Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)

Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl #1)

3.41 of 5 stars 3.41  ·  rating details  ·  24,417 ratings  ·  1,575 reviews
Now available in mass market paperback: the bestselling novel about the provocative lives of New York City's most prestigious private school students.
Paperback, 269 pages
Published October 1st 2003 by Grand Central Publishing (first published April 1st 2002)
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Madeline
The following is a public service announcement sponsored by The Committee For Teens Who Read Real Books:
Attention teenage girls! Looking for a book to read for your English class, but don't know where to start? I know what you're thinking: you want to read about fashion and celebrities, but Seventeen doesn't count as a book (like, how unfair is that?!). You want a book that doesn't have a plot (too confusing) but J.D. Salinger is too complicated. What to do?
Fear not, dear readers: Gossip Girl h...more
Larissa
During the particularly bleak summer of my 11th year, I spent a month hiding from my wicked step-mother in the basement bedroom I shared with my sister. No TV, no movies, and very little radio reception meant I read more than usual, and when I went through my own summer reading, I started borrowing from my sister, whose taste ran mostly to Goosebumps and Choose Your Own Adventure books (which were, admittedly, totally awesome). But she did have some racier titles tucked away. The book I remember...more
Renee Cahill
i thought about giving this book five stars, not because it's so great, but because i think everyone with daughters should at least look at it -- my 14 year old has devoured all eight or nine in the series (good god!) and i felt like i ought to know what she was reading. gossip girl is absolutely the biggest piece of crap i've ever slogged through, but, that said, i did finish it, mostly out of a horrified curiosity at what interests 9th graders these days. it really was absolute dreck -- by pag...more
La Petite Américaine
Sep 26, 2008 La Petite Américaine added it  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: The recycle bin
Recommended to La Petite Américaine by: Free torrnet download online
Shelves: sucked
Look. I don't want to sound too much like Tipper Gore in the 80's, or too much like Maude Flanders of The Simpsons, tearing out my hair and screeching "WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!?!?" ... but this book? Are you fucking kidding me? Have teenagers really grown up so much in the 9 years since I was one, when I was content with R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike, and scandalized by Sweet Valley High? I mean, COME ON.

Not only is this book written with the intelligence of a monkey on acid, there's just some...more
Tiny Pants
I don't seem to much like actual teenage girls. Then again, the Gossip Girl characters don't act much like actual teenage girls. Or actual humans really. They are all basically insane in their own individual ways. The main character, Blair, is probably the most insane. I think the reader is possibly intended to be sympathetic to her, but it's never been clear to me why. She's obsessed with Audrey Hepburn, throwing up all her food, and the fact that she is consistently outdone by Serena, her best...more
Bluesequin
There's one thing that you must accept before you read these books: lives like those written about in Gossip Girl exist. And I know this because I live it. Granted, I'm much more like the Jenny Humphrey type who witnesses the drama from the outside, but I still hear about it. And yes, that's what the "popular" kids do. They rent limos and get drunk or high in them on their way to Manhattan clubs where they then hook up with all their friends and their friends' friends. What you wear defines you,...more
Courtney
This is very possibly the worst book I have ever read. The author clearly knows nothing about 16 year olds aside from what she's seen in horrible television shows (all the ones just like the show this series spawned). The characters are all 2 dimensional and predictable - all super hot, super trendy, super rich, super popular and few if any have any redeeming qualities. Even the kids who are supposed to be 'different' are cookie-cutter 'artsy kids' who spend all their time sitting in corners bro...more
Niki
Jan 16, 2008 Niki rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Girls/Teens
The book Gossip Girl the first of the Gossip Girl series written by Cecily Von Ziegesar, was one of the best books i have ever read. The gossip girl series is already my favorite series, and ive only read the first book. The most important characters in the series so far are Blair, who is a down to earth teen, who loves to party and has a skater boyfriend. Blair's boyfriend's name is Nate. He is into drugs and he isnt the best in school, but blair still loves him. The book goes on about the peak...more
Kate
Aug 09, 2007 Kate rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: Masochists bent on understanding Kids Today
I really wanted to like this book. In fact, I expected to devour it. I heard the author speak on a panel at ALA this year and found her articulate, charming, and thoughtful about her series. Many of my co-workers at a suburban library hated the Gossip Girl books because of their vapid influence on already spoiled readers, but I wanted to give the books a chance. I’m sorry to say that I have to agree with my colleagues, even as someone whose guilty pleasure is reading highly speculative celebrity...more
Merrin
I can't remember the last time I was this horrified by a series of young adult novels. I mean, no, I'm not naive and stupid and yes, I do realize that there are teens out there like this (My Super Sweet Sixteen, anybody?) but honestly, just because they're out there doesn't mean they need to be immortalized in quite this fashion. They're selfish, self-centered, interested only in drinking and drugs and what the world can do for them, and there's nothing in the book that checks that lifestyle and...more
Molly
I don't seem to much like actual teenage girls. Then again, the Gossip Girl characters don't act much like actual teenage girls. Or actual humans really. They are all basically insane in their own individual ways. The main character, Blair, is probably the most insane. I think the reader is possibly intended to be sympathetic to her, but it's never been clear to me why. She's obsessed with Audrey Hepburn, throwing up all her food, and the fact that she is consistently outdone by Serena, her best...more
Jord¥n
I can see why a ton of people hate these books. The main characters are complete airheads, they drink, smoke weed, have a lot of sex, and swear. I for one liked this book because its light, you really don't have to think about a lot, and its freaking funny as hell. I do, however, love the show even more.
Myra Khan
In New York's Upper East Side, there live the people that have it all. They're the ones wearing the name brand gorgeous clothes you could never afford. They're the ones that look amazing without even trying. They're the ones that have all the money in the world and use it to their advantage. They're also the ones you hate.

