The It Girl (by Cecily von Ziegesar)
common sense media says
Same bad-girl 'tude in Gossip Girl spinoff.
parents & educators say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this spinoff of the Gossip Girl series has many of the same controversial elements as her first series. Characters are materialistic and manipulative, and they drink, smoke pot, swear, and engage in some sexual acts (there's even a relationship between a student and a teacher).
Violence:
Not applicable.
Sex:
Sexual rumors, drunken kissing, a boyfriend and girlfriend almost have sex after he sneaks into her room (condoms are mentioned). Most disturbing is a near-sexual encounter between a faculty member and a student.
Language:
Some swearing, including f--k.
Consumerism:
Lots of products are mentioned: Tiffany, Chanel, Manolo Blahnik, even Red Bull and Marlboro Lights.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
Characters drink as well as smoke cigarettes and pot.
More on The It Girl
Review It
Most useful reviews by all members
laurenmc422
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
Inappropriate for anyone under 15, Maybe mature 14 year olds.
I'm 14 and I didn't notice the back that said "15+" until I really got into the book. It's definitely inappropriate although I instantly became addicted. I would not reccomend it to my younger sister, although I would to one of my friends.
It's like The Clique, only the girls are meaner on a new level of drugs and alcohol. Unless you are mature enough to understand what the girls in the story are doing is wrong, than you should not read this book.
Between the student-teacher affair and the "E incident" this book is completely atrocious - but I loved every moment of it anyway!
Filled with labels, most girls would probably look to buy some of these brands. I know plenty of people online who obsess over books like this (namely The Clique) and act just like the main characters. It disgusts me, but I am mature enough to not act like characters.
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jennyhumphery
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
The It Girl
I like how Jenny trys to leave her Upper East Side life and trys to start with a new slate . Jenny was always my favorite Gossip Girl character and didn't like how people judged her by her breast size. I have no clue what the books moral is but I still think it's really good!It made me LMAO.
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Color
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Great book for teens!
Great book! I laughed a lot! I am a teen, and do not do anything of the things mentionned in the book, but found it very entertaining. It's FICTION!!
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princessasia7676
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Its a great book, if you are under 15 I recommend it-only if your that mature.
i think that this book is really good. i'm 13 and I love it! I think that all the sexual content/drugs(it talks about ecstasy but thats about it)/cigarettes are inappropriate, but if you are mature enough to know that 'everything they're doing is bad and i am never going to do this as long as i live because they're not role models' then u should be o.k.
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ERJERJERJ
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
Fun but not ispirational
I thought it was a fun and entertaining book but for younger kids it isn't appropriate and the characters deffinately aren't role model. All they want to do is become popular
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spikiepikie09
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
Very addictive! Twas Amazing!
If you like the Gossip Girl series, you'll love this one and vice versa! I love this series and the books in it just get better. Although I wouldn't recommend in to any pre-teens, and it would only be suitable for 13 / 14 year olds who are very mature - other wise, it would give them a bit of a wake up call - although it is very over the top with how dramatic it is!
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CommonSenseParent
parent
parent
Great read for middle school (6th grade) and up
My 11-year-old sixth-grader and I have read and loved this. A lot of her peers are now venturing into young adult books, and they all realize that this is gulity pleasure fiction and not to be taken seriously. You should definitely read the whole series. A+
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fabulous_girl
adult
adult
Perfect for Older Teens 15+ :)
I love it, I am a teen and i dont drink or have a boyfriend, but the thing is that these things happen out there and parents shouldn't ignore this because it can make it worse for the kids, you have to be honest with them and teach them right from wrong or else they wont know how to deal with situations like these. i like this book because it doesnt make says it how it is and i love the scandal i would definetly recommend this to any teen and also to lovers of Gossip Girl!!
:P xoxoxoxoxox
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Flavored
adult
adult
Teenage Trash.
This book is aweful, as well as the Gossip Girl books. It's for teenage girls who like to daydream about guys. and things that are totally unrealistic. It's an aweful book and an overall stupid story. Don't read this book before bed; it's not worth loosing sleep.
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bpixie
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
BOOOOORING
Kinda boring. I got a little bored after a while, so not the best. Definitely not as creative as Gossip Girl. There's a lot of brand names, although not that many. Lots of swearing, that surprised me but didn't really affect me reading it. Just really unnecessary. Although the girls are really naughty and do all sorts of drugs and bad things, most of the characters are not keen on getting in trouble, specifically the main character, Jenny, who's actually a good girl just with a lot of really bad girls. She can get sucked in, but really tries not to. Good idea for a story, although boring - as many spin-offs are.
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_j
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA
LOVE IT!!! for those out there who love drama and they typical teeange life, READ IT! its worth every second (:
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kittykoo
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
I love, love, love this book... its abit boriing at sometimes but worth it.
Although i would never recomend it for younger kids, only mature teens who know the rights and wrongs to life already.
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Cameron13
teen, 16 years old
teen, 16 years old
loved it!
It was an awesome book! I cant wait for the second one! It may not be appropriate for children under 13 because there are some mature subjects in the book. ex. sex, drinking, and drugs. Other than that it was great.
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rylie
teen, 17 years old
teen, 17 years old
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
These books (in the it girl series) are all AMAZING. These are my favorite books of all time. As for the teacher-student thing with Brett, it ends badly and it turns out he was a sketchy character anyway so it shows that the relationship was negative. Also about the rich/ materialistic thing, the main character, Jenny isn't rich. She's still got lots of friends and is quite happy, so is it really so horrible? Plus there's no actual sex scenes and I found these books cleaner than the Gossip Girl books which I also enjoyed, although not as much. These books are very very good and I highly reccomend them.
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egimbert
teen, 15 years old
teen, 15 years old
I'm a teen & i am almost done with the series im on book 9 and i just can't get enough of them, they are fantstic! However, i would deffinitley not wanting my younger sister who is 12 & in the 6th grade reading it.
& all the things that i clicked in orange is just the material that is in the book i don't think its to much or anything.
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aless_guth
teen, 13 years old
teen, 13 years old
it is iffy in some parts but isnt over the top. series tends to drag on and repeat the same issues... easy and callie, no easy and jenny... no easy and callie...it is sorta dumb and not nurishing
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Popcorn1111
parent of 15 and 16 year old
parent of 15 and 16 year old
Don't worry
It's a very suspending book that any teen would enjoy, sure parents are worried about the language but that doesn't mean your child will use it. My child hates reading, she only reads the series because she finds it funny and interesting (to tell you the truth so do I!) so for you worried parents, give this book a second chance.
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vanilla cupcake
kid, 10 years old
kid, 10 years old
ive never read it but my cousin has and said it was off for even teens. u should be a adult to read it like 18 or older.
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