{"title":"Jennifer Close","description":"\u003cp\u003eDive into the sharply observed world of Jennifer Close, where she expertly dissects modern relationships and suburban life. Perfect for readers who enjoy Liane Moriarty or Emma Straub, browse her insightful novels.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"marrying-the-ketchups-book-jennifer-close-9780525658870","title":"Marrying the Ketchups","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn irresistible comedy of manners about three generations of a Chicago restaurant family and the deep-fried, beer-battered, cream cheese-frosted love that feeds them all\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e--from the best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eGirls in White Dresses\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eLaugh-out-loud funny, and deeply resonant to our times. I was so happy to be in the Sullivan family's Chicago bar, caught in the swirl of three generations of grudges, love affairs and fraught personal decisions.\u003cbr\u003e--Ann Napolitano, best-selling author of \u003ci\u003eDear Edward\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHere are the three things the Sullivan family knows to be true: the Chicago Cubs will always be the underdogs; historical progress is inevitable; and their grandfather, Bud, founder of JP Sullivan's, will always make the best burgers in Oak Park. But when, over the course of three strange months, the Cubs win the World Series, Trump is elected president, and Bud drops dead, suddenly everyone in the family finds themselves doubting all they hold dear. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eTake Gretchen for example, lead singer for a '90s cover band who has been flirting with fame for a decade but is beginning to wonder if she's too old to be chasing a childish dream. Or Jane, Gretchen's older sister, who is starting to suspect that her fitness-obsessed husband who hides the screen of his phone isn't always working late. And then there's Teddy, their steadfast, unfailingly good cousin, nursing heartbreak and confusion because the guy who dumped him keeps showing up for lunch at JP Sullivan's where Teddy is the manager. How can any of them be expected to make the right decisions when the world feels sideways--and the bartender at JP Sullivan's makes such strong cocktails? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eOutrageously funny and wickedly astute, \u003ci\u003eMarrying the Ketchups\u003c\/i\u003e is a delicious confection by one of our most beloved authors.\u003cbr\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49510309462289,"sku":"GOR012905224","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49724486123793,"sku":"CIN0525658874G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50140845506833,"sku":"CIN0525658874VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50315784749329,"sku":"GOR013923872","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51327287132433,"sku":"CIN0525658874A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0525658874.jpg?v=1750943754"},{"product_id":"girls-in-white-dresses-book-jennifer-close-9780099563334","title":"Girls in White Dresses","description":"Ever feel like everyone but you has their life under control?  Isabella, Mary and Lauren feel like everyone they know has a plan, a good job, and a nice boyfriend.   Isabella, on the other hand, thinks she might hate her own boyfriend, Mary is working so hard she's hoping to get hit by a car just so she can have some time off work and Lauren is dating a man who can't spell her first name.   All three of them have been friends since college, and now - more than ever - they need each other, as they struggle through those thrilling, bewildering, what-on-earth-am-I-doing years when everyone else is getting married and they're just getting drunk.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49532955361553,"sku":"GOR004239760","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49910521069841,"sku":"CIN0099563339G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51544553980177,"sku":"GOR004629140","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51838656282897,"sku":"GOR011078394","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53364196704529,"sku":"GOR004415262","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0099563339.jpg?v=1762337861"},{"product_id":"smart-one-book-jennifer-close-9780099563297","title":"The Smart One","description":"The Coffey siblings are having a rough year.  Claire has broken up with her fiancé and is hiding from her debts. Martha’s in a career crisis and even her therapist is losing patience with her. And Max, the baby of the family in his final year of college, is keeping a life-altering secret. Before long, all three of them have moved back home.  But things aren’t so easy the second time around. Martha and Claire regress to fighting over the shared bathroom while their mother continues to plan Claire’s thwarted wedding (unbeknownst to Claire). But it’s only a matter of time before Max’s secret comes out and changes all of their lives…","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49536566886673,"sku":"GOR005844779","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0099563290.jpg?v=1751258007"},{"product_id":"hopefuls-book-jennifer-close-9781101911457","title":"The Hopefuls","description":"\u003cb\u003eA blazingly honest portrait of ambition and marriage, and a brilliantly funny send-up of young D.C., from the bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eGirls in White Dresses.