YOU KNOW YOU LOVE ME

Continuing her soap opera saga where Gossip Girl (p. 580) left off, von Ziegesar again has her mostly rich, private-school crew of privileged Manhattan teenagers partying at elegant eateries, drinking booze, and shopping at high-end stores, but also thinking about college. Because of their wealth and social status, “not applying to the Ivy Leagues is not an option” and not getting accepted “would be a total embarrassment,” so “the pressure is on.” As the hunky, rich, pot-addled Nate says, “All of a sudden we have to plan what we’re doing for the rest of our lives and try to impress people with how smart and involved we are. I mean, do our parents take eight classes . . . , play on sports teams, edit the paper, and tutor underprivileged children . . . every single day?” Despite their jealousy inducing advantages, the characters are surprisingly sympathetic and von Ziegesar has the gift of summing up an experience with incisive wit. For example, at “a hippie arts camp,” Jenny “had to write haikus about the environment, sing peace songs in Spanish and Chinese, and weave blankets for the homeless.” Almost Chekhovian in situation, the bulk of the kids are in love with someone who is either indifferent to their charms or in love with someone else. Getting it all sorted out is the fun of it, and like its predecessor, it’s a highly enjoyable speedboat of a read, zipping along at lightning speed, leaving adolescent angst, wounded egos, and Manolo Blahnik mules in its wake. (Fiction. YA)