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Gossip Girl #0, 1-11
The Complete Gossip Girl Series
The Gossip Girl series complete in 12 books. All are softcover except the prequel to the "It Had To Be You" which is only available in hardcover. Titles included Girl #1You Know You Love Me All I Want Is Everything Because I'm Worth It I Like It Like That You're The One That I Want Nobody Does It Better Nothing Can Keep Us Together Only In Your Dreams Would I Lie to You Don't You Forget About Me It Had to Be You
First published January 1, 2007
71 people are currently reading
3194 people want to read
About the author
Cecily von Ziegesar
105 books2,968 followersCecily 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews
January 13, 2008
I've got 1-3 if anyone's interested.
At first, they are satire, and it's funny. The constant brand-name-dropping, the weird interpersonal interactions, all the half-cocked plot points and flimsy characters.
Then, about book nine, it all starts to drag, and by book 12 maybe you are calling for the head of Nathaniel Archibald on some kind of designer china plate because of all the stupid, uninteresting characters he is BY FAR the WORST, and yet there are SO MANY WORDS devoted to him, so very many words and most of them praiseful, even worshipful MY GOD.
The television show is immeasurably better. Don't bother with this nonsense, it will only confuse, distract, and eventually aggravate you. I honestly enjoyed the ridiculous shallowness of the first few books. The series just doesn't relent until you are beaten down, reading as fast as you can so the last book will end and you don't have to hear from Gossip Girl anymore. Ever.
NB: Re: "Inappropriate" behavior: There aren't any explicit sex scenes. Dudes get high, but no one does any interesting drugs. Mostly the kids get drunk, and then act stupid. SHOCKING! Honestly, the scandalousness comes not from underage sex, or even nudity. It's all suggestion, no action.
At first, they are satire, and it's funny. The constant brand-name-dropping, the weird interpersonal interactions, all the half-cocked plot points and flimsy characters.
Then, about book nine, it all starts to drag, and by book 12 maybe you are calling for the head of Nathaniel Archibald on some kind of designer china plate because of all the stupid, uninteresting characters he is BY FAR the WORST, and yet there are SO MANY WORDS devoted to him, so very many words and most of them praiseful, even worshipful MY GOD.
The television show is immeasurably better. Don't bother with this nonsense, it will only confuse, distract, and eventually aggravate you. I honestly enjoyed the ridiculous shallowness of the first few books. The series just doesn't relent until you are beaten down, reading as fast as you can so the last book will end and you don't have to hear from Gossip Girl anymore. Ever.
NB: Re: "Inappropriate" behavior: There aren't any explicit sex scenes. Dudes get high, but no one does any interesting drugs. Mostly the kids get drunk, and then act stupid. SHOCKING! Honestly, the scandalousness comes not from underage sex, or even nudity. It's all suggestion, no action.
January 6, 2009
I LOVED THESE BOOKS!!! My high school friend and I were obsessed with the books (and this was before the TV show). On Spring break we told everyone our names were Blair Waldorf and Serena Vanderwoosen. Blair is the best character, which is why I was so surprised Serena was getting all the hype when the TV show first ran. Miss Waldorf is a constantly conflicted character that is often confused about her identity, or how much of it to reveal.
March 29, 2009
DEFINITELY a great series. NOTHING like the show. The tv show is great and all, but it barely sticks to the books! I could write a whole blog about how they are completely different. These books are really light hearted but keep you interested at the same time. Too bad Serena and Blair's stories only lasted 12 books. I would have liked to see more!
May 24, 2008
I started reading this series when I was about 12 years old, stumbling upon it at a local bookstore. That's when I definitely fell in love. The whole series was wonderful, exposing me to a world I never knew existed. The author definitely did her homework, as I recognized many of the brands used in the book. The descriptions were nothing short of lavish and detailed, and I was thoroughly impressed.
The only fault with this series was the fact that the plot could be a bit draggy and that the characters weren't all that intelligent (especially pothead Nate), but overall I enjoyed the series, and the series definitely had a great ending =D
The only fault with this series was the fact that the plot could be a bit draggy and that the characters weren't all that intelligent (especially pothead Nate), but overall I enjoyed the series, and the series definitely had a great ending =D
February 25, 2009
oh Gossip Girl. you are this decade's Sweet Valley. and Cecily von Ziegesar you have created a monster. this is light. frothy. a bit heavy on the name brands (okay, a LOT heavy). some of the books were terrible, but others were so fun that i had to keep reading.
and i will just say...the tv series is much better. i know, i know, i'm a total Blair/Chuck fan! don't bring the monkey into the series! please for the love of God.
and i will just say...the tv series is much better. i know, i know, i'm a total Blair/Chuck fan! don't bring the monkey into the series! please for the love of God.
