TOP FIVE FRIDAYS | RECENT NETFLIX WATCHES

I decided to make my TFF’s every other week instead of every week so that the ratio between my actual blog posts and these posts wouldn’t be too overwhelming.

I’ve been watching a lot of Netflix lately (…and I mean a lot) and I decided to make a post on my five most recent watches, since I have no self control and all I do is watch Netflix.

1. Sword Art Online

I really really liked this show, and something that happened with the characters made me kind of turned off by it? Like it’s nothing terrible like racism or sexism or anything like that, but the character development annoyed me. I might continue watching, but I’ll probably take a break from this show.

2. The Mindy Project

I cannot explain my love for this show. I’m still on season one, but if you’re looking for a light, super funny show with a group of diverse characters this show is for you. I feel like anyone can find a character to relate to in this show. Watching this also made me really want to pick up Mindy Kaling’s book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?

3. The 100

I’d seen this show on Netflix for a while, but it wasn’t until a friend told me to watch it that I actually did. At first, I hated the show, and I asked my friend why he liked it so much, but as I kept watching, the show go better and better and now I’m hooked. Also, Bob Morley is in it, and can I just say sex god.

4. Black Butler

I started reading the manga last year I believe, and when I saw it on Netflix I decided to give the anime a try. I love the story line, it’s definitely really interesting, but I’m not too invested in the characters.

5. Gossip Girl

I still haven’t finished this show and I started way before the summer! But I feel like after a marathon of Gossip Girl, I have to take a break because it gets repetitive after a while. I definitely will be having one this weekend though.

What are your most recent Netflix watches? Comment below!

Series Review | Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegeasr

3/5 stars

The “it” crew, you know who I’m talking about. The sophisticated, the classy, the ivy-league bound, and of course, the rich. In this young adult series, Cecily von Ziegeasr creates a story full of scandals and secrets. With a cast of young private school students, Gossip Girl is a series that leads you into the lives of the elite teens; Blair Waldorf, Serena van der Woodsen, Nate Archibald, and many more.

They keep their appearances clean, of course, but how many dirty secrets are each of them hiding? Wait until you find out.

I read this whole series in two weeks, and there’s eleven of them, so safe to say, I was hooked. What really drew me in was the writing style and the characters, the plot… not so much.

A lot of the plot was just bickering between Blair and Serena over Nate, which got tiring really quick. However, the tension in the first couple of novels centred around the applications to university was what made me keep reading. I’m in grade twelve, and about to send my applications in a couple months, so it was definitely relateable.

As I said, the characters really drew me in. However, it was mostly Blair that made me keep reading through out the boring plot. I just fell in love with her character, because even though she’s so bitchy and put together on the outside, on the inside, she’s just a scared, insecure girl. I don’t know what made me love her so much, because those kind of character traits are common, but the way she was written made her identifiable, and likeable, in my opinion.

The other characters I found, were way too cookie cutter. Nate was a stoner, and literally all his point of views were dull, and I had to force myself not to skip any pages. Serena was the blonde angel that got everything she wanted, and her point of view was dull as well. Her feelings were just too easy if that makes any sense? There was nothing dimensional about her. Moving on to Dan and Vanessa… it was as if the author tried too hard to add characters that were different from these “preppy bitches”. They were the typical “artsy” kids, and nothing about them was too interesting either.

Jenny was one of the characters that was most believable to me, because I think we can all sort of identify with her. She was the one on the outside looking in. The way that she tried so desperately to fit in with the “it” crowd represents everyone in a way, I think.

Moving on from characters, as I said, I really liked von Ziegeasr’s writing style. The way the book was formatted, so there was a third person limited omniscient point of view with the characters, and the Gossip Girl web pages, the story just flowed. Her writing style sort of just fit the book, if you understand what I mean. It fit the characters well, yet was identifiable as a single voice. I loved it.

The one thing I would change about this series is the ending… I hated it. If you’ve read the series, you know what I’m talking about. I want to keep this spoiler free, so I’ll just say this: there is no way their feelings could disappear just like that!

I feel like a lot of people wouldn’t like this series because it’s a bunch of rich kids arguing with each other, and it is, but it also goes deeper, such as their plans for the future. And maybe it’s because I’m a senior that I identify with it so much at this point in my life, but there you have it.

I’ve watched the first season of the show, and I can already tell that it’s going to be a lot different from the books. However, it stays true to the stress of getting into Ivy League schools which I like, because it motivates me to study. So far, I like the books better, but we’ll see how it goes.

You know you love me,
Gossip Girl

Sorry I had to.