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e\"Hilarious.... A pleasure to read.\"--\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e A New York newlywed, Beth was supportive when her husband, Matt, decided to follow his political dreams all the way to Washington. Yet soon after they move to D.C., Beth realizes that she hates everything about it: the traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer, and, most of all, the lonely dinner parties where anyone who doesn't work in politics is politely ignored. Things start to change when the couple meets a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh. The four become inseparable, coordinating brunches, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy's star rises higher and higher, the couples' friendship--and Beth's relationship with Matt--is threatened by jealousy, competition, and rumors.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49561580798225,"sku":"GOR013563002","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49577571811601,"sku":"GOR009228744","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50111140528401,"sku":"CIN110191145XVG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50371260121361,"sku":"CIN110191145XG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53082847969553,"sku":"NIN9781101911457","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/110191145X.jpg?v=1751439079"},{"product_id":"things-we-need-book-jennifer-close-9780701186654","title":"Things We Need","description":"‘In the Coffey house, there was always a list taped to the refrigerator. At the top, it was titled: THINGS WE NEED. The title was always capped and underlined, as if to stress that yes, this is important, these aren’t just things we want, these are things we need.’  Will and Weezy Coffey thought they’d prepared their three children for the challenges and hurdles of adult life. But being a grown-up isn’t easy.  Claire’s engagement has been called off and she’s hiding from her debts. Martha’s in a career crisis and even her sympathetic therapist is losing patience. And Max, the baby of the family in his final year at college, has got himself into a serious girlfriend fiasco.  Things We Need tells a story we all recognise, only a wittier, wiser version. Jennifer Close turns her gimlet eye and deadpan humour on the messiness of family life. A story about modern life and the place we return to when things go drastically awry: home.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49577321726225,"sku":"GOR004855916","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50762650747153,"sku":"CIN0701186658G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53200488136977,"sku":"GOR007531060","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0701186658.jpg?v=1750816575"},{"product_id":"girls-in-white-dresses-book-jennifer-close-9780307596857","title":"Girls in White Dresses","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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith 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.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49650708087057,"sku":"GOR005739329","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49930499457297,"sku":"CIN0307596850G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50794581000465,"sku":"CIN0307596850VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":53499578974481,"sku":"CIN0307596850A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0307596850.jpg?v=1750739109"},{"product_id":"smart-one-book-jennifer-close-9780307596864","title":"The Smart One","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Coffey siblings are having a rough year. Martha is thirty and working at J. Crew after a spectacular career flameout; Claire has broken up with her fianc  and locked herself in her New York apartment until her bank account looks as grim as her mood; and the baby of the family, Max, is dating a knockout classmate named Cleo and keeping a very big, very life-altering secret. The only solution--for all of them--is to move back home. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But things aren't so easy the second time around, for them or for their mother, Weezy. Martha and Claire have regressed to fighting over the shared bathroom, Weezy can't quite bring herself to stop planning Claire's thwarted wedding, and Max and Cleo are exchanging secretive whispers in the basement. Jennifer Close's funny and tender follow-up to her bestselling debut novel is a story about the ways in which we never really grow up, and the people we turn to when things go drastically wrong: family. ","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49789223403793,"sku":"CIN0307596869G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53026898313489,"sku":"CIN0307596869VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0307596869.jpg?v=1751390171"},{"product_id":"girls-in-white-dresses-cd-9780307939340","title":"Girls in White Dresses","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49801827123473,"sku":"CIN0307939340G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50346985619729,"sku":"CIN0307939340VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0307939340.jpg?v=1750844276"},{"product_id":"marrying-the-ketchups-book-jennifer-close-9780593081389","title":"Marrying the Ketchups","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49868573442321,"sku":"GOR013802824","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50358048293137,"sku":"CIN0593081382VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51004183773457,"sku":"NIN9780593081389","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51853049102609,"sku":"GOR014428283","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52104480260369,"sku":"CIN0593081382G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0593081382.jpg?v=1750847036"},{"product_id":"girls-in-white-dresses-book-jennifer-close-9780307743695","title":"Girls in White Dresses","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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith 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.