Gossip Girl series

[bookaddict]

I've heard a lot of good things about this series. I loved the shopoholic books. For those who have read these books, what did you think? I'm starting the first book.

[czarval]

I've never read them, but I know people who have. They said they were great books.

[bookaddict]

I'm looking for a fast, good read. I want to start the Time Travelers Wife but I want to wait till my exams are over. I thought this would be good...because it's short.

[czarval]

From what I've heard, Gossip girls is definitely fast and a little silly.

[Kristie]

haha, both the shopaholic series and gossip girl series are on my TBR list...

[bookaddict]

Well I finished the first book, and it really wasen't for me. I didn't see any humor in it. I didn't like the fact that the teenagers would do drugs before functions and drink alcohol all the time. it's not a major part of the book, but I didn't like that part. One character is bulimic, and no one pays any attention to it. If you ever liked the show Popular I see some connections.. I thought Gossip Girls columns were boring, and confusing.
Shopoholic was funny and interesting. I prefer the shopoholic series.

[Kristie]

I'll remember that...read Gossip Girls first so I don't have a high expectation from the Shopaholic series

[bookaddict]

Maybe if I read it when I was in my teens, I would have liked it more. It's just not my idea of fun. A bunch of rich spoiled kids, who gossip about each other. Then there are the people who want to be liked them and gawk at them...

[zeldafitzgerald]

Many years ago, when the Gossip Girl books first came out (I can't believe it was so long ago, but it was right before I went to college, so that was almost 5 years ago!) I read the first few of them for something easy and mindless to read.

They were ok, at the time they entertained me. However, the more articles I read about books like Gossip Girl and the Clique novels....the more I absolutely cannot stand them. These are the books that very young girls are reading and most of the books are very superficial and truly over the top (you can't be cool or popular if you don't have money, or don't wear the right clothes, or drink). They are teaching VERY young girls to value superficial and petty things. Not to mention the drugs/drinking/eating problems.

Now, when I was a young teenager, I wasn't reading very high quality literature either....lots of Babysitter's Club, Sweet Valley Twins, etc... But these books are at least teaching other lessons about life and friendship and growing up....however unrealistic they actually are. They did not teach me that I need to wear designer clothes or to be picky about what kinds of people I hang out with.

Maybe it sounds nerdy and dumb, but I worry about how books like Gossip Girls are affecting the values and ideas young girls have. I think most of us here are old enough to not be so affected by what we read, but a lot of 11, 12, and 13 year olds LOVE the Gossip Girl books & other similar series.

[bookaddict]

Zelda...that's exactly why I did not like it. I don't want to read any more of them because i fear what they are teaching. I find that drugs are already something that people just accept now, as long as it isn't such a hard drug. I fear for the younger generation. When I was that age i was reading "Go Ask Alice" teaching the fear of drugs, not the acceptance of it.

[zeldafitzgerald]

Exactly!

And however abnormal Jessica and Elizabeth Wakefield were, they didn't have drug problems!

[czarval]

I can't say I really got into Sweet Valley, it all seemed too fake for me. I liked the Bobbsey twins, which is also fake but nice. Nothing bad ever seemed to happen to anyone, and if it did, it didn't really last very long.

[zeldafitzgerald]

I read some dumb books along with the great ones. I loved great books like Ramona, and anything by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, or the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

But then I did spend lots of my time reading Sweet Valley or Babysitter's Club. I devoured them!

It's very interesting though, my mom learned in her Children's lit class that series books like these (even if they're not such great pieces of literature) are extremely important in children becoming good readers, and also important for children who will go on to love reading as adults. The nature of these series - the steady, unchanging characters, the consistent reading level - are important for kids. They know they can pick up a Goosebumps or Babysitters Club or Sweet Valley book and know that they will like it and be able to read and understand it. Kids should not be discouraged from having favorite series like these because these books help them move onto better literature and better reading skills.

[bookaddict]

I use to love Goosebumps, and Fear Street books.

I can understand why series like that are really important. When I have kids, I want them to love to read. Personally, I think if I child loves reading they will have a better time in school because school depends heavily on reading.

[Kristie]

zeldafitzgerald said:

I read some dumb books along with the great ones. I loved great books like Ramona, and anything by Beverly Cleary, Judy Blume, or the Alice books by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor.

But then I did spend lots of my time reading Sweet Valley or Babysitter's Club. I devoured them!

i really loved the babysitter's club and the alice books too! in 4th grade my teacher read us the first alice book. i got into the BSC books because of my older sister and i signed up for a bookclub thing were every month i got 4 books. needless to say i did get bored with just those and didn't keep up so my mom stopped the subscription