The It Girl (It Girl #1) [Paperback]

Cecily von Ziegesar (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 2, 2005

Popular Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey is leaving Constance Billard to attend Waverly Academy, an elite boarding school in New York horse country where glamorous rich kids dont let the rules get in the way of an excellent time. Jennys determined to leave her crazy Manhattan past behind and become a sophisticated goddess on campus. But first shell have to contend with her self-absorbed roommates, Callie Vernon and Brett Messerschmidt. Hot guys, new intrigue, and more delicious gossip all add up to more trouble than ever for Jenny. But if getting caught with boys and going up against the Disciplinary Committee is what it takes, Jennys ready. Shell do all that and more to be The It Girl.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up-Jenny Humphrey, kicked out of Constance Ballard prep school for being a bad influence, decides she'll do anything to become one of the popular girls at Waverly Academy. Like the author's Gossip Girls series, the story is full of underage drinking, smoking, foul language, snarkiness, and label dropping. Sleeping around is casually accepted. Jenny rooms with two almost interchangeable big names on campus: Brett, who falls for the uber-rich newbie teacher, and Callie, who manipulates both Jenny and her boyfriend, Easy. The two girls are barely speaking because each one blames the other for their friend Tinsley's expulsion. Fearing that she will also be kicked out, Callie talks vulnerable Jenny into taking the blame when Easy gets caught nearly naked in their room. But Jenny is as attracted to Easy as he is to her. The school's dirty little secret is that you can get away with almost anything as long as you are from a legacy family of donors, which may explain why Tinsley is being reinstated at the books' end-just in time for a sequel. Jenny's references to Old and New Jenny are more confusing than illuminating as is the starry-eyed innocence that uncharacteristically peeks out of her persona at convenient times. Pass on this paean to possessions, perkiness, and ample breasts for something more substantial, unless you have insatiable Gossip Girl fans.-Tina Zubak, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 9-12. This first title in the It Girl series, a spin-off of the Gossip Girl books, follows sophomore Jenny Humphrey to Waverly Academy, an exclusive boarding school in upstate New York. As new girl on campus, Jenny relishes the idea that she can leave behind her somewhat tarnished reputation, earned during her freshman year in New York City. She is put in the same room as the school's queen bees, Callie and Brett, and soon finds herself caught up in a scandal that involves Callie's nearly naked boyfriend on Jenny's bed. Although this contains many of the elements that make the Gossip Girl series such addictive reading, the writing lacks punch. In the Gossip Girl books, an anonymous narrator contributes e-mails that bind the story together with deliciously catty previews and overviews of the plot. Here, e-mails from different characters further splinter the multivoiced narrative. Still, that won't stop fans from happily digging into a new adventure in conspicuous consumption and name-dropping. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Little Brown and Company (November 2, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316011851
• ISBN-13: 978-0316011853
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #859,225 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

A writer who is definitely of the world about which she writes--she attended a fancy Manhattan prep school and lived to tell all about it. She walks the walk and talks the talk, so her characters and their conversations and antics ring completely true.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Amazing New Teen Chick Lit Series!, November 15, 2005

By 

Rian Montgomery "Rian Montgomery" (Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The It Girl (It Girl #1) (Paperback)

I have been eagerly awaiting The It Girl series, which many of you know is a spinoff from one of the characters in the "Gossip Girl" series. As soon as I got my copy I eagerly devoured it, hoping that the characters wouldn't be too similar to the Gossip Girl set. Thankfully they weren't- in fact, this was a great book, even better than I'd hoped!

You may recall from the last Gossip Girl book that Jenny Humphrey has left Constance Billard in NYC to go to a boarding school- Waverly Academy in Upstate New York. Waverly Academy is filled with rich kids with their secrets. Jenny herself is trying to move into her "New Jenny" role, meaning she isn't going to let people get her down anymore. She wants to be more wild, more in control, more free. So far it seems to be working, as several of the popular guys in school seem to like her already. But can that be because of the rumors that keep following her around?

The other main characters in The It Girl are just as intriguing. There is Brett Messerschmidt, a gorgeous girl who is trying desperately to hide her home life while trying to snag the cute new Disiplinary Committee advisor. Then there is the stuck up and selfish Callie, whose boyfriend Easy seems to have plans that don't include her. Callie meanwhile is trying to manipulate everyone in site, including Jenny so that she doesn't get kicked out of school. Easy himself can't decide if he likes Jenny or his old girlfriend Callie. And there are others...

As with the other series, this book is told from multiple viewpoints so that the reader gets to see what is going on in each person's head. With glamourous parties, backstabbing and snobbiness galore, The It Girl kept me reading non-stop until the end. The characters were interesting and unique; and there were many little sideplots with plenty of romantic tension thrown in for good measure. The author does a fantastic job of both providing a juicy, intriguing plot and sparking major interest in the next book in the series.

Despite the plot being a bit unrealistic, and the strange way that so many of the girls had boy names, I loved this book and cannot wait for the next!

Overall I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes a gossipy good teen novel.

25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Spin off series from GG, November 22, 2005

By 

Little D (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The It Girl (It Girl #1) (Paperback)

This new series is a spin off from the Gossip Girl series (which I recommend if you haven't read any yet).

Jenny Humphrey went to Constance Billard in NYC with the others from the Gossip Girl series and 'kind of' got kicked out. She wanted to start over in a fresh place with people who don't know anything about her.

Well, the popular crowd at her new boarding school Waverly Academy are gossips too. There are already many rumors going around about Jenny and who she really is. She learns that she can just ignore the rumors and have fun flirting and partying like the rest of the popular crowd.

I hope this series stays as good as the first book and doesn't go downhill like the Gossip Girl series did. I can't wait to read the next book due out in April 2006.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An interesting spin-off from the Gossip Girl series, November 17, 2005

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The It Girl (It Girl #1) (Paperback)

Gossip Girl character Jenny Humphrey is ready to start boarding school after being asked to leave Constance Billard in New York City. Waverly Academy is out in the country and the perfect place for Jenny to start her new persona --- someone who doesn't make embarrassing mistakes or get into trouble. Right.

To start off, she mistakenly has been assigned to the boys' dorm. Then her two new roommates, Callie Vernon and Brett Messerschmidt, are not talking to each other due to some big scandal that went down at the end of the last school year. Both are dealing with some pretty serious issues of their own as well, and Jenny observes it all happening.

Rumors are flying about her past life in New York, and Jenny tries to quash that nonsense while fighting the crush she's developing for Easy, the boyfriend of one of her roommates. He ends up getting caught in her room on her bed --- instead of with his girlfriend, who he had been coming to visit. Now Jenny has to decide if she wants to tell on her roommate and Easy, or go through the Disciplinary Committee hearing, which may get her kicked out of Waverly.

But she likes Waverly. Boy trouble and rumors aside, Jenny has found a talent for field hockey and even makes the varsity team. She is invited to some hot parties and likes the art classes. In order to stay at the academy and remain popular, the New Jenny must deal with a handful --- New York City was never this complicated.

THE IT GIRL is an interesting start to a series that is sure to attract the many fans of Gossip Girl.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio