The Recommended Reading Order
For readers looking to dive into the drama, romance, and rivalries of Waverly Academy, the path is straightforward. The It Girl series is written as a continuous, chronological narrative following Jenny Humphrey's attempts to reinvent herself. Because the characters age, form alliances, and experience scandals in a linear sequence, you should read the books in their official publication order. Skipping books in the sequence will leave you confused about roommate alignments, romantic partners, and who is currently exiled from the popular table.
Publication Order of It Girl Books
Below is the complete list of all ten novels in The It Girl series, listed in chronological reading order:
- The It Girl (2005) – Jenny Humphrey arrives at Waverly Academy in upstate New York, determined to shed her 'wild child' Manhattan reputation and conquer the boarding school hierarchy. She is placed in Room 9 with Callie Vernon and Brett Messerschmidt.
- Notorious (2006) – The return of expelled queen bee Tinsley Carmichael throws the Waverly social ladder into chaos, threatening Jenny's hard-won progress.
- Reckless (2006) – Roommate tensions boil over as Jenny juggles a complicated relationship with the school's premier heartthrob, Easy Walsh, while dodging Tinsley's retaliatory schemes.
- Unforgettable (2007) – Winter break brings new opportunities for social maneuvering, secret getaways, and fresh romantic entanglements.
- Lucky (2007) – A dramatic barn fire during a wild party puts the entire student body on edge, with fingers pointed squarely at Jenny.
- Tempted (2008) – Spring break introduces new temptations, shifting loyalties, and secrets that threaten to break apart the core Waverly friendships.
- Infamous (2008) – Rumors run rampant as the academic year nears its end, and Jenny has to decide how much she is willing to sacrifice to stay on top.
- Adored (2009) – A new school year starts with high stakes, fresh faces, and old rivalries that immediately reignite.
- Devious (2009) – Plotting reaches an all-time high as secret societies, academic pressure, and romantic scandals converge.
- Classic (2010) – The dramatic finale to Jenny's Waverly journey, where the ultimate 'It Girl' status is decided before graduation.
Connecting to the Gossip Girl Universe
To fully appreciate Jenny Humphrey's journey, it helps to understand how The It Girl fits within the broader Gossip Girl book series. Jenny begins as the ambitious younger sister of Dan Humphrey, navigating the brutal social landscape of Manhattan's Upper East Side. In the fifth Gossip Girl novel, I Like It Like That (2004), Jenny is expelled from the Constance Billard School for Girls after a compromising press photo of her with her rock band, The Raves, circulates. Rather than repeat the ninth grade, she elects to transfer to Waverly Academy, which immediately sets up the events of the first book in The It Girl spin-off.
The Book vs. TV Show Divergence
A common point of confusion for modern fans is the massive difference between the Gossip Girl novels and the famous CW television adaptation. In the TV show, Jenny (played by Taylor Momsen) never attends Waverly Academy, and The It Girl storyline is never adapted. Instead of going to boarding school, TV Jenny stays in Manhattan to pursue fashion design, gets banished by Blair Waldorf to Hudson, and eventually leaves the series. If you only know Jenny from the television series, the books offer a completely alternate, boarding school-focused timeline for her character.
Other Gossip Girl Spin-offs
If you finish The It Girl and are craving more Upper East Side drama, the franchise also includes Gossip Girl: The Carlyles (2008–2009). This four-book sub-series follows the Carlyle triplets—Avery, Baby, and Owen—as they move from Nantucket to Manhattan and take over the social hierarchy at Constance Billard. Unlike The It Girl, which focuses on Jenny's new life away from New York, The Carlyles returns readers to the familiar streets of the Upper East Side.
What to Know Before You Start
Before packing your bags for Waverly Academy, there are a few stylistic and production details that explain the tone of the series:
- The Setting: Waverly Academy is an elite, co-educational boarding school nestled in upstate New York. Unlike the concrete playground of Constance Billard, Waverly features horse barns, scenic campus fields, and off-campus cabins, blending rustic charm with high-society drama.
- Key Players: The core narrative revolves around Jenny's suite. Her roommates include the popular, self-absorbed Callie Vernon and the fiercely ambitious Brett Messerschmidt. The social dynamic shifts dramatically with the return of Tinsley Carmichael, Waverly's original queen bee. The main male leads driving the romantic drama include the wealthy, artistic Easy Walsh, the jealous Brandon Buchanan, the egotistical Heath Ferro, and the drama student Julian McCafferty.
- The Ghostwriting Context: While Cecily von Ziegesar's name is prominently displayed on the covers, the books were produced in partnership with the book packaging firm Alloy Entertainment and ghostwritten by anonymous authors based on von Ziegesar's character outlines and story concepts. This was a standard practice for many popular YA franchises of the era.
- Nostalgic Format: True to its mid-2000s publication dates, the story is frequently punctuated by early internet formatting. Rumors, secrets, and gossip are spread through transcripts of Instant Messages (IMs), emails, and school blog posts, capturing a nostalgic, pre-smartphone era of teen communication.