Courtney's Reviews > Gossip Girl

This is very possibly the worst book I have ever read. The author clearly knows nothing about 16 year olds aside from what she's seen in horrible television shows (all the ones just like the show this series spawned). The characters are all 2 dimensional and predictable - all super hot, super trendy, super rich, super popular and few if any have any redeeming qualities. Even the kids who are supposed to be 'different' are cookie-cutter 'artsy kids' who spend all their time sitting in corners brooding and trying to look mysterious while writing terrible poetry and reading Russian literature.

The narrative itself is absolutely horrible. I feel like I could have written this book when I was 12 years old, only I actually was able to create character development at that age - and I'm not a writer! Lines like "Dan wasn't into being healthy. He liked to live on the edge." made me feel like I was reading bad fan fiction on the internet 7 years ago.

I find it incredibly disturbing that something this awful was even published, nevermind the fact that it's aimed toward young girls. The characters' behaviour are terrible, and it's glamourized to the point of being pathetic. And this series is marketed toward young girls. Ignore the '15 and older' warning on the back, 11 year olds are reading this and emulating this behaviour. Because books and tv shows like this tell them it's totally cool.

This book filled me with such untold rage I couldn't even bring myself to finish it, even though it only took me an hour to get through the first half.

If you love your braincells, you'll stay away.