Hi, my name is Gabrielle and I am a self-proclaimed literature
nerd. My apartment has bookshelves stocked with books, my Pinterest board is teeming with literary quotes, I am Twitter
friends with my local bookstore[1]
in which I often use that platform to place orders, and I am constantly looking for new good
reads. The problem with my nerdom,
however, is that I am very picky about what I read. If a book does not capture my attention within
the first few pages, I will put it down and probably never return to it. I once had a book on my shelf for a year
before I could come back to it, and ended up reading it in a weekend after
that. I guess sometimes it depends on
where you are in life, for a book to make such an impact. Like with relationships, timing is
everything, and it applies to books.
Reading a book is like forming a relationship with the
characters and town the book takes place.
A good book should transport you into the scenario that the book is
taking place in, it should make you forget all your problems, or better yet,
give you a fresh prospective on them. A
book, a good book, should make you think . . . it should make you feel things,
even if just for a moment. I know when
I get wrapped up in a good book, I am sad when I finish it, because I feel I
have just lost a bunch of friends. When
you meet someone who has read the same book as you and feels as passionately as
you do about it, it’s like they have a map to your soul that no one else does. For that exclusive reason, I am always wary
of books on ‘reading lists.’ I know
myself well enough to know that mainstream reading is, 9 times out of 10, not
for me. However, that hipster way of
thinking was shattered with the book Girls
in White Dresses.
Girls in White Dresses
has showed up on every reading list and social media musing I have seen
for the past few months; so, finally caving, I decided to do my research. After reading the book’s description, I
figured my decision on the popular book was very clear . . . I had to read it. As per Amazon.com, here is the book’s
description:
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.
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.
As stated in previous blogs, this
is my year of weddings. I am going to 4
weddings, 5 bridal showers, countless bachelorette parties, and am a bridesmaid
twice, in this year alone. So after
reading the description about a group of friends where everyone is getting
married except for two girls in the group, I decided to give it a gander. Let me just start by saying the vague
description does not do the
book justice. Girls in White Dresses is about a group of college friends, not
just 3 girls, and is told in a series of separate stories. The Author, Jennifer Close, breaks up each
girl and introduces them separately so you can build a better character
picture. While, of course, their stories
do overlap and include each other, each chapter focuses on one girl and gives
you more insight into her persona.
The book takes you through their
lives in the course of ten years; post college, dating, marriages, divorces,
engagement, new jobs. Every aspect of
early adult life is depicted in this book, in my opinion, fairly
accurately. While reading, it was
impossible not to get completely engulfed in the story. I found myself being upset my commute was
over, after reading half the book in a one hour sitting. While I felt this book to be particularly
poignant during my year of weddings, I do think you can get other lessons out
of it. Girls in White Dresses is a coming of age story that I recommend in
the highest. Unlike young adult coming
of age stories, this book is more relatable than it is about a clear cut
moral. For Close’s first book, she
really knocks it out of the park. Nearing
the end of the novel I was completely overcome with sadness, because I felt I was
losing these new friends I grew so incredibly close to. That is how powerful this book is, it is so
easy to find yourself completely immersed in the life of these friends. If you
are only going to read one ‘summer reading list’ worthy book this year, I
suggest it be this one. You will not
regret it.
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