Justine's Thoughts: Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist
By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Pages:

183

Book Description:

Nick’s just seen the girl who dumped him walk in...with a new guy. What else can he do but ask the strange girl next to him to be his new girlfriend for the next five minutes?

Norah would do anything to avoid conversation with the not not-friend girl who dumped Nick...and to get over the Evil Ex whom Norah never really totally dumped. What else can she do but answer Nick’s question by making out with him?

With one electric, unexpected kiss, the five-minute couple of Nick and Norah set off on an uncharted adventure called the “first date” that will turn into an infinite night of falling in and out (and in and out, and maybe in and maybe out) of love. Theirs is a first date of music, laughter, heartache, