Girls in White Dresses

By: Jennifer Close

Narrated by: Emily Janice Card

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's 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.

©2011 Jennifer Close (P)2011 Listening Library

Critic reviews

"[Close’s characters] grumble good-naturedly through their friends’ weddings and the births of their babies, supporting one another as they stumble through the minefield of rotten jobs and disastrous romances, with the pluck and gimlet eye of Carrie Bradshaw’s younger, smarter sisters." (Vanity Fair)

"This debut will ring bells. Wedding bells.... An uncanny portrait emerges of a time in life marked by too many hangovers, bad dates and bridal showers - as well as an abundance of solid friendships." (People)

"Close’s cynical humor shines.... Close captures that mix of perplexing anticipation, tedium, poor choices, dashed hopes and resilience that characterizes young adulthood." (The New York Journal of Books)

Hey, I enjoyed it!

This seemed to be more like a series of seventeen short stories with recurring characters rather than a novel. But I found each story charming in its own way. The main character changes from story to story, with some appearing as the star only once. When characters reappear in a later story, it was interesting to see how their attitudes changed along with their circumstances, since the stories take place over ten years. I did think that the description of the book was misleading. It tries to shoehorn four separate stories (chapters 10, 1, 14, and 6) into a single plot line and ignores the other thirteen stories. No wonder some readers were confused. I recommend that you listen to this book as 17 freestanding stories that just happen to be presented together.

Dull

The story went nowhere and with ~2 hours left, I finally quit. Hopefully it got better for those that stuck it out.

Save your money...

This story just failed to impress overall. Another story that simply helped me pass the time on my commute. Just "ehh".

A book for preteens

I was looking forward to reading this book especially since everyone around me seems to be getting a ring on it...I thought this book would share how the characters dealt with it but it turned out they all were whinny self-centered girls who don’t appreciate people for who they are...somewhat entertaining.

enjoyable beach read

If you could sum up Girls in White Dresses in three words, what would they be?

enjoyable, beach, read.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I liked the different perspectives and the looping stories. I liked that you learned about each girl to an extent but that you still mainly focused on isabel.

Which scene was your favorite?

idk

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

nope. its a simple read. not much emotion

Any additional comments?

As a young adult woman this book is relatable. everyone getting married or looking for marriage and some people finding it in places or people you didn't expect while still the main character struggles. but each character doesn't have much depth and you end up not really caring about any of the relationships which sucks because the whole book is about relationships.

Alright

Would you try another book from Jennifer Close and/or Emily Janice Card?

No. It was a bit flat. Character development was begun on some characters and then abandoned. Definitely skewed more towards Isabella and skipped over a lot of the other characters.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes

Do you think Girls in White Dresses needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No

Maybe I'm crazy...

...but I really liked "Girls in White Dresses". It was told in vignettes with the focus shifting from one girl to another. The focus came back on most of the girls later on in the book though no one more so than Isabella. She was the character I related to most and so I enjoyed popping in to see what was going on in her life as the years progressed.

I think what I loved most about it was how realistic the dialogue was. This is exactly how my friends and I talk and I often found myself laughing as I pictured one of my friends saying some of the lines. I can understand how the repetitive "she said" can get annoying. It usually bothers me too but I didn't notice it here.

I liked Emily Janice Card's narration enough. I think she sounded like a snarky 20-something, though some of the voices she did were a little irritating (especially Lauren's voice.)

Just couldn't get into it

Although this book is highly recommended, I just couldn't get into it and have put it aside for those days when I have nothing else to read.

Didn't go anywhere

The stories are cute sometimes but the book as a whole seemed disjointed. I was never sure where it was going.

A bit boring

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It was a solid okay. It followed the stories of several girls who met in college.

What was most disappointing about Jennifer Close’s story?

Great title. I expected more.

What didn’t you like about Emily Janice Card’s performance?

Also a bit boring.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not.