Review: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Publisher: Knopf Books
Published: 28th August 2008
Source: eBook

From Goodreads:
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City—and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.

This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be—and where the next great band is playing.

Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.

Review:
A life lesson I live by is that anyone who likes or can reference My So-Called Life gets my vote. Well this book had two!! I saw the film before I read the book and love it, so I knew the story before I picked up the book.

This is a story which takes place through the course of one evening and each chapter alternates between Nick and Nora. The writing style is fun and light and runs along bringing you with it. I found this very easy and compelling and managed to finish the book very quickly. I liked the book better than the film. The alternating aspects gave you a better view of the situations... however there were times when this insight did make me want to shake the characters and yell at them!

There are also lots of pop culture and music references peppered through this book. I know lots of books try and veer away from references so as not to age the story. I may have been just the right age when I read this, but I got all of the references (or maybe I missed some and didn't even notice) and I felt that this increased my enjoyment of the book and did not hinder it.

I liked both the characters of Nick and Nora and often at times I really related to Nora and felt that her actions were very similar to something I probably would have done myself. If you want a light and feel good read I would recommend picking up this book. I will leave you with some fantastic quotes and let you all know that I love Jordan Catalano!

I kind of hate Nick right now, too, but there's someone else higher on my list, someone I hate more than Saddam Hussein and any asshole named Bush combined, hate more than that fuckhead who cancelled My So-Called Life and left me with too-small boxed DVD set that does not answer the questions of whether Angela and Jordan Catalano ever did it, or if Patty and Graham got a divorce, or if there really was something to all that lesbian subtext between Rayanne and Sharon.

If Caroline were here, we could dissect Nick via My So-Called Life Script/ Jordan Catalano moments.