Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close

Girls in White Dresses

by Jennifer Close

Isabella, Mary, and Lauren feel like everyone they know is getting married. On Sunday after Sunday, at bridal shower after bridal shower, they coo over toasters, collect ribbons and wrapping paper, eat minuscule sandwiches and cakes. They wear pastel dresses and drink champagne by the case, but amid the celebration these women have their own lives to contend with: Isabella is working a dead-end job, Mary is dating a nice guy with an awful mother, and Lauren is waitressing at a midtown bar and wondering why she's attracted to the sleazy bartender.

With a wry sense of humor, Jennifer Close brings us through those thrilling, bewildering years of early adulthood as she pulls us inside the circle of these friends, perfectly capturing the wild frustrations and soaring joys of modern life.

Reviewed by Joséphine on

1 of 5 stars

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Audiobook rating: 0.5 stars
Book rating: 1 star

Wow, did that book bore me out of my skull. There was no point to Girls in White Dresses and weddings weren't even particularly prominent in the book. I can't tell you who Isabella, Lauren and Shannon were to each other. Apparently these characters were friends and another person, Mary was supposed to be one of the three main characters while Shannon was a secondary character. Everything was so disjointed, I had to borrow the ebook to verify various plot points (which hardly even existed). Throughout the book, characters merged into one person in my head.

The narrator was the saving grace to the audiobook and the only reason I trudged on. While there were some amusing moments and instances where I could relate as someone also in my mid-20s, I can't even tell you if Girls in White Dresses was supposed to have a cohesive plot or if these were random short stories told in the style of anecdotes, then mashed together into chapters.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 April, 2016: Finished reading
  • 5 April, 2016: Reviewed