Because I'm Worth It is the fourth installment in the popular Gossip Girl series. The story picks up where All I Want is Everything left off. New York's richest most beautiful teens are waiting for early admissions letters from top universities while spending their days at elite private high schools.
Serena, Blair and the regular cast are back, enduring a chilly New York winter for front-row seats at Fashion Week. Author Cecily von Ziegesar introduces some new players as well, so expect your old favorites to be on the prowl for fresh meat. Of course, anonymous webmistress Gossip Girl utilizes eyes and spies to report all the best local fact and fiction via GossipGirl.net.
The shallowest levels of these self-absorbed teens have already been examined, so von Ziegesar digs a little deeper in Because I'm Worth It. Drug addiction and sexual experimentation are explored, but don't expect any heartfelt lessons in this book. These elite teens are in it only for themselves.
The Gossip Girl series is geared toward and should appeal to teens. Parents, librarians and other decision makers take note: these books glamorize drinking, recreational drugs, sex and all the things grown-ups forget they did in adolescence. Adults craving light reading may enjoy the shallow shenanigans of these rich, bored teens as well. This quick tale is great for mindless vacation reading.
The time frame for each Gossip Girl book seems to be slowing down. No doubt to stretch time and crank out more installments before the kids go their separate ways to college. Readers expecting to learn the identity of Gossip Girl in Because I'm Worth It will be disappointed. Von Ziegesar drops more hints in this novel and adds new suspects to boot. Guess we'll just have to wait anxiously for the next book to hit the shelves.
