NEXT UP: Read "Girls in White Dresses"

Some celebrate the end of school by swearing off reading. Finally, a chance to toss aside the books.

I'm the opposite. A break from school (an indefinite break, I suppose) means I get a chance to read more books for pleasure - books that I can consume in less than two days while sitting on the back porch or flying home or chilling in a bookstore.

Girls in White Dresses by Jennifer Close is one of those books. I first picked it up at an independent bookstore and spent the next 2 hours reading up to p. 133 right then. Being a frugal fiend, I walked out of the store without purchasing it, vowing to come back the next day. Well, that didn't happen, but my mom was nice enough to pick it up for me when I came home a week later.

The book focuses on a few girl friends who have recently graduated college (like me!) and are pursuing jobs, apartments, and--of course--serious boyfriends. It examines how friendships change post-college, how women are often attracted to the most perfect or most awful men, and how everything seems a little better when you can laugh about it with your girl friends.

What I Liked: Having just graduated college, I could relate to a lot of these issues. Which friends will tie the knot first? Who will end up with the right guy? The wrong guy? How will I survive in a teeny tiny NYC apartment? What tasks will my first job bring? Some of the characters even reminded me of certain friends. It was an easy, enjoyable, light read that I would actually read again for fun.


What I Didn't Like: There are a lot of female characters. I'm not revealing a hidden sexist attitude; I'm revealing that I am bad with names. There were so many girls flitting in and out of story lines that I had a hard time keeping them all straight. That might be partially due to the fact that I took a week-long reading hiatus mid-book, but still.

Should you read it? Yes! Well, if you can relate to it. I'm not sure it's for the men or high school girls out there, but I think college students/grads would get a kick out of it. I finished it in a mere two reading sessions, so it was a quick read.


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