Gossip Girl Assessment.

Before the T.V. show (which just wrapped up it's second season on the C.W.) there were the books. When I heard about the show I said to myself. "Hmm....Hey Mattie. You should read the books first to see what it is all about!" So I did. I found the books (written by Cecily VonZeigesar) a bit annoying and I didn't like them at all really. The storylines keep you confused about whose side you as the audience are supposed to side with in arguements. The story is told from several points of view, starting with the Upper East Side Royalty teens Serena VanDerWoodsen, her on-again-off-again best friend Blair Waldorf, Blair's sometimes boyfriend, Nate Archibald, and the increasingly feminine Chuck Bass (and his monkey), and going all the way to Serena's Biggest fan, Dan Humphrey, his little sister Jenny (who goes to school with Serena and Blair) and Dan's occasional girlfriend/bestfriend Vanessa. Some people may enjoy seeing what is going on with every single character but I find it difficult to make any kind of a connection to any particular person. In the show they continue this practice of showing the story's progression through the eyes of the various characters but there is almost always the line that separates what the truth is and who we should or shouldn't like. GossipGirl the show is very,VERY different from the books. In my opinion, if you are a fan of either one, do not try mixing them. I can almost promise you it will leave you unhappy. BUT if you didn't like the books you might want to try out the show (it is probably my favorite show on TV-I own season 1 and plan on buying season 2 ASAP). Same characters...some of the same qualities but all-around the characters are not as rediculous as they seem in the books. As for those of you who enjoy teen-fic novels you might take a look at Gossip Girl...read the first one. If you don't like the first one...I PROMISE you it does not get better. I read the first couple thinking it was going to get better and by the time I realized it wasn't getting better at all it was too late. I was in the middle of a series that I wasn't particularly liking but didn't want to leave off in the middle of. You know that feeling when you are sitting in the book store looking for some good summer reading and you read the first chapter of a book to see if it is something you might like...if you hate it, it is easier to put down than if you had read half the book already...at the half way point (for me at least) it's like...there is no reason to NOT finish it. If you've come this far, why stop now? I will say, however, that I DO enjoy the spin-off series featuring Jenny Humphrey (The It Girl Series--also by Cecily VonZeigesar). As a matter of fact, I just recieved the latest book via USPS (Adored--released June 1, 2009). I haven't had much time to read it...I'm still only on chapter 5 but so far things for Jenny seem to be going well back at Waverly Academy.
-Until Next Time (You know you love me, XOXO)

Mattie