st333phanie's review against another edition
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
epicrox's review against another edition
3.0
First book of 2023!
I’ve only watched 1 season and half of Gossip and thought it would be fun to read the books
Only picked this book up because of the love triangle.
What can I say? Every character annoyed me in their own way. Chuck was traumatising. Nate was stoned. Dan was creepy. Blair was delusional. And Serena..was Serena? If that makes sense.
Was Dan a creep on the show? Cause Book!Dan’s thoughts just made me feel icky.
Even though the book made me blink a couple of times and made me put it down a couple of times, it was enjoyable. So 3 stars it is.
If you are a person who wants a good book, don’t pick this up. Or if you do, borrow it from a library like I did.
Trashy but oh so Scandalous.
To the next one!
I’ve only watched 1 season and half of Gossip and thought it would be fun to read the books
Only picked this book up because of the love triangle.
What can I say? Every character annoyed me in their own way. Chuck was traumatising. Nate was stoned. Dan was creepy. Blair was delusional. And Serena..was Serena? If that makes sense.
Was Dan a creep on the show? Cause Book!Dan’s thoughts just made me feel icky.
Even though the book made me blink a couple of times and made me put it down a couple of times, it was enjoyable. So 3 stars it is.
If you are a person who wants a good book, don’t pick this up. Or if you do, borrow it from a library like I did.
Trashy but oh so Scandalous.
To the next one!
miaach's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, and Drug use
the2bex's review against another edition
2.0
Well, when I first started reading this book Gossip Girl had quite recently gone off the air and I was watching a marathon of the series on Netflix starting with Season 1. And after watching almost the whole series again (I stopped in Season 4) I realized I didn't much like Serena. I am just prefacing that b/c my views are now biased having to compare it to a TV show and a TV show in which I didn't like a main character, but I did love the rest of the gang.
This starts off with Serena just returning to the Upper East Side after having been kicked out of boarding school. There is the tension b/w her and Blair and having the inside track into Blair's mind (as part of the book is told from her POV) it was easier to understand that Blair had only realized she was in Serena's shadow once S was gone and was having her moment in the sun. So when S came back to put her on the back burner, she was NOT happy.
It did actually like a part of the book, b/c the first episode of the series stayed so close to it and it did just give you more of the thoughts of the characters b/c the POV would switch around b/w them and that is what I really like a about a book, being able to be in the head of a character! So I really enjoyed that aspect.
The book did make them more out to be teenagers, whiny, petulant, and watching MTV and Spongebob, which I never saw that on in the TV series, so I liked that too.
The main thing I didn't like was Gossip Girl. She would just say cheesy and cliche things and it was confusing sometimes, it seemed like Gossip Girl was narrating the story and just happened to know what the characters were thinking, but then I'd think it was just switching back and forth b/w the POV of the characters.
For the most part I thought the storyline was kind of dumb. If I hadn't invested 6 years into watching the TV show, I would not have made it past chapter 1. And from the synopsis I read the series took a completely different path from the books. The books seems to have been even more pointless than the series! I don't think they even graduate from high school until like book 7 or something ridiculous. Blair and Chuck don't ever have their romance. And while the book did set things up for S & Lonely Boy (although he was never called that in the book) the other series did not seem to indicate that it worked out. The only storyline I got from the book synopsis were that it is a continuous love triangle b/w S, N, & B. Lonely Boy thinks he might be gay. Chuck is not mentioned AT ALL and then S & B make out in a book. Just not worth my time!
This starts off with Serena just returning to the Upper East Side after having been kicked out of boarding school. There is the tension b/w her and Blair and having the inside track into Blair's mind (as part of the book is told from her POV) it was easier to understand that Blair had only realized she was in Serena's shadow once S was gone and was having her moment in the sun. So when S came back to put her on the back burner, she was NOT happy.
It did actually like a part of the book, b/c the first episode of the series stayed so close to it and it did just give you more of the thoughts of the characters b/c the POV would switch around b/w them and that is what I really like a about a book, being able to be in the head of a character! So I really enjoyed that aspect.
The book did make them more out to be teenagers, whiny, petulant, and watching MTV and Spongebob, which I never saw that on in the TV series, so I liked that too.
The main thing I didn't like was Gossip Girl. She would just say cheesy and cliche things and it was confusing sometimes, it seemed like Gossip Girl was narrating the story and just happened to know what the characters were thinking, but then I'd think it was just switching back and forth b/w the POV of the characters.
For the most part I thought the storyline was kind of dumb. If I hadn't invested 6 years into watching the TV show, I would not have made it past chapter 1. And from the synopsis I read the series took a completely different path from the books. The books seems to have been even more pointless than the series! I don't think they even graduate from high school until like book 7 or something ridiculous. Blair and Chuck don't ever have their romance. And while the book did set things up for S & Lonely Boy (although he was never called that in the book) the other series did not seem to indicate that it worked out. The only storyline I got from the book synopsis were that it is a continuous love triangle b/w S, N, & B. Lonely Boy thinks he might be gay. Chuck is not mentioned AT ALL and then S & B make out in a book. Just not worth my time!
tilly95_'s review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
thepaige_turner's review against another edition
2.0
Check out my review here: http://thepaige-turner.blogspot.com/2011/11/gossip-girl-by-cecily-von-ziegesar.html
emilia_thereader's review against another edition
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Vomit, Fatphobia, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Bullying
sarchen's review against another edition
4.0
This series drew me in to the point of obsession. For a while I was living in the Upper East Side... in my mind.
abotte's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Eating disorder