Nothing Can Keep Us Together (GG #8) by Cecily von Ziegesar | Rating: ★★★★★

After the not-so-shocking dramatic end to Nobody Does It Better, Gossip Girl heats up as high school graduation approaches, their futures now closer than ever, new and old romances ignite, long standing friendships fall apart and Jenny looks into various boarding school options.

And word on the street is that a certain filmmaker is looking to remake Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Any guesses as to who is one of the many, beautiful, hopeful young actresses? Breakfast at Fred’s seems to be generating a ton of buzz and this serves as a central plot point along with graduation.

With Nate and Serena as a couple, Blair decides to take her life into her own hands and start fresh. Yale has accepted her and she finally feels as though she’s gotten back into her groove; although it’s clear that she feels the sting of Nate and Serena’s newfound couple status.

Nobody likes to see their two best friends date, especially when one of those best friends is the love of her life. But luckily for B, Nate is just as devastated by this turn of events as she is. He so clearly misses Blair. Surprisingly, the same could be said for Serena. In fact, their so-called romance is built more on the point that both want to prove to Blair that their surprise hookup in the last book was more than just a hookup between two friends.


Honestly, for someone who consistently fucks up his relationship he sure is emotional in this one. His emotions are so high that Nate has to even go as far as stealing Viagra from coach to have sex with Serena and stop thinking about Blair so damn much. Not surprisingly, Nate’s poor decision making skills fuck up his future massively and ends with Nate’s diploma being held back on graduation day.

Outside of Blair’s romantic plots, her optimism for the future gives her power: she quickly takes action to move out of Vanessa’s apartment and into a suit at the Yale Club. This isn’t the end of her friendship with V, thankfully, and Blair living at the Yale Club is far more Blair Waldorf than her previous living location.

That’s right, readers: Blair Waldorf is back and better than ever.

Blair and Serena’s friendship takes a much different turn as the two duke it out for the starring role in Breakfast at Fred’s. But tension is eased as Blair falls for Lord Marcus and romance blooms at the Yale Club. Just like that, the future seems suddenly bright for Blair. And she has her best friend back for the briefest of moments.

What happens when Serena lands the lead role in Blair’s dream film? Is this the final straw in their delicate friendship?

Onto Dan and Vanessa: they have an affair. Honestly, is anyone shocked? These two are just as bad as Nate and Blair in the on-off department. There’s not much to say about their plots except that the sneaking around behind Aaron’s back brings on the trashy goodness that GG is known for. But can these two make it work? Or is it purely physical?

Last but certainly not least… Jenny Humphrey’s name is finally on the path of being notorious. After Constance has kicked her to the curb, she is on the hunt for the perfect party school–boarding school is on her to-do list, but when she sets her sights on the school Serena attended she finds that things aren’t quite as she had hoped.

And after another option comes up short, she can’t help but to wonder if she will be able to find a school that suits her desires. Things look up, however, when she finds out about Waverly Academy; thus setting the stage for Jenny’s spin-off series The It-Girl.

The heat gets turned up even further when Nate hooks up with Jenny during their graduation party–although it means nothing to either of them except fun–and Serena and Blair make up again. Or should I say they kiss and make up?

Nothing Can Keep Us Together is by far one of my favorites of the series–it’s just so much fun and typical Gossip Girl dishy-ness. And with everyone on a different path for the future, things are sure to become more dramatic than ever.

High school has officially ended. But with real life and the summertime approaching, things are only just getting started. Blair is off to London to visit Marcus, Serena is just getting started on her glamorous movie-star life and Nate is headed to the Hampton’s to work for his diploma. However, their love triangle is far from over…