Gossip Girl – keep the gossip or ditch it?

I now understand my classmate’s (You know who you are!) obsession with Gossip Girl books. I just read the prequel, It Had to be You, and can’t wait to read the next one; I’m sure young adults will feel the same way. It’s fun, escapist reading, and young women also enjoy reading it. I laughed out loud at the descriptions of people, with all the brand names right there. But then I started discussing it with a friend. He wanted to know why I would put a book that so clearly markets to teens in the library. And I wondered that myself, also. Is the mention of brands in a book the same as a movie flashing on a Pepsi can to advertise? Teens have so much marketing aimed at them, could I possibly give them more? What about the role of the library balancing out what teens see in the rest of their lives? Libraries, in their very nature, cut down on consumerism, why advocate books with it? Then there are the questions of this perfect image that girls should have. Blair and her bulimia; Jenny’s obsession with her breasts; and how about Nate’s description of Serena? “The best thing about Serena was her total lack of embarrassing flab.” Um, is that really what we want to teach teenage girls, that that’s the best possible thing about them? What about the many who don’t have that build? This past week there has been a lot of buzz (in and out of the library community) about a re-release of Sweet Valley High books. Apparently, the twins have been vanity sized from a perfect size 6 to a “perfect size 4,” as described in the book. Really, teenage girls have such a difficult time with impossible standards that surround them, why would I want to promote that? Does having Gossip Girl, or Sweet Valley High books promote this image, or just give girls an escape from reality, and an enjoyable read? Along the points that Amy Pattee makes about fiction being informative, I feel an obligation to provide strength in the characters and books in the library.

On the other hand, IHTBY has redeeming qualities. There are girls like Jenny, who will do anything to get their breasts to grow and should realize that they will eventually do so on their own (Poor Jenny, my heart just ached for her when she was at camp.); and some like Goth Girl/Kyra, who only want to hide them. (Alright, I’m jumping right into The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Gothgirl.) Serena keeps trying to do the right thing and tell Blair how she feels about Nate, but is more worried about her friend than herself.  Also, although I haven’t read further in the Gossip Girl series, there is very little actual sex in IHTBY. The one girl who sleeps around (L’Wren) is looked down on for it, and Blair wants to wait to have sex with Nate, although there is NO thought of not having sex with him. The one sex scene is not explicit, and it is between two people who care deeply about each other; of course he is in a relationship with her best friend, but that’s a different point. And there’s a certain social competency to learn about in Gossip Girl. It touches on almost every one of the individual developmental assets. Planning and decision making – Blair has her (albeit unrealistic) wedding to Nate all planned out. Interpersonal competence – Vanessa, Serena and Jenny all show empathy and sensitivity; everyone in the book, even Dan, exhibits “friendship skills.” Okay, there is not much exposure in IHTBY to those in other cultures, unless Vanessa’s older sister is included. Blair and Serena are so confident with themselves, that they don’t feel peer pressure to act in any negative way; they create the peer pressure to act in negative ways (:. There is not much conflict resolution – we don’t really see it exhibited.

I’m still on the fence about putting Gossip Girl in my library.  I guess I’m leaning towards including it, mainly because I enjoyed reading it, but I do worry about promoting alcohol, consumerism, and “perfect” body images.