L.A. Prep (Novel Series)

***L.A. Prep*** is an American young adult novel series written by Maryam Wells. The series revolves around the lives and romances of the privileged socialite teenagers at Brentwood Academy, an elite private school in Los Angeles. The series is dubbed the "L.A." version of "Gossip Girl" without being followed by an anonymous blogger.

## Publication

The first novel, *Gossip Girl*, was released in April 2002; the eleventh novel of the series was released in May 2007, with a prequel novel following in October 2007. Another follow-up novel, in which the characters return home from college for the holidays, was released in hardback format in November 2009. The original novel became the inspiration for the *Gossip Girl* teen drama television series, created by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, which premiered on The CW on September 19, 2007. There are now 13 novels.

In May 2008, a follow-up series, *L.A. Prep: The Brentwood Girls*, began publication, following two female students at Brentwood Academy who become stepsisters after their parents marry. As of October 2009, four novels have been released in this series. Wells created a spin-off series, *The It Girl of L.A. Prep*, which began publication in 2005, and Yen Press has adapted the series into a manga series titled *L.A. Prep: The New Kids*.

## History

The novel that started the series, *L.A. Prep,* was published in paperback format in October 2023. Two new novels were released annually until the final novel, *Don't You Forget About Me*, was released in May 2007, showing the main characters graduating from high school and moving on to college and other pursuits. A prequel novel, *It Had To Be You*, was released in October 2007 in hardcover and electronic book format. It detailed the events that occurred a year before the first novel. A box set containing the eleven novels of the series and the prequel novel, in paperback format, was released November 1, 2009. Two days later, a sequel novel, *I Will Always Love You* was released. The hardcover book tells the story of the main characters returning home from college for the holidays. Hachette Group re-released all of the original novels in electronic book format between 2008 and 2009.

Books nine, ten and eleven of the main series were ghostwritten.

In December 2009, Yen Press announced that it was working with Korean artist Hyekyung Baek to create a manga adaptation of the series titled *Gossip Girl: For Your Eyes Only*. Rather than adapting the original novels, however, the graphic novels feature original stories with the same characters. It was serialized in the company's anthology magazine *Yen Plus*, from August 2010 to December 2013.

In October 2011, a special *L.A. Prep: The Teenybopper Era* was released. It is written by Maryam Wells. The special follows the lives of Brentwood Academy students from the late 90's and early 2000's.

## Characters

* Marisa Costas – a beautiful and active student at her elite high school. Marisa uses money and scheming to get what she wants. Marisa is the queen bee at Brentwood Academy.
* Lyndsey Tartikoff – a beautifully and angelically attractive, charming it-girl who is the daughter of an 80's pop singer. -'s interest in Lyndsey causes a conflict between her and Marisa, who is also -'s girlfriend.
* Ian McCain is a wealthy, good-looking lacrosse player at Brentwood Academy. He has dated a number of girls in the series, but his only serious relationships have been with his on-again/off-again girlfriend, Marisa Costas and her archenemy, Lyndsey Tartikoff. After the drama involving Marisa and Lyndsey, he begins a relationship with Taylin Marshall. Eventually, he professes his love for Lyndsey over Marisa, which leaves Marisa angered and Lyndsey overjoyed. The love triangle is based of the Archie, Betty, and Veronica in comics.
* Meghan Saxon - The bookworm at Brentwood Academy. Her parents are college professors.
* Taylin Marshall - The nice girl at Brentwood Academy. She begins a relationship with Ian McCain following a shocking kiss. She is friends with Meghan Saxon. She has a socialite mother who is married to a baseball player; a father who is an entertainment lawyer, two sisters and four step-siblings.
* Sutton Parker - A junior at Brentwood Academy. Her father is a heart surgeon and her mother is a real estate agent. She is a fashionista and plans to attend fashion college in L.A.
* Eric Vasquez - The nerdy guy at Brentwood Academy. He is constantly bullied by -. He begins a relationship with both Andy Carlson and Marisa Costas' half-sister, Lorena.
* Andrew "Drew" Carlson - A junior at Brentwood Academy. A cute, blue-eyed blond surfer who dates every single girl in the series.
* Andrea "Andy" Carlson - A junior at Brentwood Academy. Drew's twin sister who is also blond with blue eyes. She is bisexual and has been in a love triangle with Eric and Lyndsey.

## Trivia

* The L.A. Prep TV series is based on the best-selling novels "L.A. Prep" written by Maryam Wells.