Scan barcode
thebookborrower's review against another edition
4.0
Slightly better then the previous novel, but I’m hoping something exciting and dramatic actually happens soon.
teenage_reads's review against another edition
3.0
Oh, how troublesome life can be on the Upper East Side? From what show to go to during this year’s Fashion Week, to early acceptances to universities, the seniors truly have only one thing to count on: parties. Yes because by this point there is nothing left for them to do. No clubs to sign up for, no fundraisers to impress the universities’ with, and no time for your parents’ to build a new wing for the library. The decision is out of their hands, leaving our group to focus on other things (except Blair because that girl never quits) like love as Valentine’s day is coming up, and everyone is looking for someone to share that special day with.
Let’s talk about our girls first shall we? Blair and Serena are not getting along. Ever since Serena started dating Blair’s step-brother Aaron, the two gals just stop clicking; not as if they were a good pair before. Serena, although is happy, she has the world at her feet, a modeling gig to perform at, high school is well behind her as her university plans are all set out. All she has to worry about is loving Aaron, and having fun. “That was the great thing about being so beautiful and so carefree. It didn’t, matter who you were with or what silly thing you were doing – you always had a fabulous time.” When Serena was off having the time of her life, Blair, being Blair, had a meltdown. Ruining her chance at Yale, she was given a second shot. A co-worker of her father, also a Yale alumni, was going to put in a personal recommendation for her, and wanted to meet her out for drinks, but when he turned out to be hotter and younger than expected, Blair had a hard time keeping it in her pants. Jenny and Vanessa own lives are thrust into difficult situations as Jenny makes a friend, who likes her more than a friend, and Vanessa’s who’s life and relationship are both thrown into the spotlight.
And now for our lovely boys. Starting out with the one who appears the least: Chuck. In the television show Chuck was a big deal, but in the books? Not so much. Chuck appears randomly throughout the story with no true content, with the only talk is people speculation weather or not he is gay/bi. Nate is busted for some weed, and is sent to rehab, which may not have been the worst decision of his life as there is a princess there just waiting to meet him. Aaron is alone, with no Blair to help him, as he tries to stay cool and collected as his girlfriend takes the world by storm. Lastly but not least Dan who’s poem was published got him more of a response than he thought, causes him to make a life changing decision, one he hopes not to regret.
Cecily von Ziegesar is the queen of writing trashy teen novels. Not going to lie, I love them! Perfect for the poolside, these summer novels, only 230 pages, these books take you to the high life of the Upper East Side. Taking place in February the novels spend a lot of time talking about love, and by love I mean sex, lust, and relationships. The gang has their usual drama, with a bit of break ups and kiss ups, but in the end, we know no real harm can come to them, after all they are the rich kids. The writing was the same, kind of sloppy, but kept the plot moving, with the short chapters and no wait time to see what happens next. It is a fun novel to read, as you cannot set it down, keep waiting to see what crazy stunt Blair will pull off, who Serena will bat her beautiful eyes at, and what type of characters will we meet next.
Let’s talk about our girls first shall we? Blair and Serena are not getting along. Ever since Serena started dating Blair’s step-brother Aaron, the two gals just stop clicking; not as if they were a good pair before. Serena, although is happy, she has the world at her feet, a modeling gig to perform at, high school is well behind her as her university plans are all set out. All she has to worry about is loving Aaron, and having fun. “That was the great thing about being so beautiful and so carefree. It didn’t, matter who you were with or what silly thing you were doing – you always had a fabulous time.” When Serena was off having the time of her life, Blair, being Blair, had a meltdown. Ruining her chance at Yale, she was given a second shot. A co-worker of her father, also a Yale alumni, was going to put in a personal recommendation for her, and wanted to meet her out for drinks, but when he turned out to be hotter and younger than expected, Blair had a hard time keeping it in her pants. Jenny and Vanessa own lives are thrust into difficult situations as Jenny makes a friend, who likes her more than a friend, and Vanessa’s who’s life and relationship are both thrown into the spotlight.
And now for our lovely boys. Starting out with the one who appears the least: Chuck. In the television show Chuck was a big deal, but in the books? Not so much. Chuck appears randomly throughout the story with no true content, with the only talk is people speculation weather or not he is gay/bi. Nate is busted for some weed, and is sent to rehab, which may not have been the worst decision of his life as there is a princess there just waiting to meet him. Aaron is alone, with no Blair to help him, as he tries to stay cool and collected as his girlfriend takes the world by storm. Lastly but not least Dan who’s poem was published got him more of a response than he thought, causes him to make a life changing decision, one he hopes not to regret.
