Press

What the critics say

A hit in America, this wry and witty novel will pull at your heartstrings as you watch the characters navigate through work crises, romance and their turbulent twenties
- Stylist

Brilliantly well observed and delivered with deliciously dry wit, this coming-of-age tale charting the fates and fortunes of a group of young New York women became a huge hit Stateside before its publication here. Close paints vividly true portraits of the hateful and wonderful complexities of careers, romance and friendships and the result is funny, insightful and piquant. You’ll nod in agreement, laugh out loud and go out and buy copies for all your friends
- Easy Living

Close’s debut pulls you into the midst of Isabella, Mary and Lauren’s social circle, reminding us that friendship is everything in life. A great first novel, it has a touch of hit TV show Girls about it, and is full of the ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ angst that we can all relate to
- Glamour

An irresistible, pitch-perfect first novel
- Marie Claire

Witty
- New York Times

Funny, moving and true
- Guardian

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

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
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Reminiscent of Melissa Bank’s The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing. It is modern and funny, with original, wry observations. Close’s debut novel will appeal to both fans of contemporary women’s fiction with a hip vibe and readers who enjoy old-school chick lit
- Library Journal (starred review)

Close’s sardonic, well-crafted female characters and the all-too-familiar feeling of wedding fatigue will capture a large audience
- Metro News (New York)

It’s a pleasure to get to know the characters
- The Columbus Dispatch

So many books...say they perfectly capture the angst and soaring joys of post-college life, but Girls in White Dresses truly does
- Metro News (Toronto)

With a light touch and utterly believable characters, Close’s...appealing debut manages to capture the humor, heartache and cautious optimism of her protagonists
- Kirkus Reviews

Feels like catching up with an old friend... Although the majority of the stories are humorous, they are never mean-spirited, and the friendships Close portrays feel incredibly realistic
- National Post

Close straddles the line between melancholy and breeziness as she chronicles the exploits of recent college grads trying to make it in New York City . . . Hints at something deeper and truer: not just the adventure of being young, but the unmooring of it, too
- Entertainment Weekly

You’ll relate, but mostly you’ll laugh as Close turns her sweet-tart wit on the dating and mating shenanigans of this tight-knit group of friends
- Redbook

Close’s wry wit and deadpan delivery...make this debut novel a treat to read. . . . An original confection with echoes of The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing and a dollop of Sex and the City
- Shelf Awareness

Jennifer Close’s debut, Girls in White Dresses, follows a group of young women doing all the things they know they shouldn’t—falling for one’s boss, dating gay men—all while drinking far too many mimosas at other people’s weddings
- Vogue.com

Funny... These stories will resonate with readers in the throes of the quarter-life churn
- Publishers Weekly

What a delight! The young women in this hugely appealing book are charming, funny, rueful, poignant - just like their creator, in other words, one of the freshest and most appealing new voices in fiction. I can't wait for more work from Jennifer Close
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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
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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 didn't 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
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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 friendship - its lifelong loyalties and unconditional love
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Delightful… Sharply and sparely written … a great debut
- Daily Mail, Books of the Year