Helpful Score: 1
Situations and alliances have shifted, but these are still beautiful, rich kids whose lives are the stuff of fantasy, and whose achievements seem effortless. Almost by accident, Dan gets a poem published in the New Yorker. Vanessa's film New York is used as a backdrop for an important fashion show. Serena lands a modeling job just by entering a clothing store. However, there is also a darker side to the characters' lives. Neglected and unloved by their self-centered parents, these teens are dying to be noticed. Nate gets busted for drug use. Within hours of meeting a new girl in group counseling, he ends up saving her life when she overdoses. Things don't go well for Blair, either. She's still trying to get into Yale after botching her interview in a previous book. In this installment, she's about to fall for the older man helping her repair the damage of her first interview--until she discovers that he's not separated from his wife and that his daughter is a freshman at her school. Soap operalike, the trials and joys of these kids continue. Teens interested in reading about the lives of Manhattan prep-schoolers are sure to devour this book.
