By Danielle Chatham

April 1 2008

IT HAD TO BE YOU

A Gossip Girl Prequel

By Cecily von Ziegesar

New York. Little, Brown and Company. October 2007.

401 pages. $17.99.

Money, fashion, parties, drugs, sex…all in a day’s work for the teenagers of New York City’s  prestigious Upper East Side. Nothing is denied to the young adults that live in the lap of luxury called Manhattan. Inheriting fortunes from their prominent pedigrees, spending thousands at Barney’s and Bendel’s, attending the most exclusive private schools…anything and everything goes for the fabulous kids that reign in Gossip Girl.

Cecily von Ziegesar is the author of It Had To Be You: The Gossip Girl Prequel. The book, number 13 out of 12 in Ziegesars’ bestselling Gossip Girl series, is a juicy fiction novel that follows the antics of the privileged young adults that live in New York’s fanciest part of town.

With the increase in popularity of gossip novels available today, the Gossip Girl series leads the pack. More importantly, with the novel being a prequel, I enjoyed it more than the other books because it brought the series to an end and wrapped up lingering questions I had about how the scandalous world of the notorious elite first began. Whether you want to read the prequel before the series, or vice versa, It Had To Be You is a book worth reading.

Because the book focuses on the upper class and the way that part of society lives, it may seem as though the book is nothing more than a cheap thrill for those who take pleasure in designer fashion and dirty secrets. However, the book is so much more than that. The novel covers issues that women everywhere can relate to. Whether it’s buying your first bra because your breasts won’t stop growing, falling in love with your grade school friend you’ve had your eye since kindergarten, or losing your virginity, It Had To Be You is more than a provocative novel for the inner bad girl. It’s for every girl that goes through the same struggles growing up that all girls go through, not just for those who like spicy rumors and a laugh or two about which bikini to take to St. Tropez.

It Had To Be You takes you on a journey of six adolescents dealing with the pressures of not only growing up, but growing up in a town where gossip rules and infamy is all too common. Three of the characters are best friends, having played together in their plaid Burberry diapers since before they could walk. Serena van der Woodsen is a tall, bleach blonde beauty who’s known for her wild ways and kind heart. Always the center of attention, every girl wants to be her and every guy wants to be with her. Her best gal pal, Blair Waldorf, is a short brunette who has a quick wit and a smart mouth. The last of their clique includes Nate Archibald, with his sparkling green eyes and wavy, golden tendrils. Although they may be best friends, Nate is in love with Serena, although Blair is in love with Nate. As the book continues, a serious love triangle develops when Serena finally falls in love with Nate, but is too late because he has fallen for Blair. With Serena trying to gain Nate’s affection back, Blair coping with her father leaving her mother for a French male model, to Nate going back and forth between his love for Serena and his relationship with Blair, putting the book down is simply a no-no.

The other three characters also contribute to the steamy plotline as well. Dan is a scrawny poet who lives in the less than fabulous Upper West Side. Not part of Manhattan’s best, Dan enjoys his Folgers coffee and Camel cigarettes while he reads up on the works of John Keats and Tennessee Williams. Dan keeps to himself and spends time with his sister Jenny, who throughout the story obsesses about her growing bra size and what it will be like to finally have big boobs. Dan also makes time for his best friend Vanessa, a bald, black wearing film student who loves Dan. Although it seems like a match made in heaven, Vanessa is completely unaware Dan’s in love with Serena van der Woodsen, whom he has admired from afar.

It Had To Be You is a great book to either end or begin the series with. Because all the Gossip Girl books have the same characters and similar drama along the way, the book fits in perfectly with the other previous novels before it. Gossip Girl also fuels excitement for other books alike. The author has started working on a piece using three triplets that appear in the eight book, allowing readers to continue with the sassy New York teens, although the series has ended.

The author uses a unique tone with the book, giving it a personal appeal. When describing the events taking place, it seems as though it is taking place through the eyes of a well-educated teenager. Using cuss words and sometimes implementing French words to show cultural superiority of the upper class, Ziegesar allows you to feel like you are truly there listening to these kids speak to one another. She also uses many fashion references to particular high-end brands. With Blair making comments about her snake skin Dolce&Gabbana purse, custom-tailored Valentino suit, and blood-orange Manolo Blahnik stilettos, feeling like I was literally shopping with her weren’t the words to describe it. I felt as though I could’ve been looking at the exact pair of shoes in my own room.

Another interesting style Ziegesar uses is including a website page every few chapters. This unique addition found in the book is about a person who watches what everyone does and then posts the updates of the popular characters in her own blog. The page itself includes a question and answer portion from fictitious characters that read the webpage, as well as a sightings section where we learn what the characters are going to be up to in the upcoming chapters. As soon as I reached a posting from gossipgirl.net (the name of the website), I had trouble putting the book down because I was so interested in seeing what was going to happen.

The author certainly had no trouble bringing the characters to life, for she too lived the life she writes about in her book. Like the teenagers, Cecily von Ziegesar grew up in an affluent family on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. She graduated from a prestigious private school, where afterwards she went onto study creative writing at the University of Arizona. Her ideas for the book came from her wealthy friends who lived the extravagant lives her characters do, as well as her own experiences as being a gossip girl herself. With her overwhelming success of the books, Gossip Girl has evolved from being a book to being a television show on ABC.

The structure of the book was also well put together. Because the book had more than one plotline, it flowed well by switching from one story to another smoothly. Because the chapters were shorter and every other chapter was dedicated to a different character, following the inner subplots was made easier. In addition, because the characters themselves had vivid personalities, it was easy to remember what was going on and with whom. If we are shopping with Serena while she mopes about Nate in one chapter, the next chapter includes how Dan sees her shopping and comes up with a plan to talk to her. That chapter then leads to Vanessa spotting Dan and discovering his love for Serena. With the fluidity of the chapters, it was simple to follow along and understand the plots a bit better.

Overall, It Had To Be You is a book worth reading. Even if you can’t afford the Dior sunglasses and Stila mascara the characters wear, it’s fun to think about how these characters still go through the same things everyone else does, with or without being filthy rich. With name dropping, cuss words flaring, and a fun little webpage included, It Had To Be You is an entertaining and saucy book that allows us to live the lives of those prominent New York girls who know how to have a good time, and what to wear while they’re having it.

Now you just need to decide whether you want to read it first, or last.