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empyrealmelody's review against another edition
3.0
This read was bearable but ultimately not something that I would ever recommend to someone. The book was centered on relationships that the (many) girls were in and the relationships were for the most part pathetic. You're willingly going to go out with a stranger knowing he's an arrogant jerk? and cry (for years) over a guy that's broken up with you over three times? or stay with a guy who you never spend time with because he's chosen his career over you but then complain about it even though you've known about this FROM THE MOMENT YOU MET HIM!? Like really? Or! you have a great guy and you're going to become all clingy and crazy? Please. Stop. The most annoying thing is that these girls self-inflicted these bad relationships. This book only got three stars from me because I like how this book functioned almost like intertwined vignettes and the author intrigued me enough to keep reading. I liked Mary. I also surprisingly liked Lauren because she was the most entertaining and perhaps most real character in the entire book. Otherwise, the ending was stupid and these girls suck.
karlynrose's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
laurenmichellebrock's review against another edition
4.0
Girls in White Dresses is a vignette of unprepared women recently graduated from college about to take the world on head first. The chapters are woven together by one common character - Isabella. Isabella is vivacious and sarcastic. She sputters through romantic relationships, and tries to find her place in a career that just doesn't suit her. She has in common with her friends the difficulties of defining oneself after college, in the workplace, and among romantic interests, professional competitors, and friendships whose foundations give out among more intense, adult situations.
The book is a testament to women's lives following graduation, or it at least tries to be. There were some likenesses between these characters' lives and my own life, but sometimes they all felt too similar. I suppose the thread that keeps these characters relevant to each other is the acquaintance with Isabella, and the difficulty of watching almost everyone but yourself get married. While I loved the variety of people I met throughout the book, it did become exhausting after a while. However, I owed this to the realities of people in real life knowing so many different people, yet only maintaining lasting friendships with a select few, and delving into the lives of those acquaintances brought them to fruition for me, even as just secondary characters.
The chapters could easily stand on their own as short stories. I enjoyed Close's structure and pacing through the different characters, and always found myself eager to come up on another chapter focusing on Isabella. Each of the chapters had a theme, given by the title, and that theme was worked symbolically and literally into the respective chapter. My favorites were JonBenet and Other Tragedies, Blind, and Until the Worm Turns, all centered around Isabella, who had the most life revelations throughout the book. She was easily the most relate-able and likable for me, and was definitely a wise choice to put in the center of these narratives.
I struggled with whether or not I wanted to give this a three- or four-star rating. There were times, especially when the narrative focused on Lauren, that I felt her "voice" was a little unrealistic. She seemed more believable when described through Isabella's chapters, and her story held less weight than even Mary's - a character Close wrote well, but focused on very little outside of Isabella's narratives. I think the biggest trouble in the book was the lack of difference between the characters in a story brimming with them. Perhaps, though, Close's intention was to model the idea of a woman in a white dress as the place all of these women wanted to be at one point or another in their lives, and that their one commonality rested in trying to come to terms with that image in their own individual ways.
The book is a testament to women's lives following graduation, or it at least tries to be. There were some likenesses between these characters' lives and my own life, but sometimes they all felt too similar. I suppose the thread that keeps these characters relevant to each other is the acquaintance with Isabella, and the difficulty of watching almost everyone but yourself get married. While I loved the variety of people I met throughout the book, it did become exhausting after a while. However, I owed this to the realities of people in real life knowing so many different people, yet only maintaining lasting friendships with a select few, and delving into the lives of those acquaintances brought them to fruition for me, even as just secondary characters.
The chapters could easily stand on their own as short stories. I enjoyed Close's structure and pacing through the different characters, and always found myself eager to come up on another chapter focusing on Isabella. Each of the chapters had a theme, given by the title, and that theme was worked symbolically and literally into the respective chapter. My favorites were JonBenet and Other Tragedies, Blind, and Until the Worm Turns, all centered around Isabella, who had the most life revelations throughout the book. She was easily the most relate-able and likable for me, and was definitely a wise choice to put in the center of these narratives.
I struggled with whether or not I wanted to give this a three- or four-star rating. There were times, especially when the narrative focused on Lauren, that I felt her "voice" was a little unrealistic. She seemed more believable when described through Isabella's chapters, and her story held less weight than even Mary's - a character Close wrote well, but focused on very little outside of Isabella's narratives. I think the biggest trouble in the book was the lack of difference between the characters in a story brimming with them. Perhaps, though, Close's intention was to model the idea of a woman in a white dress as the place all of these women wanted to be at one point or another in their lives, and that their one commonality rested in trying to come to terms with that image in their own individual ways.
frostap's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I liked this in spite of myself. The twentysomething girls (and their city adventures) felt very familiar at this point in my life. Not a forever favorite, but I liked it.
chrystalo's review against another edition
3.0
This was a very good book. It didn't change my life, but it definitely made me think about a lot of things. The characters were not perfect people, and made lots of mistakes, but it felt so realistic and reminded me of my relationships with college friends. I liked the way that it was set up, moving from story to story, but at times it felt like there were too many people to keep up with. I was forgetting names and stories a little bit by the end of it. However, it was a quick read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction.
sksrenninger's review against another edition
2.0
I really didn't think these characters had personalities. Because of that, and the disjointed narrative, I couldn't tell anyone apart or remember who was who. On top of that, it was really depressing reading about women who don't enjoy their jobs and have unfulfilling relationships in the years after college. I just graduated - please don't take away all my hope for the future.
hamilgrom's review against another edition
4.0
Written as a series of short stories rather than linear fiction, this book is a realistic and humorous insight into the lives of women in their mid-twenties. The characters where identifiable and the writing was well-written and easy to enjoy. I would happily return to Jennifer Close's work in the future.
caitlinhonard's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't actually finish this one. I was 80 pages in and didn't give two shits about any of the characters.
vegprincess's review against another edition
2.0
A little too chick-lity for me. The characters were one dimensional and interchanagble. It was difficult to rememeber who was who and who their boyfriends were. There was little or no plot, which would have been perfectly fine had this been a character-driven novel. But since the characters were so flat and uninteresting it certainly doesn't qualify as that kind of novel.
christiana's review against another edition
5.0
Are you a girl in your 20s/early 30s? Then you should really consider reading this book because you and your friends are in it. Yes, you! And some of your friends! I can't help but think this would be GREAT for a book club that is all women and like wine. It was rather hilar at times.