Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Gossip Girl #7

Nobody Does It Better

Rate this book
Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I get everything - and everyone - we want. Snagging the latest Marc Jacobs bag or your best friend's boyfriend isn't always pretty, but it's always hot.

Enter the world of Gossip Girl - a world where everyone is gorgeous, everything is fabulous, and jealousy and betrayal are everywhere you look.

It's springtime and our lives are really heating up. Everybody's into college, and it's obviously time to party - as if we hadn't been doing that already! Now that B's finally lost her virginity to N, she can't wait to do it again (and again). But will B and N's love affair continue? And will B finally get into Yale? Or will N and S hook up and leave B alone in the city? Only time will tell, but one thing's for sure: love is in the air, and it smells a lot like Gucci Envy.

You know you love me,
gossip girl

231 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2005

134 people are currently reading
8425 people want to read

About the author

Cecily von Ziegesar

105 books2,967 followers
Cecily von Ziegesar is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl novels, upon which the hit television show is based.

Cecily von Ziegesar was born in New York City. Her childhood dream was to grow up to be a ballerina; she began lessons at age 3 and auditioned for the School of American Ballet at age 8, but was rejected.

As a teenager, von Ziegesar commuted to Manhattan at 6 a.m. to attend the Nightingale-Bamford School. After graduating from Nightingale, von Ziegesar attended Colby College before spending a year in Budapest working for a local radio station.

Von Ziegesar returned to the United States to study creative writing at the University of Arizona, but dropped out shortly thereafter.

Back in New York, while working at book-packaging firm Alloy Entertainment, von Ziegesar became inspired to create the Gossip Girl series, which follows the lives of privileged teenagers in New York. The series climbed to the top of The New York Times best-sellers list in 2002. A spin-off series, The It Girl, made the list in 2005.

The Constance Billard School for Girls in Gossip Girl is based upon an exaggerated version of von Ziegesar's alma mater, Nightingale. She also culled events from the book from the lives of her extremely wealthy friends, as well as her own life as a perpetual gossip.

She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her family.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
3,111 (24%)
4 stars
3,482 (27%)
3 stars
4,582 (35%)
2 stars
1,368 (10%)
1 star
330 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews
Profile Image for Cathy.
139 reviews1 follower
March 10, 2008
I'm determined to finish off this series, but it's starting to feel like a self-ordained punishment. In this book the author loses her own plotline. Vanessa didn't win the video contest, Serena did! Pay attention to your own story, for Pete's sake!
Profile Image for Tee.
379 reviews173 followers
November 30, 2016
2.5 stars

Reading one book from Gossip Girl series-it's like you've read them all.
But my advice: don't even read as much as the first book. It's too late for me, I'm addicted, but maybe you can still save yourself.
Especially stay away from this if you're a fan of the TV show.
I mean:
Chuck is gay,
Nate's a pothead with a charisma of a paper bag,
Serena and Dan pretty much never happened...
You get the point
It's weird. Don't read these books.
Profile Image for Madeleine Knutsson.
1,028 reviews122 followers
July 23, 2020
Jenny har stora bröst.
Serena är perfekt, snygg, vacker och har jag sagt perfekt. För det får man läsa om att alla tycker HELA TIDEN.
Nate är en otrogen pothead, big suprise there.
Daniel är tråkig, ännu mer tråkig än vanligare.
Vanessa har nu en pojkvän som faktiskt passar henne.
Och sist men inte minst, Blair kom äntligen in på skolan hon alltid har drömt om men förlorande sin pojkvän och bästa vän.
Profile Image for Doreen.
3,245 reviews89 followers
August 7, 2019
How do I explain my fanatic defense of the Gossip Girl series? It's trashy literature for adolescents, an age demographic I've long cleared, and I have little in common, on the surface, with the rich, spoiled characters depicted. But I have little in common with the circumstances of Austen's heroines, or with Wodehouse's fops and long-suffering servants, and I still find plenty that is amusing and touching in their stories. Some would argue that Austen and Wodehouse wrote with greater skill, but I think Von Ziegesar does a fantastic job of connecting with her target audience with her uncomplicated sentence structures. Plus, her characters feel fully realized, with all their flaws balancing out their privileges. Blair is an over-achiever and control freak who doesn't always get what she wants but works hard to achieve her goals regardless. Serena is a free spirit who understands that poise and kindness can get you through the stickiest situations. Despite the mistakes they make, they try hard to be good people, and, to me, that makes them admirable (much more so than those dreadful Sex And The City women.) I don't watch the TV show, as that's far too soap operatic for me, and I enjoy the books' slice of life, comedy of manners approach far too much to ruin it by taking the girls' issues entirely too seriously. Despite their troubles, they're still rich, beautiful teenage girls, and I think Von Ziegesar, like Wodehouse, does a very good job of presenting their woes as light comedic entertainment.

