XOXO

Somehow, somewhere, I became sucked into the cultural vortex that is Gossip Girl. Nevermind that I'm far too old to either be in high school or be the target demographic that this show is aimed at, I somehow was sucked in all the same. Although I suppose that high-schoolers are not really the target demographic for this show either, given what the characters get up to in the way of drinking (and in the States too, where the legal age is much higher than here in Canada) and fornicating. Although I haven't been in high school for a while, so things may have changed. (And there has probably always been drinking and fornicating in high school anyway; just not to this extreme!)

Anyway, Gossip Girl is a series about some bright young people living on New York's fabulous Upper East Side (and one humble family in Brooklyn), and their societal problems. All of the young cast are good looking and extremely photogenic, wear clothes well, and seem to have all dated each other. At any rate, I am now firmly established in watching the show Monday nights on Much Music, reading the recap the next day on Entertainment Weekly, and reading the full recap of the show (and older shows) on Television Without Pity at some point during the week. (And, if you do nothing else, do check out the recaps of Gossip Girl on Television Without Pity. Excellent writing and so fun to read!)

The one possibly redeeming feature of this show is that it is based off a hit teen novel series. Now, just because I've left the teens behind doesn't mean I have to stop reading books meant for teens. I still read books meant for kids, for goodness' sake! And there is some excellent writing out there for teens that I don't think the teens should keep selfishly all to themselves. So, I ordered the first book in the series, Gossip Girl: A Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar.

And, well, what can I say? This book is not included in the excellent writing for teens that is out there. Would I have liked it when I was 15? Probably. Do I like it now? No. Will I read any more books in the series? No. Am I going to stop watching the show? No. And even when I was 15 this would still fall into the category of those disposable/junk food books that take barely an afternoon to read, entertain you briefly, and then are entirely forgettable once you are finished.

Who are the characters in Gossip Girl? Blair Waldorf is the new Queen Bee at her high school on the Upper East Side. She is dating perfect prepster Nate Archibald. However, Blair's frenemy Serena van der Woodsen has returned from boarding school. She was kicked out of boarding school and rumours abound as to why. Serena has always been prettier, taller, and more popular than Blair, so Blair enjoyed her friend's disappearance because it put Blair on top of the social scene at school. Now that Serena is back, Blair is loathe to give up her title. Add to the mix the smarmy and wealthy Chuck Bass; the noble yet poor (for the Upper East Side) Dan Humphrey; his little sister, the well-endowed and desperate to move up the social scale Jenny; and the crunchy-granola, anarchist, anti-establishment Vanessa Adams. And, looming over them all like some omniscient Big Brother is Gossip Girl, purveyor of gossip, knowledge, and inside information about our characters. In the book, there are pages which represent Gossip Girl's website showing the latest gossip on all our characters. Further, there are snarky comments throughout the book which purport to be from Gossip Girl, as we are reading the book through her eyes, sort of. On the show, Gossip Girl is the anonymous narrator of the show, voiced to bitchy perfection by Kristen Bell.

From what I can tell, the plot seems to follow the first few episodes (which I haven't seen but I have read on the terrific Television Without Pity recaps). But the plot is really irrelevant - the point of the story is the characters and the fabulous clothes they wear and how they look! That is a little hard to pull off in a book and works out much better on the TV show. I won't be reading the rest of the series, so it's hard to tell if the later plots of the books follow the deliciously soapy plots of the TV series at all.

While the TV show may be better than the book (at least this once!) the TV series has done an excellent job of maintaining the personalities of the characters from the book to the show. Serena is portrayed as sort of happy-go-lucky girl, someone who just goes along with life, has everything handed to her, takes risks, and knows she will always come out on top. While he's not around much in the first book, the book has Chuck Bass' character down; smarmy, cold, and always after the ladies. I was a little surprised at the Blair Waldorf character: she seems a lot less secure of herself in the books than on the TV show. In the book, it is clear that she is the second banana to Serena. On the show, it is less clear and it looks like Blair could certainly hold her own with or without Serena. However, the book and show both capture the dramatic side of Blair's personality: she is starring in a movie about her own life - all of her schemes and daydreams are just scenes in her fantastical movie. The characters of Dan and Vanessa also mesh perfectly between TV and book: Dan is uptight, honest, and good-natured; Vanessa is smart and anti-establishment. The book establishes Jenny's desire to climb up the social ladder and be Queen Bee; the desire that will lead to such a tragic events for Jenny in the series. However, the Jenny of the book has a massive chest and harps on it constantly; a big difference from the series and the waifish actress who plays Jenny Humphrey.

Other than that, there are a number of changes to the siblings of the characters from the book to the TV show, and the book has all the main characters smoking a lot! That is definitely not the case on the show. Apparently it is perfectly alright to show underage people drinking, a lot, but not to show teenagers smoking. Heaven forbid!

Anyway, I've read it and I never have to read it again. It was mildly amusing for one afternoon, and I'm glad I didn't spend any money on it. But I will continue to enjoy the brain candy of the show and the pretty people in their pretty outfits.

As Gossip Girl herself would say, "You know you love me. XOXO!"