You don't have to tell 14-year-old Becca Petro about the rage over girl teen book series like `` Gossip Girl,'' `` The A-List'' and `` The Sis terhood of the Traveling Pants.''

The North Attleboro High School student has read all of those books -- and can't wait until the release of the next install ments.

Like many other girls her age, Petro has devoured the series of books developed by Alloy Enter tainment Inc., which also made the hit movie `` The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' and developed another book series popular with adolescent girls, `` The Clique.''

The books generally involve rich, bratty, powerful schoolgirls.

Petro and others, like 14-yearold Amy Lepley of Norfolk, say they appreciate reading about girls whose lifestyles are more extrava gant than theirs, but whose inter ests are the same. Lepley, who finished `` The Clique'' series and just ordered `` Gossip Girl,'' said girls can relate to them.

`` They do what we do -- shop ping, partying -- they talk a lot about boys,'' she said.

Another local devotee, Lexy Sturdy, 14, of Attleboro, has read a couple of the books in the `` Gossip Girls'' series and all of `` The Clique'' books. Though a fan, she adds that the characters `` do go overboard'' with, for example, $1,300 social dresses and taking Daddy's limo to designer stores.''

Petro and Sturdy say the sub jects of the different sets of series are similar.

```Gossip Girls,' is about, like, girls who live in New York City. And they go shopping and other things,'' Petro said. `` I like reading about the clothes and purses -- they're very expensive.''

`` The A-List series is pretty much the same, but takes place in L.A.,'' she said.

`` They're a lot alike,'' said Sturdy of the `` Gossip Girls'' and `` Clique'' series, though she finds `` The Clique'' is not as mature as `` Gossip Girls.''

The local girls said they have bought the books because of the lengthy waiting list for some of them at their local library.

`` I tried to reserve the second in `The Clique,' but the list was backed up,'' Lepley said.

And there's little, if any, borrowing among friends, Sturdy adds. `` No one's willing to let them go.'' At Borders in North Attleboro, general manager Sue Carpenter said the series' popularity is largely responsible or fueling `` one of the strongest trends in our stores.''

`` There's probably been a 25 to 30 percent increase in young adult series in the past year -- I think it's largely because of these series,'' Carpenter said.

And it's `` definitely'' a line of series for girls only, Petro said, adding that she has `` no idea'' if there is something comparable for boys her age.

Petro says she completes a book `` in a week or sooner.''

The series even have girls who are not typical book readers waiting for the next book. Sturdy puts herself in that category. `` I'm not much of a reader,'' she said, though adding that she can't wait for the next book.

Neither can her mother, Kerry, who wanted Lexy to read something more substantive than teen magazines and believes girls like the books because `` they have some real-life situations.'' Plus, they promote reading.

`` They only come out about every five months,'' Lexy said. `` My mother wishes they would come out faster.''

SUSAN LaHOUD can be reached at slahoud(at)(at)thesunchronicle.com or 508-236-0398.