Notorious: An It Girl Novel (2nd and Newest in the Series)
Cecily von Ziegesar
288 Pages
Rating: 3.5/5 Jimmy Choo Stilettos (Trust me, that's all they wrote about)
Okay, before I get started, I have to warn you. This took me a few days to read. Not because I was captivated. Because it was due back at the library and there's a waiting list.
The It-Girl Series could be described as a 'spin-off,' featuring Jenny Humphrey from Gossip Girl. In GG, Jenny was just a wannabe compared to Blair and Serena. If you've ever read those books. Well, to give you a little background info, Jenny was just 'randomly' kicked out of her NYC school in the 8th Gossip Girl because of stuff she did that she never get in trouble then, only randomly now. I don't know how the series is now because I have yet to read the 9th and 10th book (:O I know lol.)
Jenny's dream was to reinvent herself when she came to her new school and no longer be just one of those 'wannabees'. She rooms with the two most popular girls, Callie and Brent, who each have their own story. In the first book, after many obstacles, Jenny proves she is 'worthy.' But this book has another roadblock. After taking the blame of a drug incident (this is all light-hearted in these kind of books) and being expelled, Tinsley Carmichael is back at Waverly (their school). She's the hottest of them all, and they all know she's 'it.' Along the book is the usual backstabbing, b**chyness (sorry, there's no other word), and boyfriend-stealing. Will Jenny prevail and triumph against Tinsley? We can only see.
This book makes me yawn just thinking about it. Sure, it was kind of interesting because it has those themes that interest my age, but seriously, how many books can I really read about overprivileged kids who are only interested in having a good time and owning the most clothes? I think it had the right elements, but it just wasn't good enough.
Cecily von Ziegesar, the author... we all know her secret. It's so easy to figure out. All of her recent books, Nobody Does It Better (Gossip Girl 7), Nothing Can Keep Us Together (Gossip Girl 8), The It Girl, and this one, have LOTS of spelling and grammatical errors. She's only trying to get these out as quickly as possible so she can make more money. That is why the plots aren't as good as they used to be. I reread Gossip Girl (1), and it was SO good. No wonder I got hooked on this series! I was starting to question why I even bothered reading these anymore. Do you want to know the sad part? I own all of these books.
So basically, if you like the series, you will be satisfied, but really, it could be better. Maybe I expect too much. I just miss books with depth.
Volunteer Hours: 3
Total: 15 1/2!
Jessica
3 comments:
lolz, i never read a single gossip girl book in my life...of course i know about them. but your review made me wonder if i should even start on the series since it's getting so bleh now..., lolz.
another author (i thought) that started out with writing good books was J.K> Rowling. Her first few Harry Potter books were ssssooo good, but then the movie came out. Now her books are more movie-based (written for the sake of the movies)
That's SO true! I never thought about it that way. Half Blood Prince was like. What was with Ginny suddenly becoming popular overnight? And Harry's raging monster inside for her?! It was just liked, dropped into the plot, not introduced and it doesn't tie in at all.
And plus, I'm sure JK Rowling could've come up with a better name than HORCRUXES (I can barely say it!)
Jess and Steph,
It sounds like the author just bowed to the publishers. They have a short turn around time to publish books so it does not sound like it was as thought provoking as the first books/series.
Catherine
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