Gossip Girl
 Cecily von Ziegesar
 (Associate Student Reviewer - Karrie G.)
 2002 Little, Brown & Co
  ISBN: 0316910333


The most popular girl's view of the world via her successful gossip website.

Associate Student Reviewer Karrie G. writes:

With wit & style Gossip Girl dishes out the gossip of the most glamorous, the wannabes, & the mysterious return of one Serena van der Woodsen.

In the first few pages of Gossip Girl one is skeptical of the narrator. She apparently lives a life of luxury & riches, & has it all. My immediate thought was: “she's making it up as she goes along.” But soon you will devour the book, sympathize & hate the very different characters.

Gossip Girl takes a closer look at the social ladder in High School, & the pressures to be the thinnest, most beautiful, most popular. & though some things are exaggerated (i.e. the lives of the rich teenagers) any teenager can relate to them.

Even Blair Waldorf, one of the most popular girls at Constance Billard School for Girls, is secretly forcing herself to vomit in bathrooms. Jenny, an over-developed sophomore with few friends, is desperately trying to become popular, only to be disappointed with her “reward.” Daniel is & has been head-over-heels for the beautiful, graceful Serena Van Der Woodsen who does not know he exists. Meanwhile, the funky, artistic & very unpopular Vanessa secretly loves Daniel.

Amidst a cloud of mystery & suspicion, Serena returns from boarding school in Europe. Gossip Girl tells the reader all the most ridiculous rumors a teenaged mind can think of for the reason she got kicked out. Perhaps she gave birth to a baby in France? Or maybe she was dealing drugs? Hadn't someone said she had joined some sort of cult that involved slaughtering chickens under the full moon?

Soon enough Serena is loathed & resented very much by her fellow classmates. Blair too, once Serena's best friend, has taken to spreading rumors about her & excluding her from social events. It doesn't help matters that Blair's boyfriend has always held a special place for Serena in his heart.

As Blair's benefit ball approaches, the tension is high & the gossip more outrageous than ever. Will Daniel ever catch Serena's eye? Can Jenny become part of the popular crowd? To what lengths will she go? Will Serena ever set the record straight? & what about Vanessa? WHO is Gossip Girl? For her identity is a secret...

Is that chicken cult rumor true? 'Cause that's just weird!

If you want to find out? Than read one of this year's hottest teen novels -- Gossip Girl. The book rocked!

I'm looking forward to the sequel!
(07/14/02)

Karrie G.
A RebeccasReads.Com Associate Student Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
Karrie G. lives in The Netherlands. She is 15 years old, attends a Dutch Language School & is originally from Wisconsin, USA

Her favorite colors are: light blue, sea green, lavender & black!
Favorite sports are: swimming & soccer.
Favorite school subjects are: languages & creative writing class.
Favorite things to do are: playing the piano, reading, writing short stories & poetry, drawing & going to the movie theater.
The Netherlands is one of the smallest countries in Europe. Most people call the Netherlands Holland & it is about the size of Connecticut, but with a lot more people, sixteen million. You may think of tulips, chocolate, windmills & wooden shoes when you think of Holland. Although there are still lots of tulips & chocolate, & there are still some windmills, you wouldn't see many people wearing clogs today.