July 13, 2020
Check out my reviews on the main page of each individual book!
October 31, 2019
If you’re looking for a gripping story with less generalized and non-specific descriptions that actually intend to gravitate your mind towards the scenery being depicted then DO NOT PURCHASE THIS SERIES. I tried extremely hard to fall in love with the series and the character development but I just had to admit it to myself: it just wasn’t working. At first, I believed that her writing style was whimsical and unique but then I quickly came to the realization that it fell flat and caused dialogue and descriptions to become basic and bland. It’s almost as if Cecily believed that littering her novels with colloquialisms such as “mate,” would make her writing seem amazing and similar to a teenagers perspective while, in reality, it just made her work seem agonizingly boring. Not only this, but she believed that repetiting what has been previously said in other books such as “Vanessa was not like the other girls, blah, blah, blah (yes we know, we learnt this by reading your books in chronological order and remembering vital details for the sake of fabricating the basic synopsis),” will actually gain interest and insight when, in reality, it was just unnecessary and borderline irritable. It’s honestly a shame that she didn’t add more plot twists and focus less on certain ideas (or maybe even developed them in a more interesting fashion) because she had an amazing and creative idea right at her fingertips. It really is a shame. Although, I’m glad to say that she has caused some inspiration regarding the television side of the industry and this inspiration has translated into a beautiful piece of digital art; all hail gossip girl the television series. At least, the core of her ideas were made into something more magical I guess.
March 4, 2008
Okay, I admit it. I read all of these books and have the "pre" book on hold at the library. Nothing better than a good Serena and Blair adventure in New York. Although it makes me feel inept with my JCPenney clothes and all of their sassy clothes and expensive purses. I LOVE THESE BOOKS! It is a guilty obsession. If you have free time and want to turn your brain off and read something just so over the top WONDERFUL, read the Gossip Girl books. You won't be sorry.
August 13, 2008
These books are completely different from the series. It is interesting to read them because minus all the money they have, they are really just like us so that is fun. But if you don't like cadiness then don't bother reading them. If you want something fairly easy to read then read them. F.Y.I. they are a bit slow in the begining.
July 27, 2018
Déjà.... que ce fut long ! Mais vraiment long
L'e-book regroupe les 17 tomes de la série. 13 sont basés sur les personnages que nous connaissons le mieux (attendu qu'il y a eu une série) et les 4 autres sont un spin off sur de nouveaux personnages.
Je vais déjà vous parler des 13 concernant les personnages qui ont été adaptés en série. Déjà, la première chose à dire c'est que les personnages sont largement différents entre les livres et la série (j'ai d'ailleurs chroniqué la série cette année). Je dois admettre que les personnages du roman me sont nettement moins sympathique. Je commence par Séréna, celle qui a le moins changé dans la transposition. On le saura assez que Séréna est magnifique naturellement et qu'elle est gentille... Elle est même à la limite de la naïveté. En face d'elle, sa meilleure ennemie Olivia pour la VF mais Blair pour tout le monde. J'aime son côté dur et peste et la façon dont elle souffre d'être sans arrêt dans l'ombre de S. Entre elles deux, il y a Nate (nettement plus important dans les livres que dans la série). Bon...Nate est un gros drogué qui passe son temps à hésiter entre les deux demoiselles sus nommées. J'avoue que l'indolence du personnage m'a agacée (mais vraiment). Sans oublier les passages où il se tourne vers Jenny (mais je parlerai d'elle plus tard). Le triangle amoureux est toutefois réussi avec une mention spéciale pour le prequel qui nous explique bien, qu'en fait Nate était à la base amoureux de Serena et que s'il avait eu un peu plus de cran , l'histoire se serait plus vite résolue.
Je poursuis avec les Humpfrey... Rufus est bien loin de l'image glamour de la série et, même s'il est sympathique, il ne donne réellement pas envie. Idem pour Dan qui est définitivement assommant dans son rôle de poète maudit assommé par les clopes et le café. Jenny est attachante et j'aime la manière dont elle évolue et dont elle finit par s'assumer
Vanessa... le personnage est sympathique et évolue bien (j'ai apprécié sa relation avec Olivia) et je trouve son histoire avec Dan très convaincante
En vérité, la grosse déception des livres c'est le personnage de Chuck Bass, gros lourdeau complétement nul qui ne présente absolument aucun intérêt (on est loin, très loin du Chuck de la série). Cependant, j'ai aimé sa relation avec Olivia (je n'y peux rien, j'adore ce couple)
Sur le reste, la lecture reste légère et très young adult mais on prend plaisir à suivre les aventures de nos héros, surtout tout ce qui va concerner leurs admissions à la fac et le triangle Nate/Serena/Olivia
J'ai aimé le tome sequel, surtout en raison de la conclusion du triangle amoureux et de l'évolution des relations entre les personnages
Sur le spin off des Carlyles qui ne compte que 4 tomes. L'idée d'introduire des triplés dans l'appart d'Olivia (après que sa famille ait déménagé à LA ) est bonne. J'ai apprécié le personnage d'Avery et ses tentatives pour se faire accepter mais je suis plus réservée sur Baby (qui est rapidement gonflante). Mon personnage favori est Jack (même si elle ressemble beaucoup à Olivia ou peut-être à cause de celà) et j'ai bien aimé la manière dont les relations entre les personnages évoluaient. Même si celà ressemble beaucoup à la série initiale
Ce que j'aime : le triangle S/N/O , le personnage de Jack et le côté très léger de la lecture. Le prequel et le sequel
Ce que j'aime moins : beaucoup de répétitions, un Chuck décevant, des personnages souvent poussés à la limite de la caricature. Ne pas savoir qui est Gossip Girl
En bref : Un long roman de plage divertissant mais dont les personnages ne sont pas aussi attachants et fouillés que dans leur adaptation télévisuelle
Ma note
6,5/10
L'e-book regroupe les 17 tomes de la série. 13 sont basés sur les personnages que nous connaissons le mieux (attendu qu'il y a eu une série) et les 4 autres sont un spin off sur de nouveaux personnages.
Je vais déjà vous parler des 13 concernant les personnages qui ont été adaptés en série. Déjà, la première chose à dire c'est que les personnages sont largement différents entre les livres et la série (j'ai d'ailleurs chroniqué la série cette année). Je dois admettre que les personnages du roman me sont nettement moins sympathique. Je commence par Séréna, celle qui a le moins changé dans la transposition. On le saura assez que Séréna est magnifique naturellement et qu'elle est gentille... Elle est même à la limite de la naïveté. En face d'elle, sa meilleure ennemie Olivia pour la VF mais Blair pour tout le monde. J'aime son côté dur et peste et la façon dont elle souffre d'être sans arrêt dans l'ombre de S. Entre elles deux, il y a Nate (nettement plus important dans les livres que dans la série). Bon...Nate est un gros drogué qui passe son temps à hésiter entre les deux demoiselles sus nommées. J'avoue que l'indolence du personnage m'a agacée (mais vraiment). Sans oublier les passages où il se tourne vers Jenny (mais je parlerai d'elle plus tard). Le triangle amoureux est toutefois réussi avec une mention spéciale pour le prequel qui nous explique bien, qu'en fait Nate était à la base amoureux de Serena et que s'il avait eu un peu plus de cran , l'histoire se serait plus vite résolue.