Cecily von Ziegesar is the queen of writing trashy teen novels. Not going to lie, I love them! Perfect for the poolside, these summer novels, only 230 pages, these books take you to the high life of the Upper East Side. Taking place in February the novels spend a lot of time talking about love, and by love I mean sex, lust, and relationships. The gang has their usual drama, with a bit of break ups and kiss ups, but in the end, we know no real harm can come to them, after all they are the rich kids. The writing was the same, kind of sloppy, but kept the plot moving, with the short chapters and no wait time to see what happens next. It is a fun novel to read, as you cannot set it down, keep waiting to see what crazy stunt Blair will pull off, who Serena will bat her beautiful eyes at, and what type of characters will we meet next.
allie_14's review against another edition
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
0liveu's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
emilydk's review against another edition
3.0
- Blair agrees to help be a peer group leader for a group of freshman in order to make her application stronger for Yale. She ends up with Jenny in her group, who technically stole Nate from her, but there are no hard feelings because Nate just dumped Jenny on NYE's and Blair feels like that's punishment enough. Peer group isn't super successful, because Serena's also a leader and instead of talking about things like body image or issues with school that the freshies are worried about, Serena spends the whole time gushing about herself per usual.
- Serena is in a relationship with Aaron, Blair's stepbrother, after hooking up with him at New Year's. Serena is crazy in love, as she is with each of her beau's. Aaron ends up getting into Harvard early admission so they have a lot to celebrate. But then Serena gets asked to be in the fashion show at Fashion Week for Les Best and ends up getting wrapped up in herself on the night she's supposed to be celebrating with Aaron. She embarrasses him by writing "I LOVE AARON" on her t-shirt for her look during the show, and he decides to slink out before the after-party. Serena doesn't really notice and instead likes being adored by all her fans and starts an impromptu snowball fight with all the models & designers. Aaron ends up ending things with her in a very vague way while Serena is in the middle of shooting a perfume commercial a few days later. So the end of another relationship for Serena - big surprise.
- Jenny meets Elise, a fellow freshman, in peer group and they're suddenly attached at the hip. Jenny is smitten with a cute guy she sees at Bendels, but as the book progresses it becomes clear that Elise is smitten with Jenny (Elise has Jenny paint her naked a la Titanic). Mystery boy agrees to meet up with Jenny on a bus on Valentine's Day, which thankfully helps Elise get the picture that Jenny and her are only friends (though Jenny did make out with her for a bit, so it's not like Elise was creating things up out of no where).
- Blair chops off all her hair to look like Audrey Hepburn while she stresses about doing a re-do interview for Yale with an alumni friend of her dad's, Owen Wells. Once she meets Owen, she decides to have an affair with him because she needs to feel more sophisticated and he reminds her of Cary Grant. Thankfully, Blair doesn't lose her virginity to him because it turns out he's married and has a kid - Elise, Jenny's friend and one of the girl's in Blair's peer group! Blair washes that man right out of her hair by chopping her hair of even more like Mia Farrow.
- Nate gets caught buying pot in Central Park and has to go to rehab after school. There he meets Georgina Sparks, a wealthy drugged up heiress. When he gets stuck in a snow storm with her, he realizes the extent of Georgie's drug abuse and calls the the rehab clinic for help fearing she's OD'ed, which probably saves her life. Instead of being upset, this cements their love and *snap* Nate has a new romance (despite Blair's short strange attempt to woo Nate back by dropping into his rehab group therapy class).
- Finally, the agony of Vanessa and Dan. Dan finally agrees to give up his precious virginity to Vanessa, even though he called her a whore in the last book for daring to think about it. Then his poem calling Vanessa a whore gets published (thanks to Vanessa submitting it to the New Yorker) and he uses his new fame/ego to cheat on Vanessa with Mystery Craze, a hot mess of a writer he meets at Fashion Week. Vanessa meanwhile gets into NYU and has her film put in a fashion show, which Dan fails to notice because he's too involved in himself. Vanessa catches Dan mooning over Mystery Craze at a joint poetry reading that he hides from her, which upsets Vanessa but she still decides to film it because it's "beautiful" and Dan is creating "art" *major eye roll*
- Serena is in a relationship with Aaron, Blair's stepbrother, after hooking up with him at New Year's. Serena is crazy in love, as she is with each of her beau's. Aaron ends up getting into Harvard early admission so they have a lot to celebrate. But then Serena gets asked to be in the fashion show at Fashion Week for Les Best and ends up getting wrapped up in herself on the night she's supposed to be celebrating with Aaron. She embarrasses him by writing "I LOVE AARON" on her t-shirt for her look during the show, and he decides to slink out before the after-party. Serena doesn't really notice and instead likes being adored by all her fans and starts an impromptu snowball fight with all the models & designers. Aaron ends up ending things with her in a very vague way while Serena is in the middle of shooting a perfume commercial a few days later. So the end of another relationship for Serena - big surprise.
