Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Rachel Cohn & David Levithan)

Rating: [rate 2.5]

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David LevithanIt 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.

I picked this up out of pure curioisity, because a friend was excited to watch a movie of the book. It seemed interesting, and I’ve liked he said/she said books ever since Flipped.

Now, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist has both good and bad parts. On the story side, it is very, very charming. I honestly loved Nick’s line, “Can you be my girlfriend for five minutes?” at the first chapter — I thought it was very cute, even if it’s not my ideal. I love how I can see through what was happening in both of the protagonists’ heads and how the entire story happens in just one night. I can actually imagine the parties and clubs and the places they went to. Norah is a very interesting albeit kind of neurotic girl character, and I think she’s quite relatable for liking Nick but knowing that he’s still hung up over his ex. I found Norah’s voice stronger over Nick’s, but maybe that’s just because I am a female so I can relate to her better.

The story deals a lot with broken hearts and hang ups and getting to know someone and deciding if he/she is worth it. Nick and Norah’s chemistry was believable, and I can feel the attraction between the two of them all throughout the book. There was hardly any other character in the book, save for Tris who appeared only up to the half of the book. I found myself rooting for Nick and Norah until the end, and the ending left me wondering what would happen to their next date.

For the bad part…well, the book was littered with so many cuss words that my head ached after a few pages of reading and I had to put it down. There was one paragraph with f*ck written in every sentence. I know that some kids talk like that, but I kind of wished that it was toned down in the book, because a brain can only handle so much of those words.

I’m curious about the movie, though. I think Michael Cera makes a cute Nick. ;)

2 thoughts on “Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (Rachel Cohn & David Levithan)”

    1. Now that you mentioned that…yeah it is kind of like Catcher in the Rye with all the angst. I never finished Catcher because it depressed me too much. Hehe.

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