I seem to have fallen into the world of teen literature and TV and what better way to continue the trend than with a new TV show? Thought Gossip Girl has been on for a year, I'd yet to see an entire episode of the show and while trying to decide what to start watching, I recalled a conversation with a guy I met who was over from the Vancouver Island. Talking movies, we came to discover that we shared similar tastes (for the most part) and he mentioned his addiction to the TV show so I figured it was worth a look. I started with one episode thinking that if I didn't like it, I wouldn't put the effort into the rest of the series but that's all it took: one episode to get me hooked.

In a period of a week I managed to watch a season and a half of the show - catching up with the entire first season and what has aired of season 2. It's not brilliant but it's darn entertaining but what keeps me coming back are the constant changes in the characters. One minute you love them, the other you hate them. The basic premise of the show is following a group of young socialites who call Manhattan and specifically the Upper East Side home. Like "The OC" and "Beverly Hills 90210" before it, it's a bit convoluted but unlike those other two shows, I didn't give up part-way through a season.

It's bloody addictive and I pretty much watched the entire first season over a 2 day period the weekend after Christmas. Curious by my addiction, hubby has watched a few episodes of the show and surprisingly, he's mildly interested. How do I know he's not faking interest? He asks me what happened in the last episode and why the characters are doing what they're doing. Yesterday, he even mentioned to me that the show goes back on the air on Monday night.

First few episodes of the show had me hating Blair and Chuck but I must admit that as it stands right now, these two are the more interesting characters in the series - particularly Chuck who is so bad he's good.

Nothing spectacular about the acting other than to say that it's solid overall. Blake Lively is great as Serena but again, it's the apparently mean people who shine and both Ed Westwick (Chuck) and Leighton Meester (Blair) are excellent. Overall, it's a fun and entertaining show which also manages to touch on more than just the superficial. Who knew?

And in case you need more convincing earlier this year NY Magazine published a feature on why "Gossip Girl" is "genius". It's a fabulous read and one I highly recommend!