You Know You Love Me (Gossip Girl, #2) by Cecily von Ziegesar

Aug 04, 2008 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-bar-can-suck-it

poor blair waldorf! this book is so tragic and alternately should be titled, 'revenge on blair waldorf for being brunette, short, academic, and not really a scheming bitch at all.'

in a mere 200 pages or so, here is what happens to poor, unfortunate blair: (1) her unfeeling, oblivious mother announces she is getting married to a cheesy perv she's known for 3 months, (2) said wedding is to take place on blair's 17th birthday, (3) oblivious mother asks blair's arch-nemesis serena van der woodsen t...more poor blair waldorf! this book is so tragic and alternately should be titled, 'revenge on blair waldorf for being brunette, short, academic, and not really a scheming bitch at all.'

in a mere 200 pages or so, here is what happens to poor, unfortunate blair: (1) her unfeeling, oblivious mother announces she is getting married to a cheesy perv she's known for 3 months, (2) said wedding is to take place on blair's 17th birthday, (3) oblivious mother asks blair's arch-nemesis serena van der woodsen to be a bridesmaid, (3) mother and stepfather unleash the fact that adolescent stepbrother both exists and will be moving into blair's house with big smelly dog (poor kitty minky!), (4) blair tries repeatedly to lose her virginity to boyfriend nate and is unsuccessful, (5) nate cheats on blair with a freshman, (6) nate is too cowardly (and baked) to man up and break up with her, (7) blair shoplifts a present for nate in an attempt to make him love her; nate never opens the gift, (8) blair spectacularly blows her yale interview, due to the stress of the foregoing events, and (9) blair loses the student film competition.

PLUS the book ends with a tear-ridden blair, after seeing nate smooching jenny humphrey at her mother's ghastly wedding, saying sadly of her idol audrey hepburn, "i don't look anything like her, do i?" heartbreaking!

on the other hand, here is what happens to blond, golden, tall, leggy serena in GG book 2: (1) earnest (though insufferable) scruffy boyfriend dan declares his love for her again and again; serena (perhaps wisely) ditches him, (2) serena inveigles nate on a road trip with her and dan, though nate has promised blair he will not see serena anymore because he had sex with her, (3) serena and nate fall asleep holding hands, (4) serena gets free drinks, her picture taken, her cigarettes lit, her ass kissed at every turn, etc., and (5) serena wins the film contest! with a movie she shot of herself going around manhattan shopping and saying inane things! um. sounds like wish-fulfillment?

the worst thing for blair is that it's clear this is just the beginning. because cecily v.z. (hm, coincidental similarity to serena v.d.w.?) doesn't like her and can't even hide it. not only does sad, non-blond blair keep getting crapped on, but it's all spotted with commentary such as, "even though blair had been such a bitch" and "nate knew what blair was capable of," when really, we have yet to see blair DO anything. the conspicuous lack of machinations and bitchiness has been a real let-down for me. why else read a book called "gossip girl"? so far, all blair has done is not to welcome serena back from boarding school after serena left abruptly, didn't keep in touch, and didn't tell blair she was coming back. in fact, the only evidence we have that blair is a bitch is that the author keeps telling us that she is. i'm not sure, but somehow it doesn't seem kosher to talk shit about your own characters.

to sum up: unlike everyone else in GG, television, and america, blair doesn't worship serena's golden ass and cvz makes her pay for it repeatedly, reminding us all that if you are not blond, you are less, and whatever you want will always go to someone who is. (on an uplifting note, the girl who plays serena just won 2 teen choice awards for GG! the girl who plays blair won nothing.)

(beginning to wonder when i will start wanting to read good books again - this is getting out of hand.)(less)

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Dec 08, 2008 Bailey Nash added it · review of another edition

Bailey Nash
B-3

Gossip Girl
Gossip Girl is an extrodinary novel about an annomynous person who knows everything about exclusive people in Manhattan. My favorite character would have to be Chuck Bass. Even though sometimes he can be a sneaky man whore,he has this sweet,mysterious,sexy side to him. My least favorite character is Vanessa Abrahms. Because at first she comes off as this nice,innocent person but underneath she is a horrible coniving skank. The part of the book that grabbed my attentio...more

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Dec 28, 2012 Alicia Scully rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, gr-10-12, realistic, young-adult-lit

