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True To Form
True To Form
Nov 9, 2025 2:10 AM

Author:Elizabeth Berg

True To Form

In this warm and engaging novel, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Berg revisits the heroine she so lovingly brought to life in Durable Goods and Joy School. It is 1961, and thirteen-year-old Katie is facing a summer full of conflict. First, instead of letting her find her own work for the season, Katie's father has arranged for two less than ideal baby-sitting jobs. Worse, Katie has been forcibly inducted into the 'loser' Girl Scout troop organized by her only friend Cynthia's controlling and clueless mother. A much anticipated visit to her former home in Texas and ex-best friend Cherylanne proves disappointing. And then comes an act of betrayal that leaves Katie questioning her views on friendship, on her ability not to take those she loves for granted, and most important, on herself. Full of anguish and the joys of adolescence in a much more innocent time, True to Form is sure to make readers remember and reflect upon their own moments of discovery and self-definition.

Reviews

Anyone who loved The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole will enjoy this collection of witty and sharply observed jottings from the inimitable Sue Townsend. Great stuff

—— OK!

Full of homely, hilarious asides on the absurdities of domestic existence . . . What a fantastic advertisement for middle-age - it can't be bad if it's this funny

—— Heat

'It's as if Townsend has caught our idiosyncrasies on candid camera and is showing a rerun of all the silly clips ... the ideal dip-in-and-out book'

—— Time Out

The writing is full of sardonic wit and wordplay, much in the same way of Pratchett’s Discworld, and each chapter begins with a pun (this is somewhat to be expected in a book called Apocalypse Cow, but will leave readers laughing and groaning in equal measure)

—— Bookgeeks

The book ploughs the same furrows as Shaun of the Dead, wonderfully parodying the zombie and survival horror genre, but at the same time paying homage to it. It is worthy of a place amongst the best apocalyptic fiction, and while it may not be as prescient or deep as some others in this area, it is still eminently readable, brilliantly written and side-splitting funny

—— Bookgeeks

This was a very good twist on the very much overdone zombie genre

—— She Loves Reading

350 pages of rotting, rutting, oozing and flaking

—— We Love This Book

Such intensity ... a big book about history and violence, you can feel the blood running off the page. It is also a very personal and human book

—— Dreda Say Mitchell

First piece I've read that puts you completely into the Jewish history. A fascinating new look

—— Cahal Dallat

Gripping and visceral

—— Arifa Akbar , The Independent

'The descriptions of violence are visceral. Parts could be describing contemporary Afghanistan with only a change of names... indisputably elegant.

—— Stuart Kelly , Scotland on Sunday

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)

This debut will ring 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

It’s a pleasure to get to know the characters

—— The Columbus Dispatch

Funny and often poignant...The vignettes of White Dresses are intricate and often absurd, yet instantly relatable

—— Winnipeg Free Press

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

—— Ann Packer, bestselling author of The Dive from Clausen’s Pier and Swim Back to Me

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

—— Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author of 'The One That I Want' and 'Time of My Life'

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

—— Margot Berwin, author of Hothouse Flower

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

—— Kate Christensen, PEN/Faulkner Award-winning author of 'The Great Man' and 'The Astral'

I recently read a book which explores the same post-university landscape that Girls handles; Jennifer Close's Girls In White Dresses. Like Girls, it is often funny, moving and true to (my and other straight women of a certain age living in a big city) life

—— Bim Adewunmi , Guardian

Delightful… Sharply and sparely written … a great debut

—— Wendy Holden , Daily Mail, Books of the Year
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