Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

The sexy, funny roller coaster of a love story from David Levithan and Rachel Cohn, which inspired the beloved film starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings.

Nick and Norah are both suffering from broken hearts. So when Nick sees the girl who dumped him walk in with a new guy he asks the strange girl next to him to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes.

Norah would do anything to avoid conversation with the not-friend girl who dumped Nick, and get over the Evil Ex whom Norah never quite broke up with. And so she agrees.

What follows is an epic first date between two people who are just trying to figure out who they want to be – and where the next great band is playing.

This story plays out over one unforgettable night in New York. One of the great YA novels about falling in love, for everyone who had their hearts broken by Rainbow Rowell’s Eleanor & Park or Jandy Nelson’s I’ll Give You the Sun.

David and Rachel’s other collaborations include Naomi and Eli’s No Kiss List and The 12 Days of Dash and Lily.

David Levithan is the New York Times best-selling author of Boy Meets Boy, Every Day, and Another Day. His many collaborations include Will Grayson, Will Grayson with Fault in Our Stars author John Green. Tiny Cooper from Will Grayson, Will Grayson, now has his own novel: Hold Me Closer: The Tiny Cooper Story. David's latest collaboration with Rachel Cohn, The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily, was picked by Zoella for her Book Club with WHSmiths. David is also a highly respected children’s book editor, whose list includes many luminaries of children’s literature, including Garth Nix, Libba Bray and Suzanne Collins. He lives and works in New York.

Rachel Cohn was born in Maryland but now also lives in New York. Among her many YA novels are Gingerbread, Shrimp, and Cupcake.

Reviewed by Jo on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 5 September, 2014: Finished reading
  • 5 September, 2014: Reviewed