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These five friends came to Dexter to get a college degree.
What they'll really get is an education.
When five freshmen arrive at Dexter College, a small liberal arts school in the quiet town of Home, Maine, the drama unfolds as quickly as the first keg is tapped. There's Shipley--blonde and beautiful, the object of envy and more than a little lust. Her edgy roommate, Eliza, came to Dexter to get noticed, and she has the attitude and the mouth to prove it. Tom is a jock-turned-artist--handsome, privileged, used to getting his own way. Sensitive Nick is Tom's wake-and-bake, pot-smoking roommate. And then there's Adam Gatz, a freckle-faced local boy and his not-so-little sister, Tragedy.
As Shipley, Eliza, Tom, Nick, and Adam find out, the first year of college is more than credits and cramming. It's a time of lust, love, secrecy, and scandal.
Previoiusly released as Cum Laude
What they'll really get is an education.
When five freshmen arrive at Dexter College, a small liberal arts school in the quiet town of Home, Maine, the drama unfolds as quickly as the first keg is tapped. There's Shipley--blonde and beautiful, the object of envy and more than a little lust. Her edgy roommate, Eliza, came to Dexter to get noticed, and she has the attitude and the mouth to prove it. Tom is a jock-turned-artist--handsome, privileged, used to getting his own way. Sensitive Nick is Tom's wake-and-bake, pot-smoking roommate. And then there's Adam Gatz, a freckle-faced local boy and his not-so-little sister, Tragedy.
As Shipley, Eliza, Tom, Nick, and Adam find out, the first year of college is more than credits and cramming. It's a time of lust, love, secrecy, and scandal.
Previoiusly released as Cum Laude
272 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2010
About the author
Cecily von Ziegesar
116 books3,080 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 262 reviews
June 14, 2010
I heard the Gossip Girl creator wrote an adult novel... I heard wrong. The book's laughably bad. It's inexplicably set in the early 90's, which makes Von Whatever look like she's trying to imitate Prep or The Secret History (far superior books about schools set in New England and adjustment thereto), but there are only enough period details to make it seem stale (Juicyfruit gum! Bill Clinton!), rather than an actual depiction of 1992. VZ took the most annoying characters from Gossip Girl-- let's call them rich boy that takes too many drugs, blonde rich girl that every (literally every) male character is in love with despite her utter lack of personality, crunchy boy that hates rich boy and is inexplicably hung up on blonde girl, normal boy that does the same, "ugly" and abrasive brunette girl that tries to compete with teh blonde for one boy's attention, and curvy little sister that is annoyingly all up in everyone's business. So Nate, Serena, Dan 1, Dan 2, Vanessa, and Jenny the characters are affected by the tepid torments of un upper class upbringing, and VZ lazily gives the elements of teenage angst (ahhhh, a parent got a boyfriend! Divorce! PRIVATE SCHOOL!), but none of the characters seem to care, so why should we? That's combined with a very lazy Gatsby recreation, but VZ has nowhere near the lyrical prose or storytelling acumen of F. Scott. I actually laughed when it came time for VZ to recreate the great tragedy of Gatsby: (Spoiler, spoiler!) annoying little sister gets shot through the stomach and drags herself through the snow on her hands to be found by some homeless guy. I laughed for days at the thought of some teenage girl in a full length fur coat creeping Samara-style across a quaint college campus.
So there's some humor involved, though I don't think it was intentional. Another benefit is that nothing really happens, so you'll read it so fast expecting that something will happen soon that you'll only waste two hours or so on this dreck.
So there's some humor involved, though I don't think it was intentional. Another benefit is that nothing really happens, so you'll read it so fast expecting that something will happen soon that you'll only waste two hours or so on this dreck.
June 19, 2010
I gave up, I just can't read this without wanting to throw my Kindle around. I don't want to hurt my baby, so I decided to move on to something better.
August 2, 2014
A great disappointment from the woman who wrote Gossip Girl. I expected more from you, Ms. von Ziegesar.
Why did I even bother...
Why did I even bother...
January 3, 2011
Oh, CvZ. What were you thinking with this one? Actually, scratch that. I know exactly what you were thinking. "I can write a novel. I came up with an idea that spawned a bestselling young adult series, and a television show whose popularity strains credulity. I can write a novel." She went to some sort of writers' retreat, set it in 1992 (which is likely around when she herself attended college), and there we have it.
And of course, her agent and publisher were like, "absolutely, sweetie! You so can!" And they accepted all the nonsense with the writers' retreat and whatnot, knowing full well what they were about to do: Package up CvZ's attempt at a serious-ish novel, which appears to have been written possibly for an adult audience (nothing on the jacket says otherwise), and make it look like "here it is folks! The sequel to the Gossip Girl sequel!" I mean they make almost the entire cover a girl's face, and of course not just any girl, but a girl with quite the resemblance to Blake Lively, aka TV's Serena, and they splash copy on it like "graduate to a more sophisticated class of scandal."
Yeah, no, here's the thing about that. This is definitely not the sequel to the sequel of Gossip Girl. My guess is that people reading it expecting that -- which between it being penned by CvZ and between the jacket copy is not honestly that stupid of an expectation -- absolutely freaking hate it. Hence the low average review on goodreads, which I feel like is honestly kind of surprisingly low (let's face it, sometimes I feel like you people will give anything five stars, even books that haven't been released yet).
There are a few problems here. One, it's clearly been totally mismarketed. But two, we have to face facts -- CvZ doesn't really have a novel in her. I mean, this isn't bad, but on the other hand, it's not very good either. It's sort of a junior version of The Rules of Attraction, if we sub in Dexter/Colby for Camden/Bennington, dial back the drug use a hair, and tone down the sexuality quite a bit. The biggest problem with this book was how completely unreal it felt. And not in the Gossip Girl you'll-probably-never-own-a-Birkin sense, but in a she-couldn't-come-up-with-any-details-so-there-are-too-many-blanks-that-never-get-filled sense.
It's weird, because I feel like one of the strengths of Gossip Girl was that you really got a feel for the characters as part of a larger world, particularly in the books where they were at school. In contrast, this book may as well be a play -- you feel like the characters are utterly cut adrift, alone, in empty spaces. You never have a feeling for Dexter as a college (despite all the omniscient chapter intros, which really feel like she's crutching along without the Gossip Girl site as a way in), nor quite frankly for any of the characters as people. Even Shipley, who is basically Serena, and at this point who we can understand as the author's ideal-self stand-in, is sort of a vague shape. As a result, it takes much too long for the reader to become invested in this book in any way.
There were a lot of minor things that bugged me about this one, which, if you read any of my other reviews, won't surprise you at all. The whole "it's 1992" thing gets ridiculous pretty fast -- at first you're just like, "what's with all the cassettes these kids own?", but eventually it gets very heavy-handed with election references, bludgeoning you with the fact that it's 1992. One reason it's confusing that it's 1992 is because they constantly talk about the on-campus Starbucks. Okay, sorry, but no. Yes, there was Starbucks in 1992, but come on. There wasn't even one in Connecticut by that point, and we're supposed to believe there's one in some not-even-one-stoplight town in Maine? I don't think so. I feel like had there been more detail in the book, these would have gotten more lost in the mix for me, but given that the book was so light with any kind of context, these really stuck out and grated.
Long story short, will you like this book if you liked Gossip Girl? I'm gonna say no, unless you like guessing which one of the characters in this book is a stand in for which characters in GG (hint: It's not hard). Will you like this book if you liked The Rules of Attraction? Maybe, but you'll probably find it kind of boring. Will you like this book if, like me, you'll give anything that takes place at a small New England liberal arts college a go? Eh, you'll tolerate it okay. I think the ideal audience for this book is probably the three people who liked the Upper Class series (which I just bought the last one in for $1 on clearance at a Half-Price Books in Tempe). So hey, three people who wrote the Upper Class books (yep, it took three authors to dredge up those bad boys) -- this one's for you.
P.S.: Seriously, the back cover says, "They're here for a higher education... and you won't believe how far they'll go." I mean really, does it get cheesier than that? Clearly CvZ has the clout to get to try her hand at a novel, but not to control how her work gets foisted upon the world.
And of course, her agent and publisher were like, "absolutely, sweetie! You so can!" And they accepted all the nonsense with the writers' retreat and whatnot, knowing full well what they were about to do: Package up CvZ's attempt at a serious-ish novel, which appears to have been written possibly for an adult audience (nothing on the jacket says otherwise), and make it look like "here it is folks! The sequel to the Gossip Girl sequel!" I mean they make almost the entire cover a girl's face, and of course not just any girl, but a girl with quite the resemblance to Blake Lively, aka TV's Serena, and they splash copy on it like "graduate to a more sophisticated class of scandal."
Yeah, no, here's the thing about that. This is definitely not the sequel to the sequel of Gossip Girl. My guess is that people reading it expecting that -- which between it being penned by CvZ and between the jacket copy is not honestly that stupid of an expectation -- absolutely freaking hate it. Hence the low average review on goodreads, which I feel like is honestly kind of surprisingly low (let's face it, sometimes I feel like you people will give anything five stars, even books that haven't been released yet).
There are a few problems here. One, it's clearly been totally mismarketed. But two, we have to face facts -- CvZ doesn't really have a novel in her. I mean, this isn't bad, but on the other hand, it's not very good either. It's sort of a junior version of The Rules of Attraction, if we sub in Dexter/Colby for Camden/Bennington, dial back the drug use a hair, and tone down the sexuality quite a bit. The biggest problem with this book was how completely unreal it felt. And not in the Gossip Girl you'll-probably-never-own-a-Birkin sense, but in a she-couldn't-come-up-with-any-details-so-there-are-too-many-blanks-that-never-get-filled sense.
It's weird, because I feel like one of the strengths of Gossip Girl was that you really got a feel for the characters as part of a larger world, particularly in the books where they were at school. In contrast, this book may as well be a play -- you feel like the characters are utterly cut adrift, alone, in empty spaces. You never have a feeling for Dexter as a college (despite all the omniscient chapter intros, which really feel like she's crutching along without the Gossip Girl site as a way in), nor quite frankly for any of the characters as people. Even Shipley, who is basically Serena, and at this point who we can understand as the author's ideal-self stand-in, is sort of a vague shape. As a result, it takes much too long for the reader to become invested in this book in any way.
