Gossip Girl – The Estella Initiative

It’s August, which means summer is coming to an end. For me, it is still summer by temperature standards, but the schools always start mid July to mid August. Since summer break is over for all the students, it means the time for summer fun is over. Despite this, I have come to realize how many people start school later than in Arizona and how summer is still going for them.

Since I have a different perspective of how summer looks and feels, I wanted to write a post dedicated to five books I feel like I can still read no matter if school is in session or what the outdoors temperature is. All the books on this list are newer books, which to me means they are ten to twenty years old or less. I still love them and usually associate them with the summertime. Continue reading “5 Books To Enjoy During the End of Summer” →

Back in the late 2000’s, a friend of mine let me borrow her copy of Cecily von Zigersar’s book, Gossip Girl. I read it, and over the years forgot most of it, but I remember that I read it before the new Gossip Girl TV series premiered. In 2020, I heard the TV series would get a reboot. I wanted to reread the original books from the series, but I couldn’t because I borrowed them from my friend and, thanks to the pandemic, I didn’t want to bother her in order to borrow her books. Instead, I decided to purchase my own copy of the first book in the series, Gossip Girl, and, if I liked it enough, I would buy the other books in the series.

Gossip Girl is the first book in the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Zigersar. The book follows a group of affluent teenagers in New York City as they navigate life after one of the most popular girls, Serena van der Wooden, returns to New York City and school after a year away at boarding school. Serena’s arrival back at the school caused a lot of gossip around why she left, what she did while she was gone, and why she left the boarding school. Although Serena’s return was not greeted with warmth or joy, Serena discovered that while she was gone, her friends moved on and began lives without her. Continue reading “Book Review: Gossip Girl by Cecily von Zigersar” →