Because I'm Worth it

October 1, 2003
Because I'm Worth It: A Gossip Girl Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar returns to the chatty, catty world of Upper East Side teens. February in New York City should be cold and gray, but things are heating up in the world of Gossip Girl, on the eve of Fashion Week and just after college applications deadline. Now it's time to put the moves on that hottie before Valentine's Day arrives. PW called the debut book Gossip Girl "a nasty, guilty pleasure. The book has the effect of gossip itself-once you enter, it's hard to extract yourself."

February 15, 2004
Gr 9 Up-All the regular cast is present in this fourth installment in the series. Situations and alliances have shifted, but these are still beautiful, rich kids whose lives are the stuff of fantasy, and whose achievements seem effortless. Almost by accident, Dan gets a poem published in the New Yorker. Vanessa's film New York is used as a backdrop for an important fashion show. Serena lands a modeling job just by entering a clothing store. However, there is also a darker side to the characters' lives. Neglected and unloved by their self-centered parents, these teens are dying to be noticed. Nate gets busted for drug use. Within hours of meeting a new girl in group counseling, he ends up saving her life when she overdoses. Things don't go well for Blair, either. She's still trying to get into Yale after botching her interview in a previous book. In this installment, she's about to fall for the older man helping her repair the damage of her first interview-until she discovers that he's not separated from his wife and that his daughter is a freshman at her school. Soap operalike, the trials and joys of these kids continue. Teens interested in reading about the lives of Manhattan prep-schoolers are sure to devour this book.-Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2004
Gr 9 Up-All the regular cast is present in this fourth installment in the series. Situations and alliances have shifted, but these are still beautiful, rich kids whose lives are the stuff of fantasy, and whose achievements seem effortless. Almost by accident, Dan gets a poem published in the New Yorker. Vanessa's film New York is used as a backdrop for an important fashion show. Serena lands a modeling job just by entering a clothing store. However, there is also a darker side to the characters' lives. Neglected and unloved by their self-centered parents, these teens are dying to be noticed. Nate gets busted for drug use. Within hours of meeting a new girl in group counseling, he ends up saving her life when she overdoses. Things don't go well for Blair, either. She's still trying to get into Yale after botching her interview in a previous book. In this installment, she's about to fall for the older man helping her repair the damage of her first interview-until she discovers that he's not separated from his wife and that his daughter is a freshman at her school. Soap operalike, the trials and joys of these kids continue. Teens interested in reading about the lives of Manhattan prep-schoolers are sure to devour this book.-Catherine Ensley, Latah County Free Library District, Moscow, ID

Copyright 2004 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.