Gossip Girl

Title Gossip Girl: A Novel
Author Cecily von Ziegesar
Von Ziegesar lives in Brooklyn with her husband Richard. The inspiration for the Gossip Girl series was her own high school experience at the elite, all-girls Nightingale-Bamford School in Manhattan. She is the creator of the Gossip Girl series as well as The It Girl series.
ISBN 0316910333
Publisher Little, Brown and Company
Copyright Date 2002
Reading Level/Interest Age 15+
Genre Contemporary Life, Romance
Plot Summary
Told from the perspective on an anonymous narrator, known only as Gossip Girl, this first book in the series follows the stories of a group of high school seniors who live in New York’s Upper East Side and attend school at the most prestigious college-prep high schools in the city. Blair Waldorf has enjoyed being the queen bee at her high school since the beautiful, perfect, blonde Serena van der Woodson went away to boarding school. But when she surprises everyone by showing up for senior year, Blair will do anything she can to make sure Serena doesn’t take her old position back. Blair becomes even more fearful and vicious when she learns that her boyfriend, Nate, slept with Serena before she left. How far will Blair go to keep her place and how many hearts will get broken in the process?
Critical Evaluation
Gossip Girl is truly a book with very little substance. But it is fast-paced, full of cultural tidbits, shopping, sex, drugs and alcohol – so you know it’s a hit with the teens. Von Ziegesar does a great job with the dialogue between the teenagers and the short, clipped way in which they observe the world. The descriptions are lacking (unless, of course, it’s a description of a dress that Serena’s wearing), but it is not immediately noticeable as the lives of these teenagers are anything but dull. The gossip-y tone of the whole novel is sure to entice even the most reluctant reader to get into the story and the short blog entries every two or three chapters keeps a consistency that a reader will come to appreciate. Unfortunately, in this book, none of the characters are particularly “good,” leaving the reader feeling a bit left out of the storyline. But this could be intentional as the whole story is told from an outsider’s point of view – perhaps we are not supposed to feel connected to the characters beyond the juicy gossip that their exploits provide. A quick, fun read for teens that will appeal particularly to girls and, though the sex, drugs and drinking is likely not appropriate for younger teens, it will surely appeal to them nonetheless.
Reader’s Annotation
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be rich, beautiful and popular? Join our narrator, Gossip Girl, as she navigates their world and lets you have a glimpse inside.
Curriculum Ties Gossip Girl could be read in an English class to discuss form, focusing on the use of a blog entry as a storytelling device.
Booktalking Ideas
1. Read the first blog entry and then do a plot summary, encouraging the audience to read more to find out what happens next.
2. Write a plot summary in the form of one of Gossip Girl’s blog entries.
Challenge Issues
Issue: sexually explicit, underage drug/alcohol use, inappropriate for intended audience.
Defense: extremely popular with teens, does show consequences.
Why did I include this book?
Many good reviews including Publishers Weekly, Teen People, Booklist and VOYA; Popular Paperbacks for Young Adulst (ALA, 2009); Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers (ALA, 2003).