Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2002. 201 pages. $10.99 ISBN 0316910333
Readers Annotation: In the Upper East Side or Manhattan, teens are given free reign of limitless money, clothes, drugs and alcohol.
Plot Summary: After being away at boarding school for a year, Serena Van Der Woodson returns to Constance Billard for her senior year. She hoped that the past would be forgotten, and she would go back to being best friends with Blair Waldorf, but it seems that Blair enjoyed her rise to the top in Serena's absence. Jenny, a freshman, is eager to become part of the elite group of girls at Constance so she offers her art skills for invitations to the Kiss on the Lips charity party, and in return she must be able to attend. Dan, Jenny's brother, has been obsessed with Serena as long as he can remember and is awe struck when she tries out for a part in his friend Vanessa's film. Vanessa is in love with Dan, however, and refuses Serena the part. Chuck is in love with all women and will stop at nothing to get in their pants, where as his friend Nate, an habitual pot-smoker, is confused as to whether he loves his girlfriend Blair or his first time Serena more. This crazy bunch are thrown together on the night of the Kiss on the Lips party, and not everything goes as planned.
Critical Evaluation: When I started this book I wasn't sure what to expect. Every few chapters there is a screen shot of the Gossip Girl blog discussing the latest Upper East Side Gossip. Other than these blips, the book is fairly unimaginative. The conversations the characters have are ridiculous, somewhere in between immature teen and uber-mature adult. The situations these teens are in seem to be way above their age level, but some how they make it seem ordinary and at times boring. The book just seems poorly written, although I suppose teens want a quick read that gives them a glimpse into the supposed New York City social scene. Personally, I didn't like this book, but I'm afraid there are many, many teens out there that do.
Information about the Author: Cecily von Ziegesar was one of the Upper East Side private school students. Since her private school days she has written 13 Gossip Girl Novels, and has two spin off series called The It Girl and The Carlyles.
Genre: Drama
Age Level: Ages 15 and up
Curriculum Ties: None
Book talking ideas: Talk about the changes made when books are made into tv shows or movies. Also discuss the differences between these elite teens and the average teen.
Challenge Issues: The sexual encounters, lude behavior, language usage, drug and alcohol use may be issues for most parents.
Why I included it: I included Gossip Girl because I happen to love the TV show but for some reason the TV show makes it seem so much more sophisticated. I also know that the series of books is very popular among teens.
von Ziegesar, Cecily. Gossip Girl. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2002. 201 pages. $10.99 ISBN 0316910333
Readers Annotation: In the Upper East Side or Manhattan, teens are given free reign of limitless money, clothes, drugs and alcohol.
Plot Summary: After being away at boarding school for a year, Serena Van Der Woodson returns to Constance Billard for her senior year. She hoped that the past would be forgotten, and she would go back to being best friends with Blair Waldorf, but it seems that Blair enjoyed her rise to the top in Serena's absence. Jenny, a freshman, is eager to become part of the elite group of girls at Constance so she offers her art skills for invitations to the Kiss on the Lips charity party, and in return she must be able to attend. Dan, Jenny's brother, has been obsessed with Serena as long as he can remember and is awe struck when she tries out for a part in his friend Vanessa's film. Vanessa is in love with Dan, however, and refuses Serena the part. Chuck is in love with all women and will stop at nothing to get in their pants, where as his friend Nate, an habitual pot-smoker, is confused as to whether he loves his girlfriend Blair or his first time Serena more. This crazy bunch are thrown together on the night of the Kiss on the Lips party, and not everything goes as planned.
Critical Evaluation: When I started this book I wasn't sure what to expect. Every few chapters there is a screen shot of the Gossip Girl blog discussing the latest Upper East Side Gossip. Other than these blips, the book is fairly unimaginative. The conversations the characters have are ridiculous, somewhere in between immature teen and uber-mature adult. The situations these teens are in seem to be way above their age level, but some how they make it seem ordinary and at times boring. The book just seems poorly written, although I suppose teens want a quick read that gives them a glimpse into the supposed New York City social scene. Personally, I didn't like this book, but I'm afraid there are many, many teens out there that do.
Information about the Author: Cecily von Ziegesar was one of the Upper East Side private school students. Since her private school days she has written 13 Gossip Girl Novels, and has two spin off series called The It Girl and The Carlyles.
Genre: Drama
Age Level: Ages 15 and up
Curriculum Ties: None
Book talking ideas: Talk about the changes made when books are made into tv shows or movies. Also discuss the differences between these elite teens and the average teen.
Challenge Issues: The sexual encounters, lude behavior, language usage, drug and alcohol use may be issues for most parents.
Why I included it: I included Gossip Girl because I happen to love the TV show but for some reason the TV show makes it seem so much more sophisticated. I also know that the series of books is very popular among teens.
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