It's officially hot girl summer, and there's nothing more entertaining than a chick-lit setting in Manhattan, New York. Specifically speaking of a super well known uber-successful drama TV show starring Blake Lively, Penn Badgley, Leighton Meester, Ed Westwick etc.
Gossip Girl has been around since the early 2000s and still sticks pretty popular in the 2020s. The complete 13 book series started its publication in 2002 and almost immediately found place in the #1 New York Time bestselling authors.
I first read Gossip Girl when I was around 11-12 and was hooked. I read all of the books straight out of order though, I'm not sure why. But to this day, I have never gotten bored of rereading these books again and again (my biggest guilty pleasure).
SYPNOSIS: Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live in luxe Fifth Avenue apartments and attend Manhattan's most exclusive private schools. We're smart, we've inherited classic good looks, we wear fantastic clothes, and we know how to party. We can't help it-we were born this way.
Our story begins with three inseparable, completely gorgeous fifteen-year-olds, Serena van der Woodsen, Blair Waldorf, and Nate Archibald. Blair's loved Nate and his glittering green eyes since she was in Bonpoint onesies. Too bad Nate wishes Blair's beautiful best friend, Serena, was the one with the crush. And Serena has a secret she's keeping from them both. Hmmm, something tells me these best friends may not be as close as we thought. . . .
How do I know all this? Because I know everything-and lucky for you, I can't keep a secret. So sit back while I untangle this messy little tale and tell you how it all began.
Admit it, you're already falling for me.
You know you love me.
gossip girl
***
Even though there are multiple characters in this story, each with their own plot, I truly believe Blair is the ultimate main character in this story. In the show, however, Serena gets the upper hand.
I almost always prefer reading the books first; they're a much better testimony to emotional insights in this story.
“Destiny is for losers. It's just a lame excuse for letting things happen to you instead of making them happen.”
The book also, is pure comedy. Cecily's writing never fails to make me laugh every time I read it. I was so disappointed when I realized how serious the TV show was compared to the original book series. Reading this book takes you to another lifestyle and mindset entirely. It's jarring how lives as insane and extravagant as the lives of the rich in New York's Manhattan actually exist in real life.
“oh my god, she couldn't help thinking. I have hairy legs and I'm going to die alone.”
Blair seems to know everything she wants in her life from studying in Yale to marrying the 'love of her life' Nate Archibald. Meanwhile, Serena is the effortlessly perfect girl who apparently, everyone in this series wants to be. Including Blair, her 'bestfriend'. It's obvious Blair hates and is insanely jealous and Serena but that just adds more spice to the plot. The other characters like Dan, Vanessa, Jenny etc. are supposed to be the uncool hipsters, their lives not as flashy as that of Blair, Serena and Chuck.
“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.”
Speaking of Chuck Bass, an unsufferable character who definitely would be taken down as a sex offender in real life, I'm surprised how he made it all the way to the end and came out as Prince Charming in the show and books both. I will still never understand Nate's purpose in the series except for playing the thorn in Blair & Serena's friendship.
“It was so typical. Whenever Blair did anything nice for someone else, she usually regretted it.
Which kind of explained why she was such a bitch most of the time.”
Starting out from fifteen years old and going well till 20s, the lives and dramas are all documented by the unknown Gossip girl who is, in simple terms, a stalker.
It is also important to note that there are instances in the series which can be triggering to some readers like the constant portrayal of Blair's eating disorder (Bulimia).
To wrap this review up, I highly recommend reading the series before watching the show. They're so much better. If you want a book that gets you out of your reading slump, this is the one.
Comments