Due to my habit of frequenting used book stores, I somehow always came across a random Gossip Girl novel. Soon enough, I owned most of the collection- except for book #1. I fi...more
Sara
Jul 30, 2010 Sara rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: nobody - watch the TV show instead!
How can I love the show so much, but think the books are horribly written and duller than dishwasher? I don't know how that can be, but obviously Josh Schwartz is a better TV producer/whatever he does than Ceceily Von Ziegesar is an author. It's funny because before I read the GG, I read Stephen King's memoir "On Writing" and CVZ pretty much does everything SK says writer's shouldn't do. Over explosion of adjectives? Check. Unnecessary descriptions of non-entity characters and clothes? Check. (T...more
Christina
Gossip Girl -- the television series more than the book -- has to be one of the most popular topics amongst my female classmates. Interested in finding out what all the chatter was about, I checked out the first book in this bestselling series from the library.

I should have just avoided it like I did in the first place. Gossip Girl is plain trash, and serves only as a glorification of a life few do and should lead. The main characters -- rich and beautiful Blair Waldorf and rich and beautiful Se...more
Meghan
Cecily Vonziegesar wrote the book Gossip Girl. It is a fictional book that is about a group of kids living in New York. Theses kids either go to an all girls school or an all boys school in the Upper East Side. They live in huge, fancy apartment buildings, buy expensive things, and do whatever they want. (As long as they don’t embarrass their family.) When Serena Vanderwoodsen came back from “boarding school” she quickly realizes things are not the same as they used to be. Her old best friend-B...more
Peds
So my first review since my friend invited me to Goodreads is this book. It is my guilty pleasure, obviously. Before you judge me for reading the series (yes, I am addicted and I do have all the GG books), let's see what the book offers.

The series begins with this pilot edition. The main character, interestingly, remains anonymous. Going by the obvious name, Gossip Girl keeps the reader updated on what is going on in a New York clique of rich, beautiful people who think that the world is at thei...more
Amber Kozlowski
Jan 26, 2008 Amber Kozlowski rated it 1 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: daydreaming girls with no sense of reality
Ugh. I read this in a few hours, and it's pretty horrendous. I found a few punctuation mistakes—without looking, which bothers me—like "...Cyrus Rose was a completely annoying, fat, loser." Honestly; that's one of the first things you learn about punctuation.

It's a book about a bunch of sixteen- and seventeen-year-old kids who are richer than rich, go to private school in New York, and are, of course, immensely popular. It's written like a cheap fantasy, complete with overt descriptions of the h...more
Rhiannon
I sort of feel guilty rating this book so low because it fulfilled my expectations - it was a quick, trashy young adult read that gave me an idea of what the (probably) trashy teen CW show will be like.

But, this is really not a good book. The characters aren't really developed (although I did find myself oddly charmed by a couple of them), and there are major POV issues.

And this is the main issue with the book - it relies on a conceit that's really underdeveloped. The narrative is peppered with...more
Chelsea
I picked this up at a book sale, determined to give it another chance. I was disgusted by it when I first read it in 2004, but I got drawn in to the television show based on the series, and wondered if I had just been in one of my "anti-fluff" phases. Maybe it was more entertaining than I remembered.

Well, it wasn't by much. For a book where the whole point is that it's all SCANDAL and OMG and DRAMA, not much happened. There was plenty of rehashing of previous events, but in this book Serena retu...more
Vief
I had wanted to read the books before but never really found them in English. Then I got hooked on the TV show so I just HAD to get them, got them from all over the place.. I started and felt that the TV-screenplay-writers had done a real good job with a lot of things.

What I didn't like about the book itself
a] that it's set in the UES yet the web address is .co.uk = doesn't make sense
b] that it's kind of slow
c] that some of the characters aren't really worked out
d] that little happens, then ever...more
Stephan
I read this book in my local Raleys grocery store.

(a) It was available in a Raleys

(b) I could quickly read it (and I'm usually not a particularly fast reader) during the course of shopping

I thought it was utter garbage.

