A review by donttakemybooks
The Smart One by Jennifer Close

3.0

I liked this, but not as much as Girls in White Dresses. I like Jennifer Close's writing quite a bit, though I know the focus on the ordinary every day events of life is not everyone's cup of tea, I tend to appreciate it. I had trouble with how difficult some of the characters were... it was just grating to read about Weezy underestimating her adult children and trying to run their lives, for example. I also felt that this one felt much more exclusive/less universal than Girls in White Dresses did (though, yes, that one was pretty white, upper middle class, too). This really felt like a WASPy, rich people story, which made it harder for me to relate. Some of the attitudes towards cohabitation, homosexuality, premarital sex, and unplanned pregnancy seemed very old fashioned for the characters holding those beliefs. It just seemed weird for a 21 year old to be embarrassed to live with her boyfriend... that was actually fairly common when I was in college 10 years before this book was written, especially for juniors/seniors. In any case, I'm not writing off Jennifer Close. She writes very well and has an understanding for relationship dynamics, so there is a lot of potential there.