There were a lot of minor things that bugged me about this one, which, if you read any of my other reviews, won't surprise you at all. The whole "it's 1992" thing gets ridiculous pretty fast -- at first you're just like, "what's with all the cassettes these kids own?", but eventually it gets very heavy-handed with election references, bludgeoning you with the fact that it's 1992. One reason it's confusing that it's 1992 is because they constantly talk about the on-campus Starbucks. Okay, sorry, but no. Yes, there was Starbucks in 1992, but come on. There wasn't even one in Connecticut by that point, and we're supposed to believe there's one in some not-even-one-stoplight town in Maine? I don't think so. I feel like had there been more detail in the book, these would have gotten more lost in the mix for me, but given that the book was so light with any kind of context, these really stuck out and grated.
Long story short, will you like this book if you liked Gossip Girl? I'm gonna say no, unless you like guessing which one of the characters in this book is a stand in for which characters in GG (hint: It's not hard). Will you like this book if you liked The Rules of Attraction? Maybe, but you'll probably find it kind of boring. Will you like this book if, like me, you'll give anything that takes place at a small New England liberal arts college a go? Eh, you'll tolerate it okay. I think the ideal audience for this book is probably the three people who liked the Upper Class series (which I just bought the last one in for $1 on clearance at a Half-Price Books in Tempe). So hey, three people who wrote the Upper Class books (yep, it took three authors to dredge up those bad boys) -- this one's for you.
P.S.: Seriously, the back cover says, "They're here for a higher education... and you won't believe how far they'll go." I mean really, does it get cheesier than that? Clearly CvZ has the clout to get to try her hand at a novel, but not to control how her work gets foisted upon the world.
April 18, 2015
My first ever 1-star rating. I don't even know what I read. I didn't even get it. The plot was nonexistent and I found the characters dull, even when they are high on drugs and alcohol. Wasted my time, I could have read something more worthwhile. Tsk.
June 3, 2015
I don't think there was a plot. Pretty useless. At least I only got this from a sale.
August 29, 2016
I hate this book. I hate it, I hate it.
The story line is choppy as hell, the way it keeps switching between point of views is like bad motion sickness, the characters are horrible, the writing drove me nuts, and I'm not even sure if there was an actual point to the story.
*May contain minor spoilers, but really its so horrible it shouldn't even matter*
There was no fluid transition between the seasons or holidays or whatever was supposed to be each small highlight in the book. It would have been better if the book had at least been sectioned off somehow; seasons, semesters, literally anything besides what is actually there. It reminds me of a really bad run on sentence or someone who doesn't know when to separate paragraphs.
I feel like none of the characters really grew. Sure, its written at the end when Shipley picks up Patrick from jail that she's not the same person who came to Dexter last fall, but seriously? She 100% is. She's stupid and vapid, not to mention completely oblivious to her drugged out boyfriend. Which could be the most annoying thing about her besides the fact that literally EVERY teenage male in this book swoons for her. They all talk about how wonderful she is even though they don't know her. They all want her. Hell, Nick was going so far as to "save himself" for her when she clearly wasn't even giving him the time of day.
By the way, bitch move Shipley; calling the police that your car had been stolen when you knew damn well it was your brother. Not to mention YOU CONTINUOUSLY LEFT YOUR KEYS FOR HIM. You just got pissed because the one time you wanted your car, to go cheat on your druggie boyfriend (I might add) the car wasn't there. Boo freakin' hoo. Is it even stealing if it's your name too and the keys are there too? It's like my mom taking my car instead of hers and I get pissed because that leaves me with a stick and I can't drive it. "Do you hear the stupidity?", I ask to a fictitious character.
Patrick and Tragedy might have been the only fun people in this book, but even their endings are lack luster. Tragedy is shot because of Shipley (yeah I said it) and bad judgement. I blame Shipley because everything else seems to have to be about her, this should be too. And really, it is. If Adam wasn't so hung up on her he wouldn't have left his teenage sister at the house to be in charge of more than a dozen college students. It's totally wonderful that Patrick saved her and got her to the hospitable, however, I almost think that Ziegesar should have just killed her off since literally nothing else mention-able happens in this book.
All in all, save your money.
The story line is choppy as hell, the way it keeps switching between point of views is like bad motion sickness, the characters are horrible, the writing drove me nuts, and I'm not even sure if there was an actual point to the story.
*May contain minor spoilers, but really its so horrible it shouldn't even matter*
There was no fluid transition between the seasons or holidays or whatever was supposed to be each small highlight in the book. It would have been better if the book had at least been sectioned off somehow; seasons, semesters, literally anything besides what is actually there. It reminds me of a really bad run on sentence or someone who doesn't know when to separate paragraphs.