Blair's mother suddenly announces that she'll be getting married in about three weeks, a day that unhappily falls on Blair's seventeenth birthday. Blair and Serena are still not on speaking terms but this is apparently something that Blair's mother isn't worried about when she asks Serena to be a bridesmaid. Blair and Nate still haven't had sex and she's starting to worry that he'll stray and Dan and Serena are in a weird kind of relationship that one of them is taking far more seriously than th...more

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Dec 15, 2012 Melyssa Dawn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This series is definitely a guilty pleasure of mine. Who can resist the lives of Manhattan's Elite? In all seriousness, for the age demographic that this is written for, and the information placed throughout the novel, its definitely a hit.
Much like I was when I read the first one again after years passing since my first experience with it, I was taken up with the lives of the main characters and instantly drawn in. Also being a fan of the show and certain couples, going back and seeing them pla...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Alannah Clarke rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, paperback

With the first Gossip Girl book, I was constantly comparing the book to the show, which I love. Because of this, I found myself not liking Gossip Girl as much as I should have been. Thankfully, with You Know You Love Me, I was able to ignore the show a bit more while reading and I found myself really enjoying the book.

Though the story still isn’t quite as good as the show, You Know You Love Me was very fun to read, and I found myself a lot more wrapped up in the story than with the first book. T...more

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May 24, 2012 Ashley Stidham added it · review of another edition

The book "You Know You Love Me" is the sequel to Gossip Girl. This book starts in early November, a few weeks after Book 1 ends. Blair Waldorf's seventeenth birthday is quickly approaching, and she knows exactly what she wants, Nate, her gorgeous boyfriend of three years. But Blair's been too busy filling out Ivy League college applications to notice that Nate has found himself another girl. Meanwhile, she has a new family member, Cyrus Rose, her mom's new fiancé. To say the least, Cyrus isn't B...more

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May 22, 2012 Emma K rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

“You Know You Love Me” by Cecily von Ziegesar is the second book in the Gossip Girl series. The book takes place in New York City. Most of the characters are extremely wealthy and live on the Upper East Side. They all go to a prestigious private high school. One girl, known as Gossip Girl, posts on an online site all of the gossip. Serena Vanderwoodsen is that girl that everyone wants to be, larger than life. She abruptly left for boarding school without saying goodbye to anyone. Rumors fly upon...more “You Know You Love Me” by Cecily von Ziegesar is the second book in the Gossip Girl series. The book takes place in New York City. Most of the characters are extremely wealthy and live on the Upper East Side. They all go to a prestigious private high school. One girl, known as Gossip Girl, posts on an online site all of the gossip. Serena Vanderwoodsen is that girl that everyone wants to be, larger than life. She abruptly left for boarding school without saying goodbye to anyone. Rumors fly upon her return, the most believable being that she got kicked out. No one knows the truth about her return, though. It’s hard for everyone to except her coming home, and Serena’s best friend, Blair, is being very cold to Serena.
Blair, Nate, and Serena have always been best friends, although Blair and Nate have always been the fairy tale couple. They’ve known each other their whole lives, and everyone’s always talked about there wedding, the kids that they’ll have... The two have been together for as long as either of them can remember, but the relationship has been going badly lately. Blair has found out that Serena and Nate had an affair before Serena went away for boarding school. If that isn’t enough for Blair, Blair’s father divorced Blair’s mom because he was gay. Now Blair’s dad lives with his new boyfriend in France which has been tough on Blair because her dad and her always had a close relationship. Blair’s mom is getting married to a man that Blair despises who is extremely short and against everything that Blair has always grown up to achieve. The man that Blair’s mom is marrying, Cyrus Rose, has a son that is a total hippie, which gives Blair something else to hate Cyrus Rose about.
Dan Humphrey has always been in love with Serena. Ever since she said hi to him at a 9th grade birthday party. “[Dan] was afraid to open his mouth in case he said the words that had been threatening to escape all night [while he was hanging out for the first time with Serena]. I love you.” (von Ziegesar 21) She hadn’t said anything to him since so Dan had watched her from afar. Now, though, Serena and Dan have started hanging out, and Dan has become beyond happy.
“You Know You Love Me” is a total girl book. It’s a quick read that doesn’t require a lot of thinking. Cecily von Ziegesar writes her book with lots of voice from the anonymous Gossip Girl which adds to the suspense of the story. The characters in Gossip Girl often go to bars and drink alcohol, even though they’re underage which makes the story unbelievable though. “Dan was [at the Grand Central Station], drinking a gin and tonic.” (von Ziegesar 118) I am a fan of the Gossip Girl TV show, so it was interesting to see the differences between the show and the book. For me, the best thing about Gossip Girl is being able to see the different outfits, hair, and makeup. When I read the book, I wasn’t able to see any of that. Also, in the Gossip Girl books, the characters smoke, use bad language, and ultimately aren’t always likable. In the shows, the characters are more appropriate, don’t smoke, and it’s easier to like them.
I give this book a 3.5 stars out of 5. I like being able to get caught up in a thoughtless book, but the drama in this book can get old. Reading Gossip Girl is like eating candy. It’s great for awhile, but after you’ve eaten too much, you get a stomach ache. (less)

