New Series from the Author of "Gossip Girl"

Do the petty jealousies of the high school teens on Gossip Girl seem a little true-to-life?  Wait until you see what the series' author thinks about how girls treat each other after graduation.  

Cecily von Ziegesar, author of the wildly popular Gossip Girl book series, has been writing a new series, tentatively called Cum Laude.  It's not about the post high school misadventures of Blair Waldorf — it's a whole new series, with all new characters, and focuses on college life.

But like Gossip Girl, it's evidently autobiographical, which — considering Von Ziegesar's own backstory — likely means there's more than a little drama in store.  Von Ziegesar admits, "I've mined my high school years for all they're worth, and now I'm moving on to college."  

Compare fiction to facts: Von Ziegesar graduated from Colby College, a small, liberal arts school in Waterville, Maine.  Cum Laude's fictional setting is a small, liberal arts college in the fictional town of Home, Maine.  Officially, the author has said that the series will focus on a group of students who meet at orientation and find themselves caught up in a swirling interpersonal drama.

Not sure her new series will serve up the same deliciously nasty dish as Gossip Girl?  Think twice.  Colby College is notorious for its cushy Cape Cod culture (it's been called J. Crew with a hangover) and its work hard, play hard motto.  

(Colby College, Miller Library)

Von Ziegesar hit #1 on the New York Times best-seller list five times with Gossip Girl and It Girl, will she do it again with Cum Laude?  The first of two books is due out this fall.