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theakoss 's review for:
I Will Always Love You
by Cecily von Ziegesar
SPOILERS FOR TV SHOW AND SERIES! this took years off my life. i am not who i was when i started reading this series last year. as a fan of the show, i knew that i wanted to read the books because i heard that they were a lot different. i have not watched the show in a little bit because i do not have HBOMax, so if i get some details about the show wrong, i'm sorry lol. the biggest difference i would say right off the bat is that the books primarily focus on the love triangle between serena, blair, and nate. that is the overarching story, whereas in the show it was really just the first season that focused on that. the second biggest difference is that vanessa is a main character from the beginning, and remains one until the end. she and dan were always meant for each other, and their love story is like the second biggest plot point. also, chuck is barely a character and only exists in the background until this last book. lastly, the way that they handle the character of 'gossip girl' is way smarter in the books because none of the characters actually bring her up, she just exists to give the reader exposition and sneaky little clues about certain things. i hated the way that the gossip girl character was given so much attention in the show when it really didn't matter at all. this being said, gossip girl was never revealed in the books. why? BECAUSE IT DOESN'T MATTER. also, the next biggest difference is that the parents are basically nonexistent in the books. the only parents that appear semi-consistently are eleanor (blair's mother) and rufus (dan and jenny's dad).
CHARACTERS:
serena - will forever be MY girl. she and blair are the same characters as they are in the show. the biggest difference is that serena ends up pursuing acting in the books, and that she doesn't have nearly as many random boyfriends as in the show lmao. her brother, erik, is actually older and i like their bond a lot.
blair - the biggest bitch, but i love her. her family drama is actually amplified a lot in the books. she still has a gay dad who lives in france with his partner, but they end up adopting these cambodian twins that they then give potentially racist names to, before changing them. her mom still gets remarried to cyrus, and blair then acquires a step-brother, but then her mother gets pregnant and blair ends up having a baby sister she names yale (LMFAO). also, blair has a younger brother named tyler who's like a wannabe DJ or something (idek).
nate - was done sooooooo dirty. his main personality trait is that he likes to get high and be horny. he is the most boring character alive. he doesn't far THAT much better in the show, but he had a little more going on. genuinely, i don't know what else to say about him like i'm scraping at the bottom of the barrel here guys.
vanessa - UGHHHHHH i love her. guys, she was done SO dirty in the show! she's actually the coolest person. she has a shaved head, wants to be a filmmaker, and wears all black. i wish they had kept her character more like this instead of the literal DEVIL they made her in the show. i forget how her and dan are supposed to know each other in the show, but in the books they become friends because they are both 'outcasts' at their respective private schools, and they bond over their creativity and stuff. vanessa always liked dan, but dan only comes around after his failed relationship with serena. i'd say it's like she fell first, he fell harder.
dan - i don't really like him in the books, but he's way better than he is in the show. he's still a weirdo poet loser, but he at least has a tolerable personality. he's also OBSESSED with cigarettes and folgers coffee. idk, there's more to him but basically he just lusts after serena in the first book, and then vanessa in the rest of the books.
jenny - she's such an interesting character in both the books and the show. she's a lot different in the books. firstly, her main personality trait is that she has HUGE boobs, like GINORMOUS. she's supposed to be this really short (like under five feet) with like the biggest size bra. that's all that she talks about for the first few books. also, she's supposed to be an artist (like a painter), instead of a fashion designer.
chuck - barely a character, but i felt i should mention him because he is such a main character in the show. he's basically just a creepy asshole who might be gay in the first eleven books, and then he gets sent off to a rehab-like college thingy and then is a normal person for the last book.
SHIPS:
serena + nate = MY OTP, are we surprised. this might be delusion, but i always felt that nate loved serena more, it's just that blair was more confident and upfront about her feelings, so that's why he stayed with her.
blair + nate = hate them together. nate always seems unhappy when he's with her, and she's just sooooo bossy. i know that's her main personality, but it just seems like she's forever trying to change him.
vanessa + dan = they are so cute and deffo my second-favorite couple, but i actually liked how they didn't end up together in this book. it felt realistic to me, like yes, shit gets in the way. people can care about one another but also have different dreams that don't necessarily fit the other person in them. that's life.
serena + dan = like eating cardboard. i hated them in the show, i hated them in the book. the most boring couple i literally wanted to cry reading through their chapters. luckily, they are only a couple in like the first and second book, and then again briefly in this last book.
jenny + nate = THAT GIRL IS A CHILD, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU SNIFFING AROUND HER ANYMORE. BOY, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, 'CAUSE I'LL HELP YOU FIND IT.
blair + chuck = they aren't ever a couple until this book, and even so, only briefly. i wanted to include them anyway because obviously they are the main ship in the show. i liked them together in the show, and i did when they got together in this book.
serena + blair (platonically, or... ;) = my favs ever ever ever. THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK WHEN THEY CHOOSE EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF NATE, guys I WAS SO HAPPY! no words, i will cry immediately.
THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME:
1. obviously, nate and jenny's relationship.
2. nate as a character in general.
3. nate + blair.
4. dan + serena in this last book.