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May 20, 2012 Kristin Leeds rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Kristin Leeds
Davis
Period 1
The second book in the Gossip Girl series, You Know You Love Me reminded me of the average teenager’s life. There is a twist though, these are no average teenagers, they are from the rich upper-east side of Manhattan. Most of the main characters live privileged lives with nothing to stop them from reaching their dreams, except themselves. With the book being a sequel I didn’t expect it to be anywhere close to as good as the first, but was I wrong! Cecily von Ziegesar’s...more Kristin Leeds
Davis
Period 1
The second book in the Gossip Girl series, You Know You Love Me reminded me of the average teenager’s life. There is a twist though, these are no average teenagers, they are from the rich upper-east side of Manhattan. Most of the main characters live privileged lives with nothing to stop them from reaching their dreams, except themselves. With the book being a sequel I didn’t expect it to be anywhere close to as good as the first, but was I wrong! Cecily von Ziegesar’s You Know You Love Me intrigued me with its surprising twists and turns and changing characters.
Blair Waldorf, one of the main characters, just wants the perfect life but nothing seems to work out the way she wants it to. Every time she finally gets something to work out for her there is a twist and everything falls apart. For example, Blair finds the perfect present to give to her boyfriend to hopefully fix their relationship, but her credit card is no longer working for some mysterious reason. She then went on to do the unexpected and steal the item, something any self respecting Manhattan teenager would never do. Throughout the book there were many twists and turns that caught me off guard like the one mentioned. This kept the story fresh and exciting at all times.
Sometimes I was confused about which characters were saying what or who was who because of so many characters. It seems like the story always goes back to one of the five main characters. These main characters are Nate, Blair, Jenny, Dan, and Serena. Blair is the snotty brat that gets everything she wants, that is, until her ex-best friend Serena shows up. Blair is very believable and I could definitely relate her to a few people that I know personally. Serena is clueless about why Blair is mad at her, and her confusion is very believable and relatable. Nate is the picture perfect senior boy. I thought that Cecily von Ziegesar made Nate’s thought very realistic for the modern stoner-boy. Jenny was the average freshmen just trying to make it through high school, making it very easy for me to relate to her. Dan is the only character who I thought was not very believable. He is described as a stalker who writes poetry about death and very odd things any chance he gets. I could not relate him to any normal-minded person that I know.
Cecily von Ziegesar’s You Know You Love Me intrigued me with its surprising twists and turns and changing characters. Over all this book had me captivated because everything about it. From my point of view I believe that this book out shined the first book in every aspect. I highly recommend this book to any teen or tween girl who loves novels with complex plots and sneaky characters. Of course before you read this book you need to read the first one to get background information.
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Dec 21, 2010 Michael rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedies, romance, backstabbing-bitches-p

"You Know You Love Me" is a continuation of the last book in the "Gossip Girl" series entitled "Gossip Girl." Ziegesar brings back Blair and Serena's scandalous, yet enticing, affairs, and their minor problems."You Know You Love Me" begins with the characters of "Gossip Girl" applying to Ivy League Colleges, and Blair planning not only her seventeenth birthday, but also helping her mother get ready for her wedding, which is being photographed for Vogue. Yes, the magazine. Then there's Serena, wh...more

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Mar 01, 2010 Devin Alfred rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: book-a-month

Compared to the Gossip Girl series on television, the enormous book series definitely exceeds the level of drama and action tremendously. Following the lives of the rich and "famous", gossip girl tells all. Although, totally cheesy and at times predictable, this book keeps my attention and relates the rich girl's problems to the average teenage girl's. As Blair and Serena go through lots of arguing, fighting, and disputes over boys and the past, the people around them move on and onto other peop...more

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Jul 06, 2012 Nepeta Leijon rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-girls-want-bad-boys, fuck-this-book-i-quit, i-hope-the-deep-ones-eat-this-bitch, incest-ain-t-cool, so-bad-it-s-good, totally-made-on-drugs

7/5/2012

You Know You Love Me is perhaps the biggest piece of garbage that I have ever read. It is not funny, it is disgusting, the characters are one dimensional. Shall I go on? Serena is a bitch. Yes, a big one. And yet, Cecily von Ziegesar is favoring her over Blair.

