There’s an essay by Naomi Wolf on YA Novels in the New York Times Book Review. She looks at series like Gossip Girl, A-List and the Clique. Of the series mentioned I think I’ve only read the first volume of Gossip Girl, and that was because the publisher was handing it out at an ALA conference with an inspired marketing campaign that included Gossip Girl lip gloss. It made me think that more advanced reader’s editions should have complementary makeup attached.
I thought Gossip Girl was entertaining, and I could understand why it would appeal to teens, but I’m not sure if the series are as damaging as Wolf thinks. I probably have a much higher tolerance for fluff than some readers.
Updated to add that I should have known that some of the kids lit bloggers would be commenting on the article. Hop on over to Chicken Spagetti for linky goodness with a round-up of blog posts.
6:50 am on March 15th, 2006 1
My first thought upon reading the article was “Here’s another scare-the-parents piece.” Being the parent of a teenager means constantly being barraged with well-meaning articles about sex parties in middle school and the latest designer drug, most of which are way overblown. My 13-year-old daughter read a couple of the Clique books, but they don’t seem to have done her any harm. The world Wolf is talking about exists only in movies—I live in a pretty affluent suburb, but none of the kids here lives the lifestyle she describes. I think she’s not giving the readers enough credit. Just because I read books about interplanetary garbage collectors doesn’t mean I want to be one.
Mean rich girls are a cliche in children’s literature, but they usually get their comeuppance at the end of the book. Now I’m curious to know whether these books deviate from that plotline. If not, then Wolf is just blowing hot air.
7:59 am on March 15th, 2006 2
I read the Gossip Girl book a long time ago, but I didn’t particularly think that the characters were being held up as role models. “Gossip Girl” was a snarky narrator within the book, commenting on the characters in the style of a gossip column. I thought that teens might like the book because the lifestyle and brands mentioned would remind them of some of the things they’d read about in magazines.
7:05 pm on March 15th, 2006 3
Actually, the Gossip Girl series tackles a lot of serious issues like bulimia, drug use, and promiscuity in a fairly realistic and interesting way. I think pre-teens and teens that read this series are probably more likely to make better decisions about these things because the book deals with them honestly, unlike 8th grade health class. Also, along with the rich girl characters, it has characters that are the artsy ostracized kids, and it shows how both groups deal with the same things and how they interact. So yes, the books are about rich bratty girls, but they can be surprisingly meaningful sometimes. Or maybe this is just what I tell myself so I can justify reading them. : )
12:11 am on March 16th, 2006 4
Thanks little D, I figure as a Young Adult yourself, I’d rather read your opinion about these books than Ms Wolf’s