I feel like none of the characters really grew. Sure, its written at the end when Shipley picks up Patrick from jail that she's not the same person who came to Dexter last fall, but seriously? She 100% is. She's stupid and vapid, not to mention completely oblivious to her drugged out boyfriend. Which could be the most annoying thing about her besides the fact that literally EVERY teenage male in this book swoons for her. They all talk about how wonderful she is even though they don't know her. They all want her. Hell, Nick was going so far as to "save himself" for her when she clearly wasn't even giving him the time of day.
By the way, bitch move Shipley; calling the police that your car had been stolen when you knew damn well it was your brother. Not to mention YOU CONTINUOUSLY LEFT YOUR KEYS FOR HIM. You just got pissed because the one time you wanted your car, to go cheat on your druggie boyfriend (I might add) the car wasn't there. Boo freakin' hoo. Is it even stealing if it's your name too and the keys are there too? It's like my mom taking my car instead of hers and I get pissed because that leaves me with a stick and I can't drive it. "Do you hear the stupidity?", I ask to a fictitious character.
Patrick and Tragedy might have been the only fun people in this book, but even their endings are lack luster. Tragedy is shot because of Shipley (yeah I said it) and bad judgement. I blame Shipley because everything else seems to have to be about her, this should be too. And really, it is. If Adam wasn't so hung up on her he wouldn't have left his teenage sister at the house to be in charge of more than a dozen college students. It's totally wonderful that Patrick saved her and got her to the hospitable, however, I almost think that Ziegesar should have just killed her off since literally nothing else mention-able happens in this book.
All in all, save your money.
August 11, 2022
This was uninspiring. I think this author relates to YA much better than adults because her YA series are entertaining. This was meh. Freshman arrive at Dexter college and we see them trying to navigate through the first few months. The problem is that none of them are particularly endearing and I didn't care about the why or how of any of their stories.
July 29, 2021
Okay first of all- screw you guys. Just because you don’t understand what the author was doing with the book doesn’t mean it’s bad. Are you guys all old? I’m a 20 year old college student. At a liberal arts college to be exact. It’s actually really f*cling accurate. She portrayed the emotions of starting a brand new college perfectly. The novel is simple- find beauty in it’s simplicity. Like young people do. I thought her story line was clever and I enjoyed the different perspectives. It’s a very good book to read if you like to play the story out in your head. If you don’t have a creative imagination- just say that. Don’t blame the book.
April 9, 2019
This was so bad I feel like I was pranked.
June 4, 2018
The ending? Was the author up against a deadline and just decided to finish it off in the most contrived way possible. I was hoping for a redemption story for at least one of the characters. Not so much.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 3, 2011
I have always been a big fan of the Gossip Girl series of books, so when I read a magazine review revealing Cecily von Ziegesar's so-called 'adult' fiction, I was excited. I went out and bought it immediately, and admittedly, it sat on the shelf for a bit. While I was able to devour this book in less than 24 hours, I found that it was because I was starving for something... unique.
As far as I can tell, von Ziegesar's books all have a common element. They usually depict well-off, ridiculously spoiled teenagers from Manhattan, all living it up on their parents' black AmEx cards. Cum Laude's cast of characters made me sit and think "Well, hey, haven't I read this before?"
The book jacket describes a review calling this a witty satire, which leaves me wondering... is it only satirical because so few people have these college experiences? While experimenting with drugs and sex is a common theme across the college ideal, the extent of the drama in these books left me feeling out of the loop. I'm not even sure that I know anyone from my own school experiences who went through anything remotely similar like von Ziegesar's cast of characters.
I can honestly say that it's worth 2 1/2 stars, because it was quick and fun to read, but to say anything else about it would be stretching the truth. It was the bare bones of a novel, totally devoid of any real substance or meat. In the end, I think I'll simply stick to re-reading von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series when I want something juicy.
As far as I can tell, von Ziegesar's books all have a common element. They usually depict well-off, ridiculously spoiled teenagers from Manhattan, all living it up on their parents' black AmEx cards. Cum Laude's cast of characters made me sit and think "Well, hey, haven't I read this before?"
The book jacket describes a review calling this a witty satire, which leaves me wondering... is it only satirical because so few people have these college experiences? While experimenting with drugs and sex is a common theme across the college ideal, the extent of the drama in these books left me feeling out of the loop. I'm not even sure that I know anyone from my own school experiences who went through anything remotely similar like von Ziegesar's cast of characters.
I can honestly say that it's worth 2 1/2 stars, because it was quick and fun to read, but to say anything else about it would be stretching the truth. It was the bare bones of a novel, totally devoid of any real substance or meat. In the end, I think I'll simply stick to re-reading von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series when I want something juicy.
February 16, 2013
It was a good book for the price I payed!!!...which was 5 dollars :/ but I actually quite enjoyed the story line and the writing, although I was always looking for something more, you know? Like that moment in the story where you close your eyes, drop the book and say out loud so that everyone can hear "did that just b*%ping happen?!?" I guess it was missing a little excitement or MAJOR event. :) :/ but still pretty good!
November 3, 2012
This was an interesting book with a strange cast of characters. I feel like the author split her attention among the many characters too much and that left the book a little shallow. It was a good commentary on the time and place and culture but I just didn't connect to the story.
August 9, 2010
I want to give this book zero stars. Or possible negative five stars.
Did Not Finish
January 30, 2023As a personal rule, I don't rate books I abandon, but this title already clearly possesses a characteristic of the book I rated only 1 star last year. When reading a novel with multiple POVs, I genuinely need a visible break at the switching of POV. The story here has potential I think, but I was only able to (barely) get through chapter 1. POV switched so many times that I lost count of it switching while losing track of whose headspace I was in. That was only in 19 pages. Unacceptable quality of writing for me, which is a shame, because I could have enjoyed a good academia story, especially one labeled as a satire by Publisher's Weekly.
August 1, 2024
plus cliché tu meurs...
nan en vrai désolée mais l'intrigue n'avait aucun intérêt, le peu de suspense du résumé est résolu au chapitre 2 pour se focaliser sur les histoires de sexe et de drogue, bref rien ne va
hyper décevant venant de celle qui nous avait créé l'incroyable gossip girl
nan en vrai désolée mais l'intrigue n'avait aucun intérêt, le peu de suspense du résumé est résolu au chapitre 2 pour se focaliser sur les histoires de sexe et de drogue, bref rien ne va
hyper décevant venant de celle qui nous avait créé l'incroyable gossip girl
March 22, 2026
Book takes place in 1992 (when Bill Clinton was perhaps actually hot).
1.5/5 I was entertained, but at the same time nothing really happened and there wasn’t much of a plot.
1.5/5 I was entertained, but at the same time nothing really happened and there wasn’t much of a plot.
May 23, 2021
I had a lot of hope for this book because I had a craving for Cecily von Ziegesar books, but I ended up disappointed. It kind of felt like a less good version of Gossip Girl, and I didn't really like that. The characters were watered down versions of the Gossip Girl characters, and they really could have had more depth.
April 7, 2026
Random bok jag hade hemma i brist på annat. Skriven av författaren till gossip girl! Men det va inget att hänga i granen direkt
September 2, 2019
Vapid, unimaginative, and plotless—and not in a fun way
I devoured CvZ’s Gossip Girl and It Girl series when I was in high school. I would call them the Lucky Charms cereal of fiction. Sure, there’s nothing of value in there but it’s delicious, low-effort, and keeps you satisfied. Unfortunately, Cum Laude is simply bland and boring, with none of the fun appeal of the “vapid rich kids going to school” concept that CvZ established in her successful series.
It seems that the author tried to reimagine her Gossip Girl characters in a 90s college setting but forgot to put in the work that would make readers actually care about them. The story meanders from freshman orientation to winter exams, with no real plot propelling the characters along.
Shipley, Eliza, Nick, and Tom are all college freshman of various backgrounds (Shipley and Tom are classic East Coast preps, Eliza comes from a laissez faire middle class family, Nick is a New York City kid who was raised by a former hippie) who are put together for Dexter College’s freshman orientation. While on their freshman camping trip (seriously, I just want to take a moment and point out that no college would just send unaccompanied freshman on an overnight camping trip and expect them to make their own fire, pitch their own tents, and cook their own meals in the name of “bonding”), they get stoned, steal their advisor’s van, and run into Adam, a day student at Dexter, and his obnoxious younger sister Tragedy, who is always seeking excitement. Tragedy encourages Adam to pursue Shipley, but Shipley is enamored of Tom and the two date for the majority of freshman year. Meanwhile, Eliza is annoyed that Nick only has eyes for Shipley and Tom gets increasingly addicted to drugs as the semester progresses as he works on his art project. In the background, Shipley’s estranged older brother Patrick unknowingly interacts with all of the characters except for Shipley until the “climax.”
I put “climax” in quotes because really, nothing happens in this book. And not even in an entertaining “it’s about nothing” a la Seinfeld. This group only hangs with each other because...I don’t know. Because Shipley and Tom are dating and Eliza and Nick are their roommates? Because that freshman bonding thing really worked?
There’s nothing here that explains why these people are friends or even like each other. Tom and Shipley’s relationship is as shallow as they are—they’re only together because as New England preps, they feel naturally inclined to each other. There’s a sort of love triangle where Shipley also finds herself drawn to Adam, who is so boring and passive, and yet she cheats on Tom with him.
The plot finally culminates at a party that Adam throws where he and Shipley finally hook up, Eliza essentially orders Nick to get over his crush on Shipley and get with her, and Tragedy gets high and wanders into a blizzard. She’s accidentally shot by a hunter (who is hunting in a blizzard?) and is saved by Patrick. But then Patrick is arrested because he had been stealing Shipley’s car all semester and she finally got annoyed enough to call the cops. Nevertheless, she bails him out and he is semi-adopted by Tragedy’s parents who are grateful to him for saving their daughter. Adam suddenly announces to Shipley that he is transferring schools and Shipley accepts this, presumably going back to Tom, whom I hope gets to rehab or something. Seriously, the kid was on E and ether all semester. That can’t be good for him.
The book attempts to be witty and satirical of well-meaning, expensive liberal arts college but any “joke” falls flat when there are paper thin characters and a flimsy plot. I’m not sure how CvZ’s editor accepted this for publication but it’s no surprise that this one of her most poorly reviewed books.
Skip this one and re-read the Gossip Girl or It Girl series instead.
I devoured CvZ’s Gossip Girl and It Girl series when I was in high school. I would call them the Lucky Charms cereal of fiction. Sure, there’s nothing of value in there but it’s delicious, low-effort, and keeps you satisfied. Unfortunately, Cum Laude is simply bland and boring, with none of the fun appeal of the “vapid rich kids going to school” concept that CvZ established in her successful series.
It seems that the author tried to reimagine her Gossip Girl characters in a 90s college setting but forgot to put in the work that would make readers actually care about them. The story meanders from freshman orientation to winter exams, with no real plot propelling the characters along.
Shipley, Eliza, Nick, and Tom are all college freshman of various backgrounds (Shipley and Tom are classic East Coast preps, Eliza comes from a laissez faire middle class family, Nick is a New York City kid who was raised by a former hippie) who are put together for Dexter College’s freshman orientation. While on their freshman camping trip (seriously, I just want to take a moment and point out that no college would just send unaccompanied freshman on an overnight camping trip and expect them to make their own fire, pitch their own tents, and cook their own meals in the name of “bonding”), they get stoned, steal their advisor’s van, and run into Adam, a day student at Dexter, and his obnoxious younger sister Tragedy, who is always seeking excitement. Tragedy encourages Adam to pursue Shipley, but Shipley is enamored of Tom and the two date for the majority of freshman year. Meanwhile, Eliza is annoyed that Nick only has eyes for Shipley and Tom gets increasingly addicted to drugs as the semester progresses as he works on his art project. In the background, Shipley’s estranged older brother Patrick unknowingly interacts with all of the characters except for Shipley until the “climax.”
I put “climax” in quotes because really, nothing happens in this book. And not even in an entertaining “it’s about nothing” a la Seinfeld. This group only hangs with each other because...I don’t know. Because Shipley and Tom are dating and Eliza and Nick are their roommates? Because that freshman bonding thing really worked?
There’s nothing here that explains why these people are friends or even like each other. Tom and Shipley’s relationship is as shallow as they are—they’re only together because as New England preps, they feel naturally inclined to each other. There’s a sort of love triangle where Shipley also finds herself drawn to Adam, who is so boring and passive, and yet she cheats on Tom with him.
The plot finally culminates at a party that Adam throws where he and Shipley finally hook up, Eliza essentially orders Nick to get over his crush on Shipley and get with her, and Tragedy gets high and wanders into a blizzard. She’s accidentally shot by a hunter (who is hunting in a blizzard?) and is saved by Patrick. But then Patrick is arrested because he had been stealing Shipley’s car all semester and she finally got annoyed enough to call the cops. Nevertheless, she bails him out and he is semi-adopted by Tragedy’s parents who are grateful to him for saving their daughter. Adam suddenly announces to Shipley that he is transferring schools and Shipley accepts this, presumably going back to Tom, whom I hope gets to rehab or something. Seriously, the kid was on E and ether all semester. That can’t be good for him.
The book attempts to be witty and satirical of well-meaning, expensive liberal arts college but any “joke” falls flat when there are paper thin characters and a flimsy plot. I’m not sure how CvZ’s editor accepted this for publication but it’s no surprise that this one of her most poorly reviewed books.
Skip this one and re-read the Gossip Girl or It Girl series instead.
June 6, 2012
Fav quote: "To her surprise, college was even lonelier than high schol. At least in high school she had her parents to blame for the lousy state of things. It seemed that at college you had to be in love not to be lonely." Eliza, pg. 89. Well that's a ringing endorsement for college social life
I read this book in about 1 hr or 2, I honestly don't know what happened or why or who the characters were. I picked this book up because I wanted something set in college, but not too serious. I liked the Gossip Girl series so I was optimistic about Cum Laude. It felt like the author tried to think of the most outrageous scenarios ever, combined with the oddest group of college freshmen (people would say "messed up" but to me that implies the kids are interesting, these characters were not) and yet the whole book is boring. I don't know why the author decided to set the book in 1992, it seemed really random, the only explanation I can think of is that must be when she was in college herself. But the references to 1992 did seem to fit naturally to me, except for the election bits. I didn't recognize any of the artists she was talking about but then again the music from the '90s I listen to now is boy bands, pop and hip-hop, not Grateful Dead and whatever else punk rock band she referenced.
The characters had no personality. Tom was slightly interesting and Tragedy was cool but everyone else was BLAH. Obviously Shipley (I kept wanting to call her Shapely, lol) is so appealing to all the guys because she's supposed to be beautiful but jeez she had no character whatsoever. She wasn't mean, she wasn't super sweet, she was just....there. A ridiculous ending was fitting. I do think the author did a nice job in making Dexter College seem like it could be any liberal-arts small college (not that I would know what that's like since I'm going to a research school and I'm not even there yet..) so it didn't seem too random or too specific. I also liked the college advice/thoughts on college life thrown in there but anyone in college/past college will probably find them annoying and they were awkwardly thrown in and rang preachy. I wish more time had been spent focusing on the characters club activities or jobs or even their classes, SOMETHING besides.....I don't even know what else they were doing. Drugs, having sex, talking about nothing in particular. That's all good and well but this book needed more than that. If humor had been thrown in, this book would have been good. As it is, simply decent.