5. jenny as a character. idk maybe it's cause i'm older than her, but i just found her to be annoying and i wanted her gone pls i'm so sorry.
overall, i actually think i liked the books more than the show, which i never thought would happen. we got a lot more of nate and serena, and a lot LESS of serena and dan. i just think the books were a little more grounded than the show (i mean wtf, bart dying and then coming back AMONG OTHER SHIT). also, although i liked lily and rufus in the show, i really didn't care about the parents that much so i'm happy they were cut out. overall, some of my least favorite ships happened in the show and didn't happen as much in the books, which made it much more enjoyable. plus the ending where serena and blair chose each other is singlehandedly better than anything the show did. (but i adore the show so don't even come for me).
CHARACTERS:
serena - will forever be MY girl. she and blair are the same characters as they are in the show. the biggest difference is that serena ends up pursuing acting in the books, and that she doesn't have nearly as many random boyfriends as in the show lmao. her brother, erik, is actually older and i like their bond a lot.
blair - the biggest bitch, but i love her. her family drama is actually amplified a lot in the books. she still has a gay dad who lives in france with his partner, but they end up adopting these cambodian twins that they then give potentially racist names to, before changing them. her mom still gets remarried to cyrus, and blair then acquires a step-brother, but then her mother gets pregnant and blair ends up having a baby sister she names yale (LMFAO). also, blair has a younger brother named tyler who's like a wannabe DJ or something (idek).
nate - was done sooooooo dirty. his main personality trait is that he likes to get high and be horny. he is the most boring character alive. he doesn't far THAT much better in the show, but he had a little more going on. genuinely, i don't know what else to say about him like i'm scraping at the bottom of the barrel here guys.
vanessa - UGHHHHHH i love her. guys, she was done SO dirty in the show! she's actually the coolest person. she has a shaved head, wants to be a filmmaker, and wears all black. i wish they had kept her character more like this instead of the literal DEVIL they made her in the show. i forget how her and dan are supposed to know each other in the show, but in the books they become friends because they are both 'outcasts' at their respective private schools, and they bond over their creativity and stuff. vanessa always liked dan, but dan only comes around after his failed relationship with serena. i'd say it's like she fell first, he fell harder.
dan - i don't really like him in the books, but he's way better than he is in the show. he's still a weirdo poet loser, but he at least has a tolerable personality. he's also OBSESSED with cigarettes and folgers coffee. idk, there's more to him but basically he just lusts after serena in the first book, and then vanessa in the rest of the books.
jenny - she's such an interesting character in both the books and the show. she's a lot different in the books. firstly, her main personality trait is that she has HUGE boobs, like GINORMOUS. she's supposed to be this really short (like under five feet) with like the biggest size bra. that's all that she talks about for the first few books. also, she's supposed to be an artist (like a painter), instead of a fashion designer.
chuck - barely a character, but i felt i should mention him because he is such a main character in the show. he's basically just a creepy asshole who might be gay in the first eleven books, and then he gets sent off to a rehab-like college thingy and then is a normal person for the last book.
SHIPS:
serena + nate = MY OTP, are we surprised. this might be delusion, but i always felt that nate loved serena more, it's just that blair was more confident and upfront about her feelings, so that's why he stayed with her.
blair + nate = hate them together. nate always seems unhappy when he's with her, and she's just sooooo bossy. i know that's her main personality, but it just seems like she's forever trying to change him.
vanessa + dan = they are so cute and deffo my second-favorite couple, but i actually liked how they didn't end up together in this book. it felt realistic to me, like yes, shit gets in the way. people can care about one another but also have different dreams that don't necessarily fit the other person in them. that's life.
serena + dan = like eating cardboard. i hated them in the show, i hated them in the book. the most boring couple i literally wanted to cry reading through their chapters. luckily, they are only a couple in like the first and second book, and then again briefly in this last book.
jenny + nate = THAT GIRL IS A CHILD, I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU SNIFFING AROUND HER ANYMORE. BOY, HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, 'CAUSE I'LL HELP YOU FIND IT.
blair + chuck = they aren't ever a couple until this book, and even so, only briefly. i wanted to include them anyway because obviously they are the main ship in the show. i liked them together in the show, and i did when they got together in this book.
serena + blair (platonically, or... ;) = my favs ever ever ever. THE ENDING OF THIS BOOK WHEN THEY CHOOSE EACH OTHER INSTEAD OF NATE, guys I WAS SO HAPPY! no words, i will cry immediately.
THINGS THAT BOTHERED ME:
1. obviously, nate and jenny's relationship.
2. nate as a character in general.
3. nate + blair.
4. dan + serena in this last book.
5. jenny as a character. idk maybe it's cause i'm older than her, but i just found her to be annoying and i wanted her gone pls i'm so sorry.
overall, i actually think i liked the books more than the show, which i never thought would happen. we got a lot more of nate and serena, and a lot LESS of serena and dan. i just think the books were a little more grounded than the show (i mean wtf, bart dying and then coming back AMONG OTHER SHIT). also, although i liked lily and rufus in the show, i really didn't care about the parents that much so i'm happy they were cut out. overall, some of my least favorite ships happened in the show and didn't happen as much in the books, which made it much more enjoyable. plus the ending where serena and blair chose each other is singlehandedly better than anything the show did. (but i adore the show so don't even come for me).