Edited because Goodreads randomly tagged a completely unrelated book I'd never even heard of in the preceding text, like wtf?
Profile Image for Annette.
3,835 reviews177 followers
July 14, 2020
Mijn manager is op vakantie. En onze enige medewerker debiteurenbeheer ook. En dat betekent dat alle problemen op dit moment op MIJN bordje terecht komen. Het is natuurlijk superfijn als mensen je waarderen, maar ik ben hier niet voor gemaakt. Mijn hoofd raakt hier te vol van en ik trek het me te veel aan. Gelukkig had ik een vooruitziende blik en dit heerlijk luchtige boek alvast klaargelegd. Iets veel ingewikkelders had ik ook niet kunnen lezen vandaag.

Want dat is het leuke van Gossip Girl. Het is allemaal niet hoogstaand en ingewikkeld. Strikt genomen gebeurt er niet zoveel en als je het mij vraagt is heel veel van wat er gebeurt ook al een keer gebeurd in eerdere boeken. Blaire wil naar Yale en is nog altijd niet officieel toegelaten. Nate en Serena wel, maar die durven het Blaire niet te zeggen. Nate is te stoned om te functioneren, Blaire wil dat de hele wereld om haar draait en Serena is gewoon Serena. En nog meer van hetzelfde.

Maar het is wel zo'n heerlijke guilty pleasure. Het is typische rijke mensen drama. Deze serie geeft een inkijkje in een leven dat ik zelf nooit gehad heb (en ook niet zou willen heb). Dit zijn mensen die alles hebben en toch overal problemen van weten te maken. Of er niet eens zo heel per ongeluk in verzeild raken. Het zijn zogenaamd slimme mensen, die ongelooflijk domme dingen doen gewoon omdat het kan en niemand ze op hun vingers tikt.

Het verhaal leest als een trein en je hoeft er niet bij na te denken. Alles wordt heerlijk voorgekauwd, uitgelegd en nog een keer herhaald. En toch gaat het ergens ook weer niet vervelen. Misschien juist wel omdat de personages zo ongelooflijk menselijk en zo ongelooflijk imperfect zijn. Ik voel me altijd heel intelligent en beleefd en aardig als ik deze boeken over deze mensen zo lees. De tv serie heeft me nooit zo kunnen pakken, maar ik heb nu alweer zin om het volgende boek in deze reeks op te pakken.
Profile Image for Ali D.
455 reviews2 followers
August 2, 2021
No it’s ok, apparently I enjoy torturing myself. I didn’t think I could dislike Serena even less than I did before.
Profile Image for Sarah.
386 reviews2 followers
August 12, 2021
Serena is a fucking biiiiittttccccch
Profile Image for Jen | jenreadsx.
443 reviews246 followers
March 16, 2022
“She buttoned the jacket of her gold Chanel suit and glanced at the antique platinum Cartier wristwatch fastened to her slim, Santo Domingo-tanned wrist”

Honestly the whole book is written like this, wayyyy too maybe descriptive words, I skim read most of it

So far this one is definitely the worst in the series - zero stars if possible
Profile Image for Sully .
691 reviews19 followers
August 8, 2016
This review is also posted at http://readingnookandcranny.blogspot....


Most of her life had been an endless loop of repetition, filled with the same people, parties, and predictability. Even her dreams had been predictable, and she liked it like that.

This quote from Nobody Does It Better kind of sums up my current feeling towards the Gossip Girl series. Each novel feels a bit like the same story, over and over. Blair and Nate get together, Blair and Nate get in a fight, Blair and Nate break up. Wash, rinse, and repeat. Serena gets a boyfriend. After five minutes, she's bored of him. She dumps boyfriend and finds someone else. Wash, rinse, repeat. Jenny follows on Serena's keels trying to be just like her. Dan makes a butt out of himself. Vanessa does something equally dumb or unbelievable. And Chuck just hangs out with his pet monkey (believe it or not, that's not a metaphor for anything).

In this installment in the series, the seniors are all finding out where they got in to college, or are deciding which college they want to go to if they haven't already. They are counting down the days to high school graduation, and planning on living it up partying until they do. This novel is a little less annoying than the last one, though it still doesn't seem like these characters are ever going to gain any growth. Though by now I suspect that is kind of the point. And this time around, I almost feel bad for Blair, although she ought to realize by now that her relationship with Nate is one of those toxic ones not good for you and that she ought to leave his loser butt behind. Also, she ought to learn that two self centered, self obsessed girls are never going to survive as BFFs for life. Oh, and not to steal things from babies. She shouldn't do that either.

And Jenny. Oh Jenny. She gets more annoying each time around, although I thought the school tour with Rufus was awesome, even if it didn't end the way I had hoped. Oh well, a gal can dream. There's always next time (now, how many of these books are left? I feel like I've about reached my limit on how much whiny elite high schoolers I can bare).
Profile Image for Mary.
7 reviews3 followers
Read
May 3, 2010
Nobody Does It Better is the seventh book in the Gossip Girl series. Once again, Cecily von Ziegesar does a good job of describing scenes and getting you hooked to the lives of the teenagers in the Upper East Side. However, I am disappointed that in the 7rh book of the series, this book brought nothing knew. The same old break up and make-ups between Blair and Nate, with Serena in the middle. Ever since the first book of this series, the following books kept repeating the samething, boring the readers, like me. I think this would be the last book I'm reading in the series.
After reading all seven books, I wonder does Serena and Blair have anything do in their lives besides interfering with Nate. I don't see how their life is so great and colorful. When reading the first book, the author does a good job of getting you jealous and wanting to be one of the members in the Gossip GIrl series. However as I kept on reading, I don't see anything to be jealous of. Blair and Serena's lives are full of materialism, and never find true happiness. I hope the next book of Gossip Girl would bring in something knew, and less of the same events happening over and over again.
Profile Image for Brooke ♥booklife4life♥.
1,198 reviews98 followers
November 25, 2015
At A Glance

Genre:
Young Adult; Chick Lit
Love Triangle/Insta Love?: Triangle.
Cliff Hanger: no
Rating: 4 Stars

Score Sheet
All out of ten


Cover: 7
Plot: 8
Characters: 8
World Building: 7
Flow: 9
Series Congruity: 9
Writing: 8
Ending: 7

Total: 8

In Dept

Best Part:
Sail boat adventure!
Worst Part: Yuckiness.
Thoughts Had: Nate, you're gonna get in troubleeeee.

Conclusion

Continuing the Series:
yes
Recommending: yes

Short Review: Nate is a bit of a bad boy in this book. I kinda like that side of him. Vanessa is my least favorite in this book, having loud sex with Dan, yuckkkkk. Then having sex with Devon like right after... no thank you. I feel like K and I are gonna go something crazy since they're only ever mentioned in the Gossip Girl website.

Review in GIF Form:

Profile Image for grazi ♡︎.
146 reviews12 followers
March 23, 2022
Everyone is in need of a day of rest.

Finally, I have reached the seventh book in the series! And the characters' anxiety for college has never been so great, after all, they are in the last days of school and, soon, higher education will be knocking at the door. So it's obvious that of them all, Blair is the one who most wants to find out whether or not she's going to Yale. In addition, the character resumes her relationship with Nate and - despite the regrets - I like the two of them together. But Nate continues to lead the typical "24/7 stoned life," which is at odds with Blair's perfect life, which is the most prominent in this volume, as well as the others. She is even befriends a certain girl and anyone who has watched the TV series will surely be surprised at first. Really enjoyed this interaction and want to see more.

Serena, on the other hand, doesn't have any great story in this volume and it's just a rumor of a possible relationship with a member of the Raves, in addition to being the reference for Jenny, who wants to be as popular as she is. This plot was worked on in all the other books but it definitely annoyed me in this one, because Jenny's obsession gets to be irritating - even Serena gets tired, since in the others she realized that the girl wanted to be like her, but she liked it because she felt An example". But from the middle of the story, Dan's younger sister befriends the members of the Raves and, seeing that they can be the bridge to a big scandal that will make her as famous as Serena, Jenny invests more and more in the relationship.

But this friendship only happens because Dan ends up becoming the band's lead singer. And besides being a terrible singer, he again gets the most boring plot in the book - something that happened in the previous one, É Você Que Eu Quero. It should be the character's boring way, as it only separated that Vanessa would be a distant plot for this sequel, as opposed to sharing the title of the worst with him. Oh, and at one point, Dan and Serena's relationship is remembered and she says she could fall in love with him all over again. I've already accepted that the two shouldn't be together in the books, but it's impossible not to like this scene, since the two are my favorite couple in the series.