However, I realize I am not the target market. If you are addicted to spicing up your pathetic life by living vicariously through others' titillating encounters whilst simultaneously feeling smug about your perceived moral superiority, so much so that you've exhausted the details...more
Tim
A student left a copy of this book in my room, and one afternoon I picked it up and read it. While I'm sad to say that I probably stuck with it for 100 pages or more, I couldn't have been less thrilled. The way this book glamourizes drugs,sex and alcohol makes me realize why TV is getting as bad as it is. I don't know why young women would want to read about such shallow, tawdry lives. Perhaps I just don't get it because I'm not "in the demo", but unless the point is to show how sad and empty th...more
Kel
I've been wanting to read the Gossip Girl series because I'm interested in the television series that is coming out this fall... Then I found out that my local library now has eBooks and Audio Books that can be checked out online. I have discovered now what a joy an Audio Book can be in the life of a knitter. I sat and listened to this entire book and knitted the whole time... bliss!

The book itself was cute, very short but a great introduction to the series and I'm definitely hooked. It's teena...more
Sonia
Ok, lo so. E' una cavolata. Mi vergognavo di averlo comprato e di averlo letto. ho fatto tutto di nascosto! ma ora lo ammetto pubblicamente: ho letto e continuerei a leggere gossip girl! e non perchè questo libro sia chissà cosa (anzi...) ma perchè la serie tv mi è piaciuta (nonostante la mia non adolescenziale età) ed ero curiosa di leggere le storie da cui era tratta.
Credevo che il telefilm fosse stato fedelissimo, mentre ci sono davvero un bel po' di discrepanze e non ne capisco il motivo: p...more
Erica - Bonner Springs Library
Oct 11, 2010 Erica - Bonner Springs Library rated it 4 of 5 stars  ·  review of another edition Recommends it for: romance fans, teenagers
Recommended to Erica - by: YA Lit syllabus - Spring 2009
May 2008 What a fun read. It's totally a guilty-pleasure read that's a bit more involved than the tv show Gossip Girl. I had to find out why this book was hardly ever on the shelves when I worked at the public library. Now I know. It's a romance novel with training wheels for teenagers. Product placement is definitely present and a bit obvious at times. If you're a fan of the show or just like a good romance novel, this is definitely for you. I'd heard once that Gossip Girl is the Sex & The...more
Jamea
I could not finish reading this book. My interest was never really captured in the first few pages I've tried to read. I tried, but evidently this book isn't at all as good as it's hyped up to be. The premise seemed interesting enough from what I heard, but like I said it wasn't as good as I thought it to be.

One thing that really bothered me was the writing. I honestly don't mean this to sound rude but, it wasn't that good. That's the reason as to why Io struggled to read through the book.

Also,...more
Lee Ann
I picked this up after reading a critical analysis of three series: Gossip Girl, The A List, and The Insiders (Glenn, 2008. Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy, 52:1). I hadn't heard of these series or the Gossip Girl television series.

Glenn doesn't look very favorably on these three series. They all take a look at the lives of the rich and privileged. I have a somewhat different take, at least on the first of the Gossip Girl books. I didn't read this as an endorsement of the privileged lif...more
Emily
- Ok, this one’s really embarrassing but I am a sucker for teen tv shows and I wanted to check out of the books to see how it compares to the tv show. I’m actually pretty sure I read this back in junior high as well, but I didn’t make it any farther into the series than the first book.

- I was really impressed with the casting based on this first book of the show – Dan, Blair, Serena, Nate, and Chuck are perfect. Jenny is off (the tv series has a stick-figure blonde, while the book is a curly-hai...more
Sandy Wang
Gossip Girl #1 revolves around the rich teenagers: Serena, Blair, Nate, Chuck and Dan although he is not rich. Blair is in a party while getting ready to lose her virginity to her boyfriend, Nate. Suddenly, Serena shows up in the party and surprises everyone. A year ago, she left and went abroad to study. Everyone does not know why she left so suddenly. Blair was not very happy to see her back because she was her best friend but she left and didn't keep in contact. Blair was also scared she won'...more
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topics  posts  views  last activity   
Gossip Girl : Blair and Nate 24 21 Jun 04, 2013 09:40pm  
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Gossip Girl 3 19 Jan 27, 2013 09:24pm  
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Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)
Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)
Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)
Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl #1)
Gossip Girl (Gossip Girl, #1)

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Cecily grew up in Manhattan and went to an all-girl's school on the Upper East Side.
She resides in Brooklyn with her husband Richard, the Deputy Director of the Public Art Fund, their children, Agnes and Oscar, and their two Cornish Rex cats. Von Ziegesar also owns an Appaloosa horse, Golden Rain. She is dreams of having a 'ranch full of cattle' when retired.

More about Cecily von Ziegesar...
You Know You Love Me (Gossip Girl, #2) All I Want is Everything (Gossip Girl, #3) You're the One That I Want (Gossip Girl, #6) Because I'm Worth It (Gossip Girl, #4) I Like it Like That (Gossip Girl #5)

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“Blair liked to think of herself as a hopeless romantic in the style of old movie actresses like Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. She was always coming up with plot devices for the movie she was starring in at the moment, the movie that was her life.” 187 people liked it
“Oh, don't be a spoilsport. Gossip is sexy. Gossip is good. Not everybody does it, but everybody should!” 122 people liked it
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