- Jenny meets Elise, a fellow freshman, in peer group and they're suddenly attached at the hip. Jenny is smitten with a cute guy she sees at Bendels, but as the book progresses it becomes clear that Elise is smitten with Jenny (Elise has Jenny paint her naked a la Titanic). Mystery boy agrees to meet up with Jenny on a bus on Valentine's Day, which thankfully helps Elise get the picture that Jenny and her are only friends (though Jenny did make out with her for a bit, so it's not like Elise was creating things up out of no where).
- Blair chops off all her hair to look like Audrey Hepburn while she stresses about doing a re-do interview for Yale with an alumni friend of her dad's, Owen Wells. Once she meets Owen, she decides to have an affair with him because she needs to feel more sophisticated and he reminds her of Cary Grant. Thankfully, Blair doesn't lose her virginity to him because it turns out he's married and has a kid - Elise, Jenny's friend and one of the girl's in Blair's peer group! Blair washes that man right out of her hair by chopping her hair of even more like Mia Farrow.
- Nate gets caught buying pot in Central Park and has to go to rehab after school. There he meets Georgina Sparks, a wealthy drugged up heiress. When he gets stuck in a snow storm with her, he realizes the extent of Georgie's drug abuse and calls the the rehab clinic for help fearing she's OD'ed, which probably saves her life. Instead of being upset, this cements their love and *snap* Nate has a new romance (despite Blair's short strange attempt to woo Nate back by dropping into his rehab group therapy class).
- Finally, the agony of Vanessa and Dan. Dan finally agrees to give up his precious virginity to Vanessa, even though he called her a whore in the last book for daring to think about it. Then his poem calling Vanessa a whore gets published (thanks to Vanessa submitting it to the New Yorker) and he uses his new fame/ego to cheat on Vanessa with Mystery Craze, a hot mess of a writer he meets at Fashion Week. Vanessa meanwhile gets into NYU and has her film put in a fashion show, which Dan fails to notice because he's too involved in himself. Vanessa catches Dan mooning over Mystery Craze at a joint poetry reading that he hides from her, which upsets Vanessa but she still decides to film it because it's "beautiful" and Dan is creating "art" *major eye roll*
quinnster's review against another edition
4.0
Reading these while reading the Pretty Little Liars books only highlight how much better Gossip Girl is. The only mystery around here that's ongoing book by book is who Gossip Girl really is, but that's not a make or break mystery. We could care less as long as (s)he's dishing the gossip.
For some reason the brand name dropping doesn't get on my nerves as much as it does in PLL. I think because it's more subtle or appropriate? In PLL every time someone picks up the same Coach bag Shepard writes 'Hanna picked up her Coach bag...' and then when she subsequently puts it down we read 'Hanna put down her Coach bag...' Yes, we get it, Hanna has a Coach bag.
But with so many characters who each have a little story and all of them interesting and separate it keeps things fresh. They're not all chasing after the same thing and I think that's why I don't get tired of these like I have with PLL.
Dan is still a dummy who is, despite his disdain for it, lured by fame and fortune. Vanessa, more true to herself than just about anyone is more deserving. Blair is going through some kind of mid-teen crisis and Serena is just page filler. I swear that girl doesn't have one intelligent thought in her head. Nate has met Georgina, so look out NYC and Jenny is getting over Nate by hopping the fence? Maybe?
Either way, I'm delighted and here's to hoping we see more of Chuck Bass because let's face it, Gossip Girl needs Chuck Bass.
For some reason the brand name dropping doesn't get on my nerves as much as it does in PLL. I think because it's more subtle or appropriate? In PLL every time someone picks up the same Coach bag Shepard writes 'Hanna picked up her Coach bag...' and then when she subsequently puts it down we read 'Hanna put down her Coach bag...' Yes, we get it, Hanna has a Coach bag.
But with so many characters who each have a little story and all of them interesting and separate it keeps things fresh. They're not all chasing after the same thing and I think that's why I don't get tired of these like I have with PLL.
Dan is still a dummy who is, despite his disdain for it, lured by fame and fortune. Vanessa, more true to herself than just about anyone is more deserving. Blair is going through some kind of mid-teen crisis and Serena is just page filler. I swear that girl doesn't have one intelligent thought in her head. Nate has met Georgina, so look out NYC and Jenny is getting over Nate by hopping the fence? Maybe?
Either way, I'm delighted and here's to hoping we see more of Chuck Bass because let's face it, Gossip Girl needs Chuck Bass.
spleenix's review against another edition
4.0
All i have to say is, i would have liked this book so much better if Dan weren't such a douche.
dervladaly_'s review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kkuecker218's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5