And as the best is saved for last, in the last chapters we have the outcome of the - painful, I must say - saga from Blair to Yale; in addition to several hooks for the eighth book, which I will read in the sequence because the curiosity is greater. the others, the ea full of Cecily's book is that the enrichment is wrapped up by the story, the plot of "Quality of college I go cold comes so deep nor story so engaging and so engaging the story of "Which college I go cold comes ?" ).
Profile Image for Ayeley 𐙚 ·˚.
471 reviews51 followers
August 16, 2024
⭑ ⭑ ⭑ ⭒ ⭒
2.8stars

♰ They knew not to make the show book-accurate else it would’ve been canceled immediately

╰┈➤ Jenny’s lore goes crazy in the books😭 in her attempt to be like Serena. Miss girl is 14 hanging out with 25 year old dudes and they are entertaining her

╰┈➤ Nate being a cheating whore as usual. I need him to see himself to an early grave

╰┈➤ Everytime I think to myself “oh! Serena is actually being a good friend” she goes ahead and fucks it up again. I can’t believe she listened to Blair whine about Nate and then went to make out with him naked in the shower…. WHILES BLAIR WAS OUTSIDE 😭😭

╰┈➤ Blair finally got into Yale and I honestly need her to dump Nate’s cheating ahh. She’s too good for him

╰┈➤Vanessa and Aaron are such a cute couple. I’m so gladddd Dan Humphrey is rotting in loneliness 🤣🫸🏿
Profile Image for sam ✶.
47 reviews5 followers
September 21, 2024
i'm tearing through these books like tissue paper. i yearn for more. serena is da best. more slop please!
Profile Image for Candy Boisvert.
93 reviews3 followers
June 19, 2008
Title: Nobody does it better (Gossip girl book #7)
Author: Cecily von Ziegesar
Copyright date: May 2005
Publisher: Little, brown
How many pages: 231 pgs
How long it took me to read: 22 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: being in the loop.

This book was purchased at: Chapter's
This book is: pretty amusing.
Other books by these authors: Gossip girl and It girl series
Favorite characters: Blair, Jenny, Chuck, and Erik
When and Where the story takes place: New York
Plot in a nutshell: Graduation is coming very soon and the grads all go to the Hamptons for a celebration.
Main characters: Serena, Blair, Nate, Jenny, and Dan
What I liked best: How graceful Blair can be when she needs to be.
What I liked least: Serena is such a slut. She is starting to get on my nerves. I don't know why Blair is friends with her.

Overall rating: I have been running the last scene in my head over and over again. I still can't get over it. What kind of friend is Serena? Nate is a dick. I will always remain loyal to Blair. She's so much like me.
Profile Image for Courtney Shek.
214 reviews19 followers
February 2, 2021
Full review with spoilers here

As usual, here are my headlines from this book:
B is moving out to be an independent woman and we find out once and for all if she really got into Yale, S is trying to decide on a school to go to, N decides to sail the high seas while high, V finds an unlikely roommate and J and D think they can be rockstars...all kind of wild but I liked it.

I think the next book will cover graduation and the summer before everyone goes off to college so we see how that goes.
Profile Image for Liz.
251 reviews2,066 followers
July 2, 2013
A lot of the story lines will catch you by surprise. But Nate's won't because he's Mr Stoner and always doing the same things over and over. It takes place during the last month of school, and the seniors are ready to graduate. They're going to the Raves concert, hanging out in hotels, and going on Senior Spa Weekend (even some of the boys sneak on board!)
Profile Image for Rhiannon.
195 reviews8 followers
June 7, 2010
Plot details may change from Gossip Girl book to Gossip Girl book (in this one, everyone is making final decisions on their college choices, Dan is singing for a popular rock band, Blair and Nate start out happily together but very quickly are not, etc.), but they remain essentially the same. This is like my hilarious and silly comfort food, and this one lives up to the rest of the series.
Profile Image for jessica.
2,685 reviews48k followers
July 11, 2018
read in 2006 - read after seeing tv show - better review to come

2 stars
Profile Image for lily.
91 reviews9 followers
September 4, 2021
Nate is undeniably the root of everybody’s problems
Profile Image for Prerazmišljavanje - Katarina Kostić.
410 reviews305 followers
November 9, 2017
0.5

Okej, žrtvovala sam se da vi ne morate. Ovo je loše, loše, loše. Više ne prati nikakav plan, likovima se menjaju već utvrđeni rodovi i osnove ličnih priča, ništa ne liči na onu tako obećavajuću prvu knjigu. Prestajem, odustajem, neću čitati dalje.
Profile Image for Maitê.
764 reviews
November 16, 2017
I often wondered if the author was on crack while writing this book. It's the only thing that could possibly explain the events in this book. When everything is going fine someone does something stupid just for the sake of being stupid in a clear attempt of milking this series for a few more books.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 308 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.