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49930137567505,"sku":"CIN0307743691G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50029569999121,"sku":"CIN0307743691VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50348461588753,"sku":"CIN0307743691A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51000765514001,"sku":"NIN9780307743695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53260029002001,"sku":"GOR004413006","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0307743691.jpg?v=1751005239"},{"product_id":"hopefuls-book-jennifer-close-9781101875612","title":"The Hopefuls","description":"A brilliantly funny novel about ambition and marriage from the best selling author of Girls in White Dresses, The Better Half tells the story of a young wife who follows her husband and his political dreams to D.C., a city of idealism, gossip, and complicated friendships among young Washington's aspiring elite. \u003cbr\u003eWhen Beth arrives in Washington, D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunch, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy's star rises higher and higher, their friendship--and Beth's relationship with Matt--is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumors. A glorious send-up of young D.C. and a blazingly honest portrait of a marriage, this is the finest work yet by one of our most beloved writers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50037452112145,"sku":"CIN1101875615VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":51328992936209,"sku":"CIN1101875615A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51430043255057,"sku":"GOR008814233","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52105748250897,"sku":"CIN1101875615G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1101875615.jpg?v=1751444813"},{"product_id":"smart-one-book-jennifer-close-9780307743701","title":"The Smart One","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Coffey siblings are having a rough year. Martha is thirty and working at J. Crew after a spectacular career flameout; Claire has broken up with her fianc  and locked herself in her New York apartment until her bank account looks as grim as her mood; and the baby of the family, Max, is dating a knockout classmate named Cleo and keeping a very big, very life-altering secret. The only solution--for all of them--is to move back home. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But things aren't so easy the second time around, for them or for their mother, Weezy. Martha and Claire have regressed to fighting over the shared bathroom, Weezy can't quite bring herself to stop planning Claire's thwarted wedding, and Max and Cleo are exchanging secretive whispers in the basement. Jennifer Close's funny and tender follow-up to her bestselling debut novel is a story about the ways in which we never really grow up, and the people we turn to when things go drastically wrong: family. ","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50100914585873,"sku":"CIN0307743705G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50153220014353,"sku":"CIN0307743705VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50348449857809,"sku":"CIN0307743705A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0307743705.jpg?v=1751037513"},{"product_id":"the-hopefuls-cd-9780735287259","title":"The Hopefuls","description":"A brilliantly funny novel about ambition and marriage from the best selling author of Girls in White Dresses, The Better Half tells the story of a young wife who follows her husband and his political dreams to D.C., a city of idealism, gossip, and complicated friendships among young Washington's aspiring elite. \u003cbr\u003eWhen Beth arrives in Washington, D.C., she hates everything about it: the confusing traffic circles, the ubiquitous Ann Taylor suits, the humidity that descends each summer. At dinner parties, guests compare their security clearance levels. They leave their BlackBerrys on the table. They speak in acronyms. And once they realize Beth doesn't work in politics, they smile blandly and turn away. Soon Beth and her husband, Matt, meet a charismatic White House staffer named Jimmy and his wife, Ashleigh, and the four become inseparable, coordinating brunch, birthdays, and long weekends away. But as Jimmy's star rises higher and higher, their friendship--and Beth's relationship with Matt--is threatened by jealousy, competition and rumors. A glorious send-up of young D.C. and a blazingly honest portrait of a marriage, this is the finest work yet by one of our most beloved writers.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50358214099217,"sku":"CIN0735287252G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50358218293521,"sku":"CIN0735287252VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0735287252.jpg?v=1751328380"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-jennifer-close.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}