Gossip Girl
By Cecily von Ziegesar

     Serena Van Der Woodson is back from her short stay at Hanover Academy, a boarding school in Europe. Hoping to go back to where she left off with her other rich, socially elite friends, she starts back to Constance, an all-girl school in Manhattan. What she finds, though, is that the backs of those "friends" are turned towards her, and she is the subject of every juicy piece of gossip that's floating around the school. Now, with no friends and the entire tribe of liquor-drinking, sex-loving teens turning her mysterious return into a virtual sideshow of sex, drugs, and mayhem, Serena is drowned in the lifestyle she once felt was the only lifestyle worth living. What's worse is that the one person who could stop it, her friend Blair, has now become the reason why things will never be the same again.

     Blair Waldorf has become the girl all the others at Constance started looking to after her friend Serena left. She's no longer the mousy, chubby friend of the hottest girl in school - she IS the hottest girl in school, and there is no way she's going to give that title back to Serena after she's worked so hard to keep it. Not only that, but she's also dating Nate Archibald, their other friend, and knows that if Serena were to come back into the picture, he'd leave Blair and go after her instead. The thought of losing everything she had gained in the year that Serena had been away turns her once warm feelings for her friend icy cold. She's determined to keep her throne and make Nate her king…even if it means destroying her best friend's life in the process.

     Serena becomes a redeeming feature in this story because of her epiphanies about the world she had once been so comfortable in before she left. There is strong sexual language in the story, which isn't suitable for young teens. There is also major alcohol abuse throughout. I would recommend this book for people who are accustomed to being in these types of circles; otherwise, the reader will strain to understand exactly how this story is poignant.

     Christina Ricci is the reader of this story of sex, drugs, and teen angst. Her roles in movies like "Sleepy Hollow" and "The Adams Family' have brought her eerily mystic attractiveness to the forefront of the Entertainment industry. She does an amazing job of bringing as much depth to the characters as she possibly can.