Reviews

my last book in the book set and wasn't any better than the last two. I just couldn't find it interesting listening to rich kids complain about their lives and the people they surround themselves with. Felt like I was reading a middle schooler's diary :/

aworga's review against another edition

Go to review page

Obvs a reread one of my fav books of all time

geofroggatt's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

This is the third book in the Gossip Girl book series. Christmas time in New York City has arrived and Serena moves from dating superstar Flow to vegan Aaron when they all end up on a Caribbean vacation with the Waldorfs. Jenny acts like a stalker with Nate, while Nate realizes who he truly loves. Blair learns that her mother is pregnant and decides that Nate isn't worthy of being her leading man. I might be giving the author too much credit, but I feel like she’s aware of how vapid and pretentious her characters are, and that she’s poking fun at them and being satirical while telling a genuine story in this world. This book made me realize that in the books Gossip Girl isn’t as active in the actual plot as much as she is in the television shows. I’m not sure how I feel about this, as I loved how the Gossip Girl blasts effected the plot and characters in real time on the television show, and some of the best moments and best drama on the show happened because Gossip Girl was an active player in this world. Gossip Girl in the books is presented more as a framing device for the story, serving more as an outside look at the characters and stylishly framing them as interesting fabulous pseudo celebrities. There were a lot of shallow secondary characters in this book to further pad out the friend groups and Upper East Side social circles, but they didn’t really catch my interest besides Miles, who I thought had the potential to be a recurring secondary character. The characters surprised me once again by flying commercial, but like with the last book I had to remind myself that these characters choose to move through different worlds and don’t always stay in their elite upper-crust sphere. I understand Blair’s distaste at the idea of taking Cyrus’s last name is part of her character, but I thought that Blair Rose-Waldorf had a nice ring to it. Jenny’s obsession with Nate was done well in this book in my opinion, she was portrayed like any girl who falls too hard for a boy, and I liked that it was portrayed as intense enough to make Nate uncomfortable while not turning Jenny’s character into an overdramatic stalker. Dan’s pretentious teenage poetry fits his character very much, but the fact that he actually got some of his poems published in The New Yorker at such a young age is one of the most far-fetched and improbable things that this book series has ever depicted. I was surprised by how much I liked Aaron and how much of a role his character has had in this book and the last one because I never cared for his character on the television adaptation. Aaron’s character is different from the portrayal in the television show, and I like how he appears to be a normal guy despite being from the same world that the rest of the rich characters are from. He reminded me of a likable version of Dan, only he was born into wealth and still became a normal level-headed guy and character foil to the other nepotism baby characters. I think this version of Aaron has a lot of potential and I’m curious to see where the book series takes his character, though I do have an idea where they’ll take one of his storylines involving Blair. I think that it’s interesting that I relate more to Aaron as an average “Everyman” character than I do with Dan, who is the intended “average Joe” character. This has less to do with Aaron’s wealth and background and more to do with his personality and lifestyle (so far). Despite Blair not being my favorite character, I like this version of her much more than the comedic conniving Queen Bee from the television adaptation (Leighton Meester still did a fantastic job with what she was given), and I liked how this Blair finally came to realize that she isn’t interested in Nate. I’m sure that Blair will develop into something more similar to her television counterpart eventually, but I’m more invested in this version of the character than I was at Blair from the beginning of the show, making me think that’d I’d like the eventual conniving and devious Blair Waldorf in the books since I am more invested in her character’s foundations here. I like that Nate ended up alone romantically on New Years, and I like that Jenny’s character is trying to become someone different at the end of the novel. I liked the ending with the New Years countdown, but overall, this book was boring in comparison to the two previous books, as those books were enjoyable even if they weren’t the most exciting.

lilrongal's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

I love Serena.

abbyt152's review against another edition

Go to review page

funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

reggid13's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Just carrying on with the random drama. Still enjoying it.

More...