All I Want Is Everything (Gossip Girl #3)

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S and B and J and N are back, along with A, D, V, and assorted other rich, catty Manhattan teenagers in this third installment of the Gossip Girl series. An omniscient and anonymous narrator keeps track of the scene in www.gossipgirl.net (now an actual site), where the rumors fly, backs are stabbed, and celebrity sightings are dutifully reported. Serena (S) and Blair (B) are best friends again, shoring each other up as Blair faces life without her ex, Nate, who has hooked up with a sweet, busty 14-year-old, and Serena fends off advances from drop-dead-gorgeous rock star, Flow. Life’s rough. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Dan play the will-he/won’t-he game of sex, and Aaron tries to thwart his own crush on new stepsister Blair.

FROM OUR EDITORS

The Barnes & Noble Review
The NYC upper-crust kids have returned -- and are acting brassier than ever -- in Cecily von Ziegesar's third installment of her blockbuster Gossip Girl series.

Now that Blair and Serena are best buds again, they've returned as the most envied girlfriends in New York. Aside from looking brand-name fabulous, the two are hosting the annual December Black-and-White Ball, where Serena gets chummy with pop star Flow and Blair sidesteps Chuck Bass. Soon the two are heading down to St. Bart's for some Christmas fun in the sun, but the trouble is, Blair's got her Yale essay and ex-boyfriend, Nate, on the brain, Serena's growing bored with Flow's come-ons and develops a fond affection for Aaron, and Aaron's got a hopeless crush on his stepsister. Add all this to Dan and Vanessa's sex-starved relationship (she wants it, he doesn't) and Nate getting wigged out by Jenny's love professions, and this holiday turns out more delicious than spiked eggnog!

With enough racy details to curl your eyelashes, this Gossip Girl installment will keep the series' fans salivating for more. Shocking developments happen on practically every page, and it doesn't look like the hijinks are stopping anytime soon. Thank your lucky Jimmy Choos for that. Shana Taylor

ANNOTATION

The third installment of Cecily von Ziegesar's popular Gossip Girl series

FROM THE PUBLISHER

It's Christmastime and Blair and Serena are best friends again and up to their old tricks -- partying hard and breaking hearts from Park Avenue to the Caribbean. Blair's mom and Cyrus are having their honeymoon in Salt Key. And when school lets out for the holiday, Blair, Serena, Aaron, and company head down there to blow off steam after their midterm exams. In between Piña Coladas and topless sunbathing, Blair and Serena plot revenge on super-jerk Chuck Bass. Everyone jets back to NYC for Serena's New Year's party, during which Nate and Blair may or may not finally go all the way, and Serena may or may not be discovered to be the secret fling of Hollywood's hottest young leading man.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Gossip Girl dishes all the dirt that's fit (or not) to post in the newest catty installment, All I Want Is Everything by Cecily von Ziegesar. It's Christmastime in the Upper East Side world of Blair, Serena and company, who continue to party hard in Manhattan, chasing away the chill with a trip to sunny St. Barts. As always, the anonymous gossip girl chews over all the comings, goings, couplings and uncouplings on her Web site, with her signature sign-off-"You know you love me." Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature - Louise Parsons

Serena and Blair are two wealthy, fashionable, and unsupervised teens. They are together again in this third installment of the "Gossip Girl Series." It is also the Christmas party season in New York City, and these Upper East Side girls are ready to party. And that pretty much sums up this novel. There are a few other characters: a struggling poet, a filmmaker, and a young girl looking for love, but their story lines are often overshadowed by Serena and Blair's shallow plot and characterization. The setting for this book is very interesting and ripe for story possibilities, but the writer often settles for the predictable. It fails to deliver any plot or character of substance, and I found myself hoping this novel would become more interesting. Unfortunately, it never did. 2003, 17th Street Productions/Alloy Company, Ages 13 to 17.

KLIATT

It may be the Christmas season for Serena and Blair, but life is complicated for these two ever-beautiful, ever-spoiled little rich girls. Blair's relationship with Nate is not going smoothly￯﾿ﾽespecially not with little Jenny of the "big boobs" on the scene. Blair must find a diversion somewhere￯﾿ﾽperhaps that handsome drummer from Aaron's strange circle of friends? And how embarrassing to discover that not only are her mother and new stepfather Cyrus honeymooning and gushing all over the place, but they are planning an addition to the family. All of this is more than a girl can handle￯﾿ﾽperhaps she will just have to move ahead with her plans for Yale and work on that Audrey Hepburn essay. Then there is Serena, escaping to the Caribbean for a little relief and romance with popular rock star, Flow. Yawn! That doesn't last long because Serena, as we all know, has other plans that just might involve a certain charming gentleman￯﾿ﾽperhaps Aaron? Back to New York after some topless sunbathing and midnight swims, Serena is ready to start over with a fabby New Year's Eve party that is sure to catch some kind of action. Oh, the life... In this third Gossip Girl book everyone's lives seem to be getting more complicated, but don't count on these ladies becoming any deeper or more sensitive. That, being said, gives you an idea of how "over-the-top" these main characters are. Most teens will read these books simply for the total fantasy of a soap opera story. It is still fun trying to figure out who the Gossip Girl character really is. It is disconcerting, however, to note Blair's determination to lose her virginity and see her get herself into some rather questionable situations. The contrast to the livesof Jenny, Dan and Vanessa is good for giving a little more reality to the story line. Educators and parents need to know that there are some pretty casual attitudes about drugs and sex￯﾿ﾽbut this seems to go along with the development of the lifestyles of the very rich and the very na￯﾿ﾽve. (A Gossip Girl novel). KLIATT Codes: S￯﾿ﾽRecommended for senior high school students. 2003, Little, Brown, 213p., Tibbetts

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