Cecily von Ziegesar

Annabelle Vestry

Triplets Avery, Baby, and Owen Carlyle have different approaches to their new life in a Manhattan penthouse and elite private schools, but soon each has cause to want to return to their home on Nantucket Island.

Gossip Girl, The Carlyles #1

Jessica 

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I'll be honest here, guys. I am complete and utter Gossip Girl trash and always will be, but it took me years to actually pick up this spinoff and give it a go. The Carlyles came out not too long after the television adaption of the original series was running and at the time, I just wasn't feeling the idea of it. Gossip Girl already had a killer spinoff in Jenny's adventures at boarding school called The It-Girl and I saw no real point in introducing a batch of new characters.

So for years, I procrastinated reading this series. And by chance, a couple of weeks ago while thrifting, I found all four of The Carlyles books in perfect condition and for a wicked $3. How could I pass that up? Short answer: I couldn't. At least, I found myself giving this next generation a chance and while it doesn't quite live up to the original series, I was pleasantly surprised.

Although Cecily wasn't the author of this spinoff, Annabelle Vestry provides the same snarky voice to Gossip Girl and the world of Manhattans elite perfectly. Just as the original series, it's cringe worthy and has just the right amount of teen angst that it feels undeniably teenager. If you didn't notice that this spinoff wasn't written by Cecily, you honestly wouldn't be able to tell -- she has a very similar vibe in her writing and it's all in good fun. Vestry captures the scandal and intrigue and fashionable adventures we came to know in the original series and builds onto it perfectly without interrupting what we already knew.

Gossip Girl, The Carlyles #1

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