Gossip Girl
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gossip Girl is a series of several novels by Cecily von Ziegesar that are highly popular with teenagers. Gossip Girl is also the first novel, and the title of a character, within this series.
The books depict a group of high-school students living on New York's Upper East Side. A common thread throughout the series is the descriptions of their extravagant and party-heavy lifestyles. Von Ziegesar often includes details of racier teenaged behavior, including drug use and sex, written in a flashy, superficial style.
The narrator of the books is the "Gossip Girl," a seemingly omniscient character that runs a website on events that take place through the story. While this character remains anonymous throughout the story, other characters in the story often reference the website (albeit obliquely) in day-to-day conversations. Throughout the series, the "Gossip Girl" often alternates her focus between six primary characters: Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen, Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey, Jenny Humphrey, and Vanessa Abrams.
All of these characters attend private schools in New York City, the descriptions of which are based upon Cecily von Ziegesar's own experiences at the Nightingale-Bamford School.
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[edit] From Book to TV
The TV adaptation, aptly titled Gossip Girl has been picked up by The CW.[1] Josh Schwartz, the creator of The O.C., will executive produce the project.[2] Blake Lively is set to play Serena in the up coming show and Leighton Meester will play Blair. Blair's love interest, Nate Archibald, will be played by Chace Crawford. Taylor Momsen is playing Jenny Humphrey and Penn Badgley is playing the characters brother Dan Humphrey. Conner Paolo will play Serena's brother, Eric. Ed Westwick will play the character Chuck. Kelly Rutherford also has a n undisclosed part.
[edit] Controversy
The criticism of this series primarily revolves around whether the events depicted in the story are appropriate for the teenage audience the books attract. American author and feminist Naomi Wolf calls the books "corruption with a cute overlay," and goes on to claim that "sex saturates the 'Gossip Girl' books...sex via Juicy Couture, blasé and entirely commodified."[3]
Pam Spencer Holley of the American Library Association [ALA] represents a different point of view by claiming to be simply "happy to see teen girls reading." Confident that young girls will move onto more well-viewed literature, she points out, "Unless you read stuff that's perhaps not the most literary, you'll never understand what good works are."[4]
After making this claim, Holley later went on to encourage teens to read through the creation of a list to recommend to "both avid and reluctant readers, who are looking for books like Cecily von Ziegesar's Gossip Girl series: "The books on this list are perfect for when your readers have finished with every "Gossip Girl" title in your library and are clamoring for another book like the Gossip Girl," said YALSA President Pam Spencer Holley.[5]
[edit] Major characters
- Blair Waldorf
- Blair, a high-strung blue-eyed brunette, is a popular member of wealthy New York City society. She is somewhat of a perfectionist and is prone to coming up with outrageous fantasies about her life. Her best friend is Serena van der Woodsen, although the two girls are often as competitive as they are close, partly due to Blair's jealous nature. Blair is often romantically linked to Nate Archibald, although their relationship is rarely stable. She and Serena are spending their summer in the Hamptons as muses for the flamboyant fashion designer Bailey Winter. She will be attending Yale University with Serena and Nate in the fall. She will be portrayed by Leighton Meester on the TV series.
- Serena van der Woodsen
- Tall, blonde, spontaneous Serena is a prominent member of wealthy New York City society. Serena has a bit of a wild side. She attends boarding school for a year, but after failing to show up for classes in the fall, she is kicked out and taken back by her old private school, Constance Billard. She is also an aspiring actress and model. Serena recently landed the lead role of Holly Golightly (originally played by Blair's role model Audrey Hepburn) in Ken Mogul's remake of Breakfast At Tiffany's, entitled "Breakfast At Fred's." Serena has a highly tumultuous friendship with Blair Waldorf, and will be attending Yale University with Blair in the fall. Described as being irresistible to men, she has been pursued by and involved with several characters throughout the series. She lost her virginity to Nate Archibald.On the morning of her 18th birthday she writes him a three page confession, stating that she loves him and always has. Blair discovers and destroys the letter before Nate has a chance to read it. She will be portrayed by Blake Lively on the TV series.
- Nate Archibald
- Nate is the hottest boy in the city, an excellent lacrosse player (despite being stoned most of the time), the on again/off again boyfriend of Blair Waldorf, and an occasional pothead. He was caught for buying a dimebag and went clean for one of the books, but eventually falls back on his old habits. He has dated Jenny Humphrey, Serena and Georgina Spark, though his only truly serious relationship has been with Blair. He tends to mess up his relationship with Blair because of his "short attention span" and indecisiveness. After stealing Viagra from his lacrosse coach, Nate has been sentenced to do house repairs on his coach's Hamptons house all summer. While in the Hamptons, Nate meets Tawny, a slightly-trashy-but-hot townie chick. Eventually he misses Blair and realizes that however difficult she is, life without her would be totally miserable. He lost his virginity to Serena before the tenth grade and has slept with Blair. He will be portrayed by Chace Crawford on the TV series.
