CATEGORY

S and B and J and N are back, along with A, D, V, and assorted other rich, catty Manhattan teenagers in this third installment of the Gossip Girl series. An omniscient and anonymous narrator keeps track of the scene in www.gossipgirl.net (now an actual site), where the rumors fly, backs are stabbed, and celebrity sightings are dutifully reported. Serena (S) and Blair (B) are best friends again, shoring each other up as Blair faces life without her ex, Nate, who has hooked up with a sweet, busty 14-year-old, and Serena fends off advances from drop-dead-gorgeous rock star, Flow. Life's rough. Meanwhile, Vanessa and Dan play the will-he/won't-he game of sex, and Aaron tries to thwart his own crush on new stepsister Blair.

They're the teens you love to hate, and yet it's not all trash. Beneath the designer name-obsessed veneer and the nasty soap opera quality of Gossip Girl novels, there's plenty that's true and real for any teenager. Angst, creative passion, love, college applications, drinking, smoking, sex�sure, these kids are obnoxious and spoiled, but their core issues are not a million miles away from every other teen's. And you know you love it. (Ages 14 and older) --Emilie Coulter