Anyone know if theres going to be a sequel? There seemed to be room for one...and I could be tempted to pick it up just because I do like this author and maybe these books could get better.
PS I don't like this cover. It's weird.
I read this book in about 1 hr or 2, I honestly don't know what happened or why or who the characters were. I picked this book up because I wanted something set in college, but not too serious. I liked the Gossip Girl series so I was optimistic about Cum Laude. It felt like the author tried to think of the most outrageous scenarios ever, combined with the oddest group of college freshmen (people would say "messed up" but to me that implies the kids are interesting, these characters were not) and yet the whole book is boring. I don't know why the author decided to set the book in 1992, it seemed really random, the only explanation I can think of is that must be when she was in college herself. But the references to 1992 did seem to fit naturally to me, except for the election bits. I didn't recognize any of the artists she was talking about but then again the music from the '90s I listen to now is boy bands, pop and hip-hop, not Grateful Dead and whatever else punk rock band she referenced.
The characters had no personality. Tom was slightly interesting and Tragedy was cool but everyone else was BLAH. Obviously Shipley (I kept wanting to call her Shapely, lol) is so appealing to all the guys because she's supposed to be beautiful but jeez she had no character whatsoever. She wasn't mean, she wasn't super sweet, she was just....there. A ridiculous ending was fitting. I do think the author did a nice job in making Dexter College seem like it could be any liberal-arts small college (not that I would know what that's like since I'm going to a research school and I'm not even there yet..) so it didn't seem too random or too specific. I also liked the college advice/thoughts on college life thrown in there but anyone in college/past college will probably find them annoying and they were awkwardly thrown in and rang preachy. I wish more time had been spent focusing on the characters club activities or jobs or even their classes, SOMETHING besides.....I don't even know what else they were doing. Drugs, having sex, talking about nothing in particular. That's all good and well but this book needed more than that. If humor had been thrown in, this book would have been good. As it is, simply decent.
Anyone know if theres going to be a sequel? There seemed to be room for one...and I could be tempted to pick it up just because I do like this author and maybe these books could get better.
PS I don't like this cover. It's weird.
May 8, 2011
Original review at http://reutreads.wordpress.com/2011/0...
Cum Laude is by the same author who writes the Gossip Girl books, so I thought when I picked this up, it would be "Gossip Girl goes to college."
However, I had no idea that not only is Cum Laude not really a YA novel, it's a--get this-- satire of teenagers.
The only good thing I have to say about this book is that it has a great cover, not representative of the book but still, and the page layout is gorgeous. Okay, maybe not the only good thing.
The thing here is that because I am a young adult, I felt two things during reading this book. One was the need to defend myself. Shipley and company get into all these ridiculous situations and react in the STUPIDEST ways, and I really felt a bit angry with the author for portraying college teens in such a terrible way. "Hey, not all teens are like this, Cecily!"
Then, when I realized it was a satire, I felt a bit more comfortable. I was able to laugh at the ridiculousness, and then it kind of, sort of stopped being mean and got a bit funny.
The only thing I really need to criticize is the setting of the book. It's told in the 90's, and honestly, I didn't get that at all. I only *got it* when the characters talked about voting for Bill Clinton-in the middle of the book. Before, I had no idea. Why not make that clear, Cecily?
So you decide, dear readers. Did I react appropriately, or should I have known all along I was being made fun of, and gone along with it?
Cum Laude is by the same author who writes the Gossip Girl books, so I thought when I picked this up, it would be "Gossip Girl goes to college."
However, I had no idea that not only is Cum Laude not really a YA novel, it's a--get this-- satire of teenagers.
The only good thing I have to say about this book is that it has a great cover, not representative of the book but still, and the page layout is gorgeous. Okay, maybe not the only good thing.
The thing here is that because I am a young adult, I felt two things during reading this book. One was the need to defend myself. Shipley and company get into all these ridiculous situations and react in the STUPIDEST ways, and I really felt a bit angry with the author for portraying college teens in such a terrible way. "Hey, not all teens are like this, Cecily!"
Then, when I realized it was a satire, I felt a bit more comfortable. I was able to laugh at the ridiculousness, and then it kind of, sort of stopped being mean and got a bit funny.
The only thing I really need to criticize is the setting of the book. It's told in the 90's, and honestly, I didn't get that at all. I only *got it* when the characters talked about voting for Bill Clinton-in the middle of the book. Before, I had no idea. Why not make that clear, Cecily?
So you decide, dear readers. Did I react appropriately, or should I have known all along I was being made fun of, and gone along with it?
July 15, 2010
I LOVED this book! The characters were fascinating, the relationships were so flawed but romantic at the same time, and the storyline definitely left me hoping for a sequel.
August 5, 2010
The Great Gatsby + Sixteen Candles = my new favorite book.
January 13, 2012
This makes Gossip Girl seem tame. A scandalously funny satire. Some parts were even hysterical!