- Dan Humphrey
- A thin, sensitive, chain-smoking, caffeine-addicted poet who often sees the darker side to things and has said his favorite word is "death". Dan is a romantic whose imagination runs off wildly at the worst times. He overanalyzes and is easily frustrated. He looks out for his loved ones, and is especially protective of his sister, Jenny. She appears to be the love of his life, but he hasn't always been the best boyfriend. He cheated on Vanessa with Mystery Craze, a yellow-toothed and insanely skinny poetess. He has had several writing related jobs, and a poem called "Sluts" published in the The New Yorker. He also hooked up with a yoga freak named Bree, right after Vanessa moved into his house. He is off to Evergreen in the fall. At his summer job at the Strand, he met a fellow worker Greg. They set up a writing salon together. Dan drinks an excessive amount of absinthe before their first meeting, which evolves into a giant orgy, and winds up kissing Greg. Dan now believes he is gay or at least bi. He will be portrayed by Penn Bagdley on the TV series.
- Vanessa Abrams
- Vanessa is a budding filmmaker who wants to make it big someday. With her shaved head, and all black attire, she looks like a serious artiste. She made a documentary that won an award in Cannes. Her parents are a pair of hippie artists and live in Vermont, while her sister, Ruby, is in the band Sugar Daddy. Despite their hippie values, Vanessa's parents want her to get a solid education, so she lives in New York with her sister. She drunkenly agrees to a summer job as nanny to a set of bratty twins, but abandons this decision in the Hamptons when Bailey Winter decides that she is his new muse and invites her to live in his beautiful summer house. However, it is not long before Vanessa grows tired of the entire Hamptons scene, and flees back to the more familiar Humphrey apartment in Manhattan.
- Jenny Humphrey
- At age 14, Jenny is the youngest of the "Gossip Girl" characters although she possesses the biggest breasts. She is the younger sister of Dan. Jenny is an aspiring artist with wild curly hair. She often tries to fit in with the rich girls at her school, Constance Billard, even though she lives on the Upper West Side and in a crumbling apartment. She ends up going to boarding school to reinvent herself as the "It Girl", a la Serena. She is now the main character in a spin-off series called "The It Girl." She will be portrayed by Taylor Momsen on the TV series.
- Chuck Bass
- A rich antagonist pervert who is self-obsessed. He has molested Jenny in a bathroom and tried to sleep with an inebriated Serena. Nobody is certain about his sexual orientation. Chuck has an obnoxious pet monkey named Sweetie, who can often be found perching on his shoulder and wearing coordinated outfits. Everyone hates him, but because he has the same background and "status" as the others, they just shrug him off with a laugh because he is part of their wacky family and world. He ends up going to military college, because he didn't get in to any of the normal ones he applied to. He will be portrayed by Ed Westwick on the TV series.
- Lord Marcus
- As a recent addition to the Gossip Girl cast of characters, Lord Marcus is a taller, handsomer, British version of Nate. He has close ties with Oscar de la Renta (whom he refers to as "Uncle Oscar") and even attended the funeral of Princess Diana. Lord Marcus has been nothing but a perfect gentleman. He has become Blair's new boyfriend, although he had to leave her graduation party and return to England unexpectedly. Blair joins him in London that summer, only to realize he was linked romantically to his "cousin". Blair then leaves London early.
- Aaron Rose
- A vegan, cute, dreadlocked boy who also happens to be Blair's stepbrother. He smokes "herbal cigarettes," has a dog, Mookie, and listens to rock. However, he is also rich and smart. He got early admission to Harvard University and drives a red Saab. He had a crush on Blair for a while and has dated Serena and Vanessa, but is now rumored to be with a belly-dancer from Austin, Texas.
[edit] Books
The books are published by 17th Street Productions, New York, and distributed by Little, Brown, and Company. 10 books have been published of the series so far, with the 11th due in May 2007.
- Gossip Girl
- You 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
[edit] References
- ^ http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11307
- ^ Michael Schneider; Josef Adalian (2007-01-03). CW gives Schwartz some good news: 2nd pilot picked up for show creator. Variety. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ "Young Adult Fiction: Wild Things," by Naomi Wolf, The New York Times, March 12, 2006.
- ^ "Racy Reading; Gossip Girl Series is Latest Installment in Provocative Teen Fiction, and It's As Popular As It Is Controversial," by Linda Shrieves, The Orlando Sentinel, August 6, 2005.
- ^ "YALSA Recommends Books For Young Adults Who Enjoy 'Gossip Girl' Series," American Library Association, April 11, 2006.
[edit] External links
- The UK Gossip Girl Website
- The Alloy Entertainment Gossip Girl Website
- GirlPosse Review of Gossip Girl
- "Confessions of an EW Parent; Livre Free Or Die; EW's Books Editor Asks: What Do You Do When You Hate What Your Daughter is Reading?," by Tina Jordan, Entertainment Weekly, 24 January 2007.
| The books of Cecily von Ziegesar |
|---|
| Gossip Girl • The It Girl |
| Gossip Girl books |
| Gossip Girl • You 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 |
| The It Girl books |
| The It Girl • Notorious • Reckless • Unforgettable |
