Review: Gossip Girl

Title: Gossip Girl
Series: Gossip Girl #1
Author: Cecily von Ziegesar
Release date: April 2002
Age group: Young adult
Pages: 224

Expectations
I've started this book years ago, but didn't feel like finishing it. I'm going to give it another go without expecting much. I'm gonna read it as a light, fluffy chick-lit read.

Review:
The whole scenery of the rich people is very selfish.
For me, the characters had little to connect with. Mostly I find reading a book enjoyable because of the character-development and the writing-style. The characters were mostly shallow and didn't seem to care about anything but their money and what the people in the Upper Class might think of them.

I think the only way to read this book and be able to enjoy it, is not to take it seriously at all. If you would take it seriously, there are so many aspects that are very wrong about it. The way the characters see alcohol, sex and drugs is really worrying,even disturbing. 

Chuck doesn't know his boundaries when it comes to girls and I think it's mainly because the girls doesn't give him any boundaries. An example from the book:

"'You really do look good' he said again, staring at Serena's legs like he wanted to eat them.
'Thanks' Serena said and laughed. It was kind of a relief to see that Chuck was still exactly the same, even if everyone else was acting like freaks. She had to love him for that." 
I didn't know what to think after reading lines like that.. 

Most times the writing-perspective was unclear, with parts written from Blairs or Serena's character(and a lot of other characters), and  other parts from a third person perspective. Other times you would think it's from the anonymous Gossip Girl. The many different perspectives often intertwined and caused confusion on who was talking.

While there are a lot of rich and spoiled kids, there are some characters( like Dan and Jenny) that doesn't live those luxurious lifestyles. I found that Dan was a depressing character ( if you don't count the moments he sees Serena). He had some very different thoughts than the rich kids.
I did enjoy this book because I realized the ridiculousness of it all. These kids are like 17 years old and acting like they own the world. It's sad to realize that these kind of environments do exist in the real world. I  thought about giving it 2,5 stars, but I don't rate my books with half stars. So I'll give this one 3 stars, because I did enjoy reading it, but it wasn't a great read. 

Did you read this book? Share your thoughts in the comments below!!