Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

• ISBN10: 0375935312
• ISBN13: 9780375935312
• Publish Date: 30 April 2006
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 13 March 2021
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 183
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

Regular readers will know by now how much of a fan of David Levithan's I am. There have been only two books of his that I've read so far that I haven't enjoyed immensely, so when I was offered the chance to review both Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List, co-written by Levithan and Rachel Cohn, I jumped at the chance, seeing as I absolutely adored Dash & Lily's Book of Dares! And I am overjoyed to say Nick & Norah is absolutely adorable!

Nick has just finished performing with his band at a gig, when he spots Tris, the girl who broke his heart almost four weeks ago. He's still having trouble getting past their break up, so to avoid talking to her, he asks the random girl next to him at the bar to pretend to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. Norah, under the impression that as Nick is in a band, he's going to have wheels, and she really needs to get her drunk friend Caroline home, so she agrees by kissing him. But Norah is also getting over a painful break up, and this random meeting might be just what they both need to move on.

Oh my gosh this book is just beautiful! Nick is just the sweetest guy! The sweetest! And ever so slightly clueless, but in the best possible way. Accept for when it leads to misunderstandings and crossed wires. Norah is spunky and cool, but also sensible and sometimes little scared and unsure. Despite not knowing each other for very long, there is a spark between them, but one is never quite sure what the other one thinks about them, and so the night goes from one place to the next, bonding over music, as they stumble and climb through insecurity and mistakes to what's real. Oh my god, they are just so cute!

Levithan and Cohn have both very distinct writing styles, so Nick and Norah's voices are very different. I absolutely love Levithan's style, and his beautiful turn of phrase. He is so damn quotable! I find myself almost always wanting to read his parts out loud, just to hear the awesomeness of his writing, as well as read it. I really enjoy Cohn's writing too. As with Lily in Dash & Lily, her Norah is filled with a quiet bravery, despite her moments of regret, uncertainty and insecurity. She is a taker of small risks, and I love her for that. Cohn seems to write real girls, but also girls to be admired, and I really love that about these books.

The title of the book comes from something said by Nick, and so from Levithan, and it is just beautiful! I don't want to spoil how beautiful it is, but it's so in line with what you expect from Levithan. It's just the perfect title! I love it!

An incredible story! I'm really looking forward to reading Naomi & Ely next, and to watching the movie of Nick & Norah!

Thank you to Electric Monkey for the review copy.

[Sam@WLABB]

Having already seen the film, I appreciated how much more I learned about Nick and Norah from the book. There was so much depth to their characters. The story is sweet, charming, amusing and funny. A very enjoyable read. And if nothing else, they had a Moz and Smith's reference = heaven.

[Joséphine]

Somehow I expected more out of this. Perhaps my expectations were tainted by "Dash & Lily's Book of Dares"—another book Rachel Cohn and David Levithan co-wrote. I enjoy reading alternating viewpoints because they allow me to get into the heads of the characters. In this aspect, Cohn and Levithan did not disappoint. Throughout the book, the alternating voices between Nick and Norah worked in their recounts, even if it did get repetitive at some points.

The story takes place in one night and unfolds in real time. Readers follow both Nick and Norah throughout their adventurous night when they meet for the very first time. Everything starts with Nick asking Norah to be his 5-minute girlfriend in order to avoid his ex-girlfriend, Tris, who also happens to be Norah's enemy. From there, they basically plunge into a crazy night of discovering one another.

Clearly, this novel is meant to be a teen romance. Even bearing this mind, I could not entirely relate. Yes, teens are probably less suspicious towards strangers and more willing to take a gamble when it comes to relationships. Still, the series of events where like beads that had been lined up but failed to be tied together on a string. Some things just didn't fit together but were there anyway, seemingly just to keep the night going. Also, the incessant swearing was over the top and unnecessary on my occasions. I understand that that is how many people do express themselves but all those profanities really didn't have to punctuate everyone's speech so much.

[lizarodz]

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it wasn’t what I got, that’s for sure! I’m not saying that Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist was bad, not at all, but I was expecting a story similar to Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, one of my favorite book and a collaboration of Cohn and Levithan.

Nick and Norah are very different and come from very different social backgrounds as well. They seem to have two things in common though; they both know Tris, Nick’s ex-girlfriend, and they just finished very dysfunctional relationships. The story is about a chance meeting that turns into an epic night of music, heartache, confusion, and lastly, understanding.

The story is short; my edition of the book is 183 pages long. As it is their style, the story is told in the first person, from alternating points of view, with some overlapping sections. This is a style that I really enjoy because I feel that it gives me a better understanding and insight of the characters. The plot gets a bit complicated because of how fast everything happens. It is definitely a night of adventures and the whole story happens in about 12 hours or less; maybe a little too fast for me :)

My biggest issue was the ending, or lack thereof. This is probably my issue, as I really dislike when the endings are to open and leave a lot to the imagination. Also, let me warn you that the amount of cursing in this book is incredible, and it also contains sexual references. I haven’t seen the movie based in the book. I saw the previews and it look so different from the book that I was a bit discouraged by it.

[notajammiedodger]

I liked this book. I didn't love it, but I am glad that I read it. I don't know what else to say about it that the blurb doesn't tell you. Nick and Nora meet under very strange circumstances in the bar that Nick's band is playing at. There feelings for each other and the ex's that they are trying to leave behind lead them both on an emotional roller coaster of a first date, if that's what you would call it.

There are few things that annoyed me a little about this book. The amount of swearing in it, is a major turn off for me. Sometimes it seemed like the characters trains of thought went off on the most unrelated and random tangents, which at times made it a little boring for me. Other than those things, I thought it was a really interesting story. It was really sweet. Sometimes Norah really got on my nerves with her being all into it one second and then not being able to get away from Nick fast enough the next. I liked Nick's character, he is sweet and loyal and totally more than a bitch like Tris deserves.

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan write really well together. Although with this one I felt that at some points the switching from Norah and Nick was a little rocky, I have read Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and have just started read Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List, and I think that they have a really nice flow. Hopefully they will write more books together in the future that I can look forward to.

This review is also on my blog The Confessions of a Book Nerd :)

[Joni Reads]

I actually saw the movie before I read this book. I just couldn't get my hands on the book but the movie was everywhere so I gave in. I have to admit, I like them both, but the book is so much different. In a good way. I loved getting to hear both sides of the story. The way that the book was written, with alternating chapters in both Nick and Norah's point of views, was excellant. And while I wanted to smack Nick upside the head of several occasions for thinking about Tris, I could also understand the way he felt about her. And Norah is such a lovable character, but I had moments where I wanted to smack her upside the head to. That's the thing about this book. You get involved in the story. While reading the conversations between the two characters, I found myself smiling like I was eavesdropping. I think watching the movie first benefited me, because I had clear voices ringing in my head as I listened in on the hilarious banter between Nick and Norah.
The writing style is excellant. The sentences are run together so that you feel the intensity of the emotions and thoughts going through the heads of whatever character you are reading. I have read books where the sentences are clearly run on and they get confusing, but in this book, it flows perfectly.
I was cheering for this couple from the moment they met and I closed the book feeling as though I had gained two friends. Whether you have seen the movie or not, read this book.