Je poursuis avec les Humpfrey... Rufus est bien loin de l'image glamour de la série et, même s'il est sympathique, il ne donne réellement pas envie. Idem pour Dan qui est définitivement assommant dans son rôle de poète maudit assommé par les clopes et le café. Jenny est attachante et j'aime la manière dont elle évolue et dont elle finit par s'assumer
Vanessa... le personnage est sympathique et évolue bien (j'ai apprécié sa relation avec Olivia) et je trouve son histoire avec Dan très convaincante
En vérité, la grosse déception des livres c'est le personnage de Chuck Bass, gros lourdeau complétement nul qui ne présente absolument aucun intérêt (on est loin, très loin du Chuck de la série). Cependant, j'ai aimé sa relation avec Olivia (je n'y peux rien, j'adore ce couple)
Sur le reste, la lecture reste légère et très young adult mais on prend plaisir à suivre les aventures de nos héros, surtout tout ce qui va concerner leurs admissions à la fac et le triangle Nate/Serena/Olivia
J'ai aimé le tome sequel, surtout en raison de la conclusion du triangle amoureux et de l'évolution des relations entre les personnages
Sur le spin off des Carlyles qui ne compte que 4 tomes. L'idée d'introduire des triplés dans l'appart d'Olivia (après que sa famille ait déménagé à LA ) est bonne. J'ai apprécié le personnage d'Avery et ses tentatives pour se faire accepter mais je suis plus réservée sur Baby (qui est rapidement gonflante). Mon personnage favori est Jack (même si elle ressemble beaucoup à Olivia ou peut-être à cause de celà) et j'ai bien aimé la manière dont les relations entre les personnages évoluaient. Même si celà ressemble beaucoup à la série initiale
Ce que j'aime : le triangle S/N/O , le personnage de Jack et le côté très léger de la lecture. Le prequel et le sequel
Ce que j'aime moins : beaucoup de répétitions, un Chuck décevant, des personnages souvent poussés à la limite de la caricature. Ne pas savoir qui est Gossip Girl
En bref : Un long roman de plage divertissant mais dont les personnages ne sont pas aussi attachants et fouillés que dans leur adaptation télévisuelle
Ma note
6,5/10
July 21, 2017
I read these through high school in between classics and must-reads. They were my guilty pleasure. With this in mind, Cecily von Ziegesar is great at descriptive language and wrote well-written characters. Unpopular opinion, I prefer the books to the television show.
Read
June 24, 2024These books were my first to really get me into reading when I was a kid. I read here and there, but when this series came out and I found them, I was hooked and couldn’t put them down. I can’t wait to introduce my 14 year old to them eventually, and hope she enjoys them as much as I did.
July 3, 2024
As its own entity it was a good series, if you watched the series before reading, you need to disconnect from it completely! There are so many differences when you compare them, but as a book series it is really captivating and fun!
October 8, 2018
I watched the series adaptation of this book, but the book will always be the best no matter what.😊
August 16, 2019
The book version of KUWTK. But I dont care. I read the whole thing.
December 7, 2020
Read these years ago when they first came out, I enjoyed them more than the show.
August 1, 2021
So fun, an easy read. Better ending than the show
November 10, 2022
Read this in high school before the show came out. I was so addicted. Every other day my dad was taking me back to the bookstore to get the next book.
January 17, 2023
Easy reads, below my reading level for sure, the beginning books are better than the end books.
September 16, 2023
I read these book when I was 17 lol and loved them
Read
March 17, 2014 This book takes place in modern day upper east side, New York. This is all about the journey of a couple high school students, covering everything from relationships, to mischief. The main characters Include the following: Serena, Blair, Chuck, Dan, Nate, and Jenny. I would say the theme is typical high school drama because there is constantly a new rumor or problem with their lives. But the biggest problem? I would say it's Gossip Girl, the anonymous website sharing all of upper east side's juiciest secrets.
I absolutely loved this book, it was just my type. I've always been the kind of person for romantic dramas and this fit right in. Along with the book, I would recommend the TV series as well. Most people I know either love or hate it, so it just depends on what genres or themes you prefer. My favorite character was definitely Serena cause Gossip Girl shares the juiciest secrets about her! Finally, I would recommend this to anyone & everyone who is up for a good suspense/ drama series!
I absolutely loved this book, it was just my type. I've always been the kind of person for romantic dramas and this fit right in. Along with the book, I would recommend the TV series as well. Most people I know either love or hate it, so it just depends on what genres or themes you prefer. My favorite character was definitely Serena cause Gossip Girl shares the juiciest secrets about her! Finally, I would recommend this to anyone & everyone who is up for a good suspense/ drama series!
April 27, 2012
I have read all of the Gossip Girl series that include the original characters. Almost instantly after completing one book i would go to the next because they were so good. A few of my close friends and i would share them and take turns buying the next one and it became part of one of my fondest memories when i was in highschool.
The concept of how "Manhatten's elite" teenagers lived and all that ensued because of that was interesting and amusing. Blair was without a doubt my favorite character, who i think was misunderstood by many.Obviously this series was good, otherwise they wouldn't have made a TV show off it. I'm a fan of the show as well despite the fact that not much of the show is based on the books.
Definitely recommend this book to females who are 15 years old or older.
The concept of how "Manhatten's elite" teenagers lived and all that ensued because of that was interesting and amusing. Blair was without a doubt my favorite character, who i think was misunderstood by many.Obviously this series was good, otherwise they wouldn't have made a TV show off it. I'm a fan of the show as well despite the fact that not much of the show is based on the books.
Definitely recommend this book to females who are 15 years old or older.
October 28, 2008
I rated it 4 stars, because of what I thought of it at the time that I read it [I started the series when I was sort of 10-ish, and finished it this year when I read the prequel]. I can't really remember what happened in which book, so I rated the overall series. I liked the books - they're a fun, name-dropping, slightly-silly, slightly-exaggerated thing to read. Sometimes I get tired of the repetitiveness of the plots, and really, GG could never exist in real life - for one thing she keep s on telling us where she is and if she ever developed a stalker who tracked her movements everywhere, she would be discovered v.v. soon. These are the kind of books one likes to indulge in in between serious books, in my case - classics.
July 20, 2014
The Gossip Girls Series is silly, shallow and kind of dephtless, but I LOVED IT. It was just so funny and I loved the brand name dropping in almost every sentence, lol. I happen to be among who think the books were MUCH better than the TV show. The story better developped and the character were more interesting and more relatable in a way.
If I rated ths series purely on the level of enjoyement I had reading it, I might have given it 5 stars. However, I took into account the fact that even though Gossip Girl was funny and entertaining, it was also dephtless. And that's why it received 3 stars instead of 5 :)
I made a full review of the series on my blog, if you're interested, check it out: http://the-carla-diaries.blogspot.co....
If I rated ths series purely on the level of enjoyement I had reading it, I might have given it 5 stars. However, I took into account the fact that even though Gossip Girl was funny and entertaining, it was also dephtless. And that's why it received 3 stars instead of 5 :)
I made a full review of the series on my blog, if you're interested, check it out: http://the-carla-diaries.blogspot.co....
August 10, 2011
liked the first few books but got grossed out by some of the characters (dusty house, coffee with cat hair floating in it, cigarettes and kissing? ugh..) then bored by the 10th book. read these because i like to read what my daughter is currently into (the tv show)...i guess it's her generation's 90210...most surprised by? all the smoking...almost every character lights up frequently. really? do kids still smoke? i thought that wasn't popular anymore. maybe it's an east coast thing. what i did like: the characters weren't coniving (like in the Clique)...they were genuine and impulsive and others would gossip about them which is really what it is like in HS.
December 12, 2012
Gossip Girl was my whole world in junior high/high school. Who am I kidding? I still love these books...Blair Waldorf has, and always will be my idol. Many love to hate her, I just love her...She's a powerful woman - she doesn't take "no" as an answer. While she may be a privileged princess, every young girl could take a few lessons from this heroine. This book plays on all the important things young men & women go through in high school: love, sex, school, friendship, backstabbing, gossip & partying. While the UES' (Upper East Siders for all you non-GG fans) may do it on a grander scale, every young adult can relate to at least one of these scenarios. A great read...
July 26, 2016
Ok these books and the show are 100% my guilty pleasure. There's really not much to them. The books follow the lives of a group of extremely wealthy upper east side high schoolers. They may be shallow and pretentious but I still find them engaging. I've gone back to them a few times when I wanted to read something without really thinking about it. I must say though that the show is significantly better than the books.
I don't know why, but there's something about reading about the lives of the elite wealthy that interests me. Maybe I just like seeing that having it all isn't always a good thing. Ha.
I don't know why, but there's something about reading about the lives of the elite wealthy that interests me. Maybe I just like seeing that having it all isn't always a good thing. Ha.
September 14, 2025
I read this back when I was a teenager, before the show was made. This was a complete guilty-pleasure, and I loved everything from the brand-name dropping to the characters themselves. Easy to read, fast-paced, and completely brilliant. A very different writing style to most YA books out there, and no insta-love! I even got my brother, who is 3 years younger than me, addicted to the series.
The TV series is vaguely 'inspired' by the books, but the plotlines and the characters themselves are quite different. I would view them quite separately, but both guilty pleasures.
The TV series is vaguely 'inspired' by the books, but the plotlines and the characters themselves are quite different. I would view them quite separately, but both guilty pleasures.
December 6, 2014
It is one of those chick-lit that got you hooked so lightly, teenage-girl-ly you can't stop. The show is wayyy better anyhow but that doesn't mean to any extend the book sucks! They were both awesome and I am most thankful for all the entertaining and emotional experience I've had.
P.s: making all characters take it in turn to fall in love with pretty much EVERYONE else is kinda cheesy though.. :3
P.s: making all characters take it in turn to fall in love with pretty much EVERYONE else is kinda cheesy though.. :3
Displaying 1 - 30 of 94 reviews