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Cum Laude [Hardcover]

Cecily Von Ziegesar

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Book Description

Jun 1 2010
They’re here for a higher education . . .
and you won’t believe how far they’ll go.

Dexter College is a small liberal arts college in the quiet town of Home, Maine. But it won’t stay quiet for long with this group of freshmen. There’s Shipley—blonde and beautiful, the object of envy and more than a little lust. Determined to assert herself and to shed her good-girl image, she buys cigarettes and condoms, because that’s what every self-respecting college girl does. Her edgy roommate, Eliza, came to Dexter to get noticed, and she has the attitude and the mouth to prove it. Then there’s Tom. Handsome, privileged, used to getting his own way, he’s a jock-turned-artist who thinks his paintings will change the world. Sensitive Nick, Tom’s wake-and-bake pot-smoking roommate, wants to follow in the footsteps of his boarding-school hero. And then there are brother and sister Adam and Tragedy Gatz. The freckle-faced farm boy lives at home with his parents and his little sister, who does all she can to stop him from being a wuss.

As Shipley, Eliza, Tom, Nick, and Adam find out, that first year of college is more than credits and cramming. Between the lust and the love, the secrecy and the scandal, they’ll all receive an unexpected education. It’s a time of shifting alliances, unrequited crushes, and coming of age. Find Yourself is Dexter’s motto. And they are determined to do just that.

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 272 pages
  • Publisher: Hyperion (Jun 1 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1401323472
  • ISBN-13: 978-1401323479
  • Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 16.3 x 25 cm
  • Shipping Weight: 499 g
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #389,971 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Product Description

Review

Gossip Girl goes to college in this tart satire of the class of 2014, centering on four mixed-up Dexter College freshmen who stumble through their first semester trying on life, love, and drugs. There's pretty rich girl Shipley, rebel-without-a-cause Eliza, repressed-artist Tom, and hippie-spawn Nick. With a total population of only nineteen hundred, Dexter was a small college in a small town, but it still felt overwhelming compared to high school, the kids discover, but the really scary bit is the newfound freedom—from families, histories, and their adolescent identities. In real life, this might be where the adults come in handy, but at Dexter, teachers (other than lesbian Professor Rosen) are nearly nonexistent, and the folks at home are distracted, disillusioned, or dolts. Plenty of Animal House antics and wiseacre banter keep this light and breezy, but von Ziegesar, whose Gossip Girl novels spawned the megahit TV series, adds a crisp and surprisingly steely edge that keeps the precocious teens from devolving entirely into smug knuckleheads. --Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Cecily Von Ziegesar is a five-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Gossip Girl series, which has sold more than 6,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone. The television adaptation of the series is also a runaway hit. Cecily lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.

Customer Reviews

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 2.2 out of 5 stars  18 reviews
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars Very Disappointing Read Aug 8 2010
By Deborah - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I'm a big Gossip Girl and the It Girl fan. When I went to BEA in May, one of the authors I was thrilled to see on the author signing list was Cecily Von Ziegesar. I was extremely excited when I was able to be 5th in line to meet her. I was geeked when I finally got the table and was able to actually have a mini conversation with her and give her my business card. I was so looking forward to reading this new book of hers.

Right before I first started reading, I went to look at other reviews to see what everyone else thought of the book. I was alarmed to see so many negative reviews but I didn't let that taint my reading experience. I knew this wasn't going to be the next literary classic but was prepared for some light chick lit escapism. However when I finished reading, I was quite glad that I had looked beforehand. Otherwise I would have thought I was the only weird person in the world that really did not like this book.

Right from the beginning of the book, I began to roll my eyes. First off there are some pretty ridiculous first names in this book. I mean really...Shipley and Tragedy? Second, the whole college experience portrayed in this book had pretty much every single stereotype thrown in for good measure. I didn't know a single person my freshman year of college who came to school with only one bag to last them the entire year. No food? No furniture? Just one change of clothes? I guess I can understand the lack of parents not helping but it's sad that they weren't involved at all. Also the whole drinking AS SOON as you move in bit is not true at all.

One huge discrepancy throughout the book is that it is supposed to take place in 1992. There are many references to Clinton/Gore sprinkled throughout the story, almost as if they are the new answer to bringing back the Kennedy era. However there are many details that seem as if the story takes place in the present time. One example is the fact that there is a Starbucks on the college campus. I don't know why in 1992 there would be a Starbucks on a tiny college campus in Maine?

I was just very disappointed in this book. It was nothing more than a Gossip Girl book with different character names. I mean really: Shipley = Serena, Eliza = Vanessa, Tom = Chuck, Nick = Nate, Adam = Dan, Tragedy = Jenny. Honestly, they acted JUST like each other. It was quite disgusting to see Tom's parents blatantly ignore the fact that their son has a drug problem. I mean he was right there in their face, high as a kite and doing things that are just not normal if you are completely sober and they choose not to acknowledge this. Also, (and this is a pretty big spoiler), I was disgusted at the fact that Shipley chose to remain with him in the end even though she knows he will be bad for her. I would not consider this book to even be an "adult book" as the characters are all barely 18 years old.

I'm really sad that I didn't like this book. I think Von Ziegesar needs to move away from writing books that are like Gossip Girl. The formula may have worked for that series but it's time to step away and start afresh. I'm hoping that this book is NOT the first book of a new series and that her next book will be a lot better.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Complete waste of time and money. July 2 2010
By Halle - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
NOTHING happens in this book!

Slow beginning, slower middle, finally some action happens in the last few pages, terrible ending.

If you're thinking of buying this book, DON'T. It's as bad as all the reviewers say it is.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars Terrible! Plotless, and amoral. Jun 22 2010
By S. Bhuta - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I got this book free in the gift bag at an event I went to. The event was 21 and older - and I'm not sure who this book is aimed at. The characters are boring, simplistic, and have no depth. This is marketed as a coming of age story, but we never get any glimpse into the characters inner life - just the fact that they've "grown" because once they got to college, they partied, had sex, and did drugs. Not once does the author even explore any reasons why the characters felt driven to do these things, or the ways in which having sex and doing drugs impacted them. I get the feeling that this book is meant for young adults - but I would never give it to them, because rather than exploring these adult themes in a mature and educational way, they just will get the feeling that when you go to college you are supposed to do drugs, have sex, steal cars, and generally do anything and everything that you've never done before - as an end in itself. One character even has a major trauma happen to her, and it's treated like "oh well - I guess life sucks sometimes." This book is an utter waste of time and brain cells. I can't believe it's even made it to print.

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