January 13, 2015
Way to much drugs in that books. I was excepting so much more from it.
May 30, 2019
Don't be fooled by the blurb. Nothing happens in this book.
I can see what the author was trying to do or least made a less than half hearted attempt at doing. It seems like they were trying to say something about going off to college and either reinventing oneself or finding yourself after leaving the nest, but none of the characters evolve beyond the bland stereotypes they started out as. The narration is severely detached even for this narrative style to the point that you have to question if the author even cared about the story herself.
The events of the story range from uninspired to completely contrived. One of the characters keeps having her car repeatedly stolen because she keeps leaving her keys on the tire of her car while parked in a public parking lot. She never learns top keep her keys with her no matter how much it inconveniences her or causes her trouble. Also there professors in this book seem to be taking on the duties of RAs and dorm staff and exist merely to check on students at their dorms, drive them around and buy them coffee and donuts. I guess they don't have papers to grade or classes to run?
None of the actions of any of the characters has any impact on them (externally or internally) or the sequence of events we have in place of a plot. Nothing changes in any notable fashion to the point where things nearly exist in a vacum. What passes for the climax of the book is treated as being as insignificant as every other event in the book. Events happen, no one reacts, and nothing changes.
The author was writing for a paycheck, didn't care about the story, and it shows.
I can see what the author was trying to do or least made a less than half hearted attempt at doing. It seems like they were trying to say something about going off to college and either reinventing oneself or finding yourself after leaving the nest, but none of the characters evolve beyond the bland stereotypes they started out as. The narration is severely detached even for this narrative style to the point that you have to question if the author even cared about the story herself.
The events of the story range from uninspired to completely contrived. One of the characters keeps having her car repeatedly stolen because she keeps leaving her keys on the tire of her car while parked in a public parking lot. She never learns top keep her keys with her no matter how much it inconveniences her or causes her trouble. Also there professors in this book seem to be taking on the duties of RAs and dorm staff and exist merely to check on students at their dorms, drive them around and buy them coffee and donuts. I guess they don't have papers to grade or classes to run?
None of the actions of any of the characters has any impact on them (externally or internally) or the sequence of events we have in place of a plot. Nothing changes in any notable fashion to the point where things nearly exist in a vacum. What passes for the climax of the book is treated as being as insignificant as every other event in the book. Events happen, no one reacts, and nothing changes.
The author was writing for a paycheck, didn't care about the story, and it shows.
September 25, 2021
The first thing I was going to write in my review was that this is no Gossip Girl, and that had been disappointing. I thought maybe it wasn't fair to compare, but on the cover we see that it is by the best selling author of Gossip Girl, by that claim it raised the bar. I am thinking it missed the mark, not by much, but just enough to take off a couple stars.
It is college time, a beautiful campus and the incoming lot is diverse. We have Shipley who is sexy, Eliza is her roommate kinda straight forward bitchy, Adam and his sister Tragedy who are local with natural life parents. There is a handful of guy characters I had a hard time keeping straight and there female professor who had a wife and adopted a baby. So there is this diverse crazy bunch if characters who drink, drug, and sex. There was some events that were interesting but with all the characters I couldn't get a feel for any of them. I read this book not caring about any.
I saw a lot of similarities to Gossip Girl, and it made it hard for me to separate and let this be its own book. I did finish reading it though so that must count for something.
It is college time, a beautiful campus and the incoming lot is diverse. We have Shipley who is sexy, Eliza is her roommate kinda straight forward bitchy, Adam and his sister Tragedy who are local with natural life parents. There is a handful of guy characters I had a hard time keeping straight and there female professor who had a wife and adopted a baby. So there is this diverse crazy bunch if characters who drink, drug, and sex. There was some events that were interesting but with all the characters I couldn't get a feel for any of them. I read this book not caring about any.
I saw a lot of similarities to Gossip Girl, and it made it hard for me to separate and let this be its own book. I did finish reading it though so that must count for something.
January 13, 2023
This book is shit, utter shit. I wouldn't recommend it to my worst enemy.
I have never read any of the books in the Gossip Girl series, but I heard that they sold really well, but if there is anything, and I mean ANYTHING like this that sold well and got a TV show, then there is something deeply wrong with society as a whole. The characters are as flat as the ones in American Psycho, except with American Psycho, there was a deep and poignant message behind it, I can't say the same for this. The only character I was SOMEWHAT interested in was Nick, and even that is a very large stretch.
A big reason this book sucks is there's nothing happening, the characters do nothing but talk to each other, its a 3 act play if you remove the conflict and climax.
I have never read any of the books in the Gossip Girl series, but I heard that they sold really well, but if there is anything, and I mean ANYTHING like this that sold well and got a TV show, then there is something deeply wrong with society as a whole. The characters are as flat as the ones in American Psycho, except with American Psycho, there was a deep and poignant message behind it, I can't say the same for this. The only character I was SOMEWHAT interested in was Nick, and even that is a very large stretch.
A big reason this book sucks is there's nothing happening, the characters do nothing but talk to each other, its a 3 act play if you remove the conflict and climax.
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