And why in the world is Blair born in November? You know, why is almost every main character in some books born in late November? I don't appreciate that. I was born in late November, too! OMG!!!

Seriously, this book is garbage.

7/6...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Kenya Liggons rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I picked up this book for the first time, I was examining the tittle. I was trying to make an inference on what this book was about. What I thought was completely different from what the actual book is about. I didn't want to put the book down after the first page. After reading the first sentence in the book I already had a visual image in my mind to what was going on.This book was magnificent and incredible! I liked how the author; Cecily von Ziegesar portrayed the characters. This book i...more When I picked up this book for the first time, I was examining the tittle. I was trying to make an inference on what this book was about. What I thought was completely different from what the actual book is about. I didn't want to put the book down after the first page. After reading the first sentence in the book I already had a visual image in my mind to what was going on.This book was magnificent and incredible! I liked how the author; Cecily von Ziegesar portrayed the characters. This book is about a group upper class teenagers' that live in Manhattan. Throughout the book it builds up these teenager's path to college.The story starts off with Blair Waldorf and her boyfriend Nate. After Blair had came home from the luxurious dinner her father gave her at Le Giraffe,Her and Nate went back to her place and they were planning to do some intimate things. Their plan didn't quite work out,because Blair's mother came home with some exciting news----- well to Mrs.Waldorf it was. Her mother announced that she was getting married to Cyrus. Cyrus and Mrs. Waldorf are getting married the Saturday after Thanksgiving. That was Blair's seventeenth birthday. The story goes on and it goes to Serena and Dan. Serena was Blair's ex best friend. They aren't friends because Blair found out that Serena and Nate had been messing around just before Serena had gone away. Every thing becomes reality when it was wedding times. I thought the characters were audacious and pretentious. That made the book more interesting. I could see everything that was going on in the book in my head. I kept wanting to read more. There was never a chapter that didn't have drama in it! It was very entertaing. I love reading books like this because I like a little bit of entertainment and drama. I got to see a lot of my life and friends in this book, I saw myself in the character Blair. I like how the author writes from a teenager's point of view. I like how the author spends time on real life situations and making her audience relate to her book. She should really keep writing books like this. Cecily von Ziegesar writes amazing books, and she should get an award from writing these books. I would say that the author should use more words to make the visual pictures of the reader more effective. I wouldn't change anything about the book.

I am also reading the book "The Outsiders." I see a lot of similarities from these two books. Blair, Serena, and all the other girls in the book remind me of Cherry Valnace and Marcia. Their boyfriends remind me of the Socs. I feel as if Dan reminds me of PonyBoy though. Dan is so innocent to me. (less)

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Sep 15, 2009 Anina Ertel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: teen

So I tried to read one of these a couple years back and was horrified. Don't get me wrong...I still am. What's different now is that I have been an avid watcher of the TV show. So I read this yesterday and I can say that I 'get' it now. I can't really put into words why it's enjoyable, but if you have any capacity to enjoy Gossip Girl I can assure you it's worth it to just give in and get on that bus.

I remember back in the day when my sister and I were addicted to this soap opera called "Sunset...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Laura rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books, 2012

The TV series has officially ruined these books for me. I think I got through book 1 pretty well - because so much was similar to the first episode of the show. But then I got to this book and it just DRUG on for me. I was so bored and so frustrated while reading this. I just wanted the story to be over, because I knew the story just doesn't do it for me the way the show does.

I also was SO annoyed that so much of the back story of the characters that was explained in book 1 was re-explained in b...more

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Jan 27, 2012 Jenia. rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: friendship, romance, realistic, favorites, books-read-in-2012

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Another great book. Gossip Girl turning out to be one of my favorite book series. I did however like You Know You Love Me bit more then I liked the first book, if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. The second book seemed to have more action then the first one. It felt to me that I got to know more about the characters in this novel, especially about Blair. Even though she’s not the nicest one, I still love Blair in the book, especially after I found more about her in the book.

You...more Another great book. Gossip Girl turning out to be one of my favorite book series. I did however like You Know You Love Me bit more then I liked the first book, if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. The second book seemed to have more action then the first one. It felt to me that I got to know more about the characters in this novel, especially about Blair. Even though she’s not the nicest one, I still love Blair in the book, especially after I found more about her in the book.

You Know You Love Me Second book in Gossip Girl series, Blair’s seventeen birthday is coming up and she knows the one thing she needs and want, is Nate, plus getting into Yale. However her plans don’t go as planned when her mother announces that her wedding, to Cyrus Rose will take place on Blair’s birthday. Top of that Nate seems to have been ignoring her. Blair unaware that Nate had been spending all of his free time with a ninth grader, Jenny Humphrey. Meanwhile, it’s time for college interviews, Yale for Blair, Brown for Nate, Dan & Serena that doesn’t end up as well as hoped.

In this book, I kind of felt sorry for Blair, nothing was going as planned for her. First, the wedding, the interview and Nate ignoring her. I’m not fond of Nate in this book at all, I thought maybe he actually make it work with Blair this time but it seems as he doesn’t even care. I got a feeling if he cheated on Blair, Twice; it won’t be any different when he ends up with Jenny. I’m pretty sure that when Jenny finds out that he still was with Blair all this time he was with her, she won’t be happy with him. Yet, I’m curious what’s going happen with him and Jenny.

Dan, that’s another character I’m not too fond of, he seems too depressing and he is bit obsessive of Serena but that’s what makes the book interesting as well. I’m glad that he finally figures out that it’s Vanessa he needs to be, towards the ends. Wonder if the two of them would actually last. It did seem as two of them were pretty happy towards the end though.

Serena & Blair, I was happy to see them bonding towards the end of the book. I wanted for them to make up. I could tell that after everything that happened, way Blair treated Serena after she came back, they still got each other’s back. I was glad that Blair at least had Serena after what happened with Nate, someone to lean on. I wonder if two of them remain friends, wonder if Blair mention to Nate what she saw, if Nate will end up dumping Blair over Jenny, it did seem like he really liked her. I can’t wait to read the rest of books, to see what happen with everyone, if any of them will change, or stay the same and who will stay together, friends. This one series I’m glad I discovered.
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Jan 11, 2010 Nikki (Wicked Awesome Books) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, ya, read-in-2010, series

Lifestyles of the rich and shameless should be full of partying and good times, but Serena, Blair, Nate, and the not so rich Dan, Jenny, and Vanessa are anything but. Sure, good times are had, but drama is the main course on the menu. Dan is stalkerishly in love with Serena, while she’s just looking for some friends. Nate and Blair are growing further apart with every passing minute as Nate’s eye begins to wander to…Jenny? And Vanessa is still hopelessly in love with the ever unaware Dan. Someon...more

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Jan 30, 2013 Shahna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

It's ridiculous how stuck up and bitchy these characters are, but I just can't help but keep reading. It's like a little guilty pleasure. There lives and stories are so silly that it makes me laugh. I can't help but want to know what else is going to happen.

I've never seen the television show, so this whole world is new to me. I have nothing to compare it too. But I think I am already going to like the books better. They just seem a little more stupid then what they would appear on screen.

I lo...more

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Jan 23, 2013 Sophie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2013

Even after reading "Gossip Girl" and really enjoying it I still went into this book with pretty low expectations. That's not to say that this series isn't good but I feel that this series is one that you can't take too seriously and I found that I really enjoyed this book.

The plot. I enjoyed the plot of this book a lot more than I did the first and I think that's because I have gotten to know the characters a little better and all of there storylines have been set up. I really enjoyed the pacing...more Even after reading "Gossip Girl" and really enjoying it I still went into this book with pretty low expectations. That's not to say that this series isn't good but I feel that this series is one that you can't take too seriously and I found that I really enjoyed this book.

The plot. I enjoyed the plot of this book a lot more than I did the first and I think that's because I have gotten to know the characters a little better and all of there storylines have been set up. I really enjoyed the pacing of this book and I thought that it was a very fast, fun and easy read. Another thing that I loved was seeing what all the characters are thinking and feeling through their eyes and I loved seeing everything that happened to all of them throughout the book.

The characters. I really enjoyed reading about all of the characters in this book now that I have gotten to know them a little better so I have a better idea of why they do the things they do.
Serena. As with "Gossip Girl" I found Serena to be the most relateable character. I enjoyed seeing everything that she did in the book and how she always managed to make the best of bad situartions.
Blair. I have found myself likeing Blair's character a little more in this book now that I have read a little more about her. Now I know the reasons why she does the things that she does and I really felt for her with the whole Nate situation.
Dan. Dan is one of the characters that really annoys me in this book. He is so obsessed with Serena and because of that he seems like now he really doesn't have any purpose without her in his life.
Jenny. I really am starting to enjoy Jenny's character I think that she is starting to come into her own. I loved seeing how she came out of her shell a little more in this book thanks to a certain person and I can't wait to see what happens with her in the next book.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and I thought that it was a great second installment to the series and I cannot wait to start reading the third book.(less)

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Sep 06, 2010 Danika rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I really only picked up this book because it was within reach and my current choice of reading was in another city. Needless to say, this was read within a few hours at a time over the span of a day. Very easy read.

There really isn't much for me to say about this book. I am not the target demographic at all. I am not a teenager, I am not a tween, I am not some socialite or some wannabe-socialite. I am not even a fan of the TV show. I might have watched a quarter of an episode.

But even all of tha...more

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Oct 10, 2012 Hilarystrindberg rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Now this book is more realistic, compared to Gossip Girl. Again, the author creates this wonderful glamorous world, which is really not so elite and amazing, but more like pain-in-the-ass kind of amazing. However, Blair and her emotions are more realistic and understandable, for that I must say a job well done since Blair seemed more like a genuine seventeen year-old-in-love than a superficial snob that was too unrealistic. Jenny was definitely the character we girls could probably relate to - i...more

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Jan 18, 2009 Nancy added it · review of another edition Recommends it for: teenagers

Shelves: 9th-and-10th-grade-books

This book is called "You Know You Love Me" by Cecily von Ziegesar. These books are realy addicting and fun to read. iIt talks about uppereast side teenagers. But they aren't the typical teenagers. These are high classed people who can basically live the life that they want to live with the exception of all the gossip that goes around. In this book Dan Humphrey falls in love with Serena. He liked Serena for a really long time but never approached her until their senior year. Serena and Dan had th...more

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Jan 30, 2012 Niecole rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: chick-lit, girls, to-read-in-2012, want-to-collect, watch-the-series

Thoughts: Let me first start by saying that I love Gossip Girl, the series. I’m a Chair and Dair fan (yes both) and I despise Serena. Thus, by the guide of my love for the show, I picked up the first book in the series last year. It was a fun read (as expected) and I enjoyed seeing how different the book was to the series. So this year I picked up the second book, and this is what I thought of it.

Although I did enjoy the book, it really vexed me that it was different to the series. I don’t often...more Thoughts: Let me first start by saying that I love Gossip Girl, the series. I’m a Chair and Dair fan (yes both) and I despise Serena. Thus, by the guide of my love for the show, I picked up the first book in the series last year. It was a fun read (as expected) and I enjoyed seeing how different the book was to the series. So this year I picked up the second book, and this is what I thought of it.

Although I did enjoy the book, it really vexed me that it was different to the series. I don’t often admit that I like a series or movie more than the book, but this was definitely the case here. Cecily von Ziegesar makes Blair out to be not as pretty or thin or anything like Blair is in the series, and of course, Serena is the epitome of all beautiful and good. What I also dispised in this book (which are based on teenagers {yes I know they all are having sex so you might think why I am moaning about this}) is that they all smoke! Dan (another favourite character) chain smokes!

So to get back to the story line (and please ignore my ramblings, I just get really into these things sometimes). Blair wants to lose her virginity to Nate, yet Nate falls in love with Jenny. Chuck isn’t really there. Serena is the all mighty beauty and Dan is a neurotic nerdy poet. Ok ok, so it’s not as bad as I’m making it out to be but still. Blair’s mother falls in love with Cyrus and the two of them are planning their wedding. Blair is really planning on doing it with Nate; Blair’s father (the gay one) is featured as well. Jenny manages to catch the attention of pot smoking Nate; Dan writes weird poems and stuff about Serena, which freaks her out a bit (it would freak me out too!). On top of all this, they are all looking at colleges they would like to go to and take (kind of) individual road trips to see them.

The story is fun to read, really, but you get lost sometimes because although everything kind of smooches together, there really isn’t a coherent storyline when you think of it. It all just goes together in a weird way. In my opinion, it just made better sense to me because I watch the series.

Some of my extra peeves in this book: Serena wins a prize for a movie that she didn’t really even make. Sure she acknowledges the others, but still. It gives you this vibe that beauty truly can get you everything, which is kind of disturbing. Blair is bulimic, and I feel it should be addressed more, not made off to be some trend that teenagers just get up to. Again the smoking, I don’t mind it, but these are teens… also the sexual vibes in this book freaks me out.

That said, I cannot wait to read the next one lol
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Apr 10, 2012 Gretchen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Two books in and I'm starting to get comfortable with the rhythm of the series. Feels like it was written for people with ADD, jumping all over the place with little or no resolution. I can't say that I find any of the characters to be particularly likeable, very few redeeming qualities in any of them. It almost makes you think that you shouldn't care what happens to any of them, but the pace of the books keep me turning the pages. Biggest surprise so far is how little we have learned about Chuc...more

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Jul 01, 2011 Maiko - rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I chose this book for summer reading because I love this drama. I was interested in this book since I first watched this drama, but I had no opportunity to read this. However, when I saw this book in the library, I borrowed it at once. Even though there were some differences between the book and the drama, I could easily imagine the characters. I could sympathize how they feel because all people in this novel are almost same age as me. This book contains love, family issues and the course of lif...more

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Jan 26, 2009 M. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, fiction

So, von Ziegesar is actually a terrible writer, and it's really annoying to be constantly reminded of the events that happened in the first book, but the experience of reading these books parallel to the TV is sort of an experiment in narrative that I'm getting off on-- the book characters are the hyperbolic dark "others" of the TV characters, both more menacing, empty, and one dimensional. There's a complete lack of moral centering in the book (whereas Rufus more and the characters themselves m...more

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Nov 25, 2008 Trish rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Anyone interested in High School lives of rich kids in New york

I really didn't like much of this book. From the swearing to the sex, the life these kids led seemed so stupid and useless, just another bunch of dumb superficial teens and their high school lives.

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Apr 29, 2012 Sary rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In this book a lot of things happen. Blair starts losing Nate and she starts losing the hang of things. She no longer sees what matters and soon her life turns into a routine, into something meaningless. She blows her Yale interview, she lost Nate to Jenny, a ninth grader, her mom is married again, she has a new brother, and her life is just not the same anymore. I do not know why, but I just cant seem to like Blair. I prefer Serena much more. She is not full of herself and she is actually nice....more

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Mar 11, 2011 Anna Burns added it · review of another edition

New York City's elite teenagers are at it again during their senior year of high school.The book is full of lies, scandals, and gossip that spreads through the notorious Gossip Girl who seems to know everything. Blair and Serena, the main characters and best friends, both have their minds focused on boys and fashion. Nate, Blair's boyfriend, falls in love with a young freshmen and Dan becomes obsessed with Serena. Through all the parties and popularity, the friends are also trying to apply and...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Ellen rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, young-adult

Wow. Okay so, let me start with describing the characters:

Nate is the usual cheating-on-Blair-with-Jenny-at-Blair's-mums-wedding-in-Blair's-time-of-need!! Dan is the love sucker poet who doesn't know what the definition of stalker is! Serena and Blair are Serena and Blair. And Chuck is pretty much absent in this whole entire novel (the only thing I even remember him saying was at the wedding and he asked Serena whether she was going out with Nate or Dan).

I still stand by what I said with the fi...more

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Jan 07, 2009 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This book is about Blair Waldrof. Blair is the rich girl living on the upper-west side. She has been dating Nate for a few years. He is getting a little tired of her and starts to see little Jenny Humphrey. The setting is in upper west side of Manhattan. Blair's internal conflict is about her and Nate. Jenny is only a ninth grader and Nate is almost in college. Her external conflict is with Nate. Nate has always loved Blair but never really showed it. So Blair keeps getting him unnecessary gift...more

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title link	preview: You Know You Love Me
avg rating	preview: You Know You Love Me Goodreads rating: 3.53 (11445 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6441469-you-know-you-love-me?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328314020l/6441469.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6441469-you-know-you-love-me?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]You Know You Love Me by Cecily von Ziegesar[/url]

You Know You Love Me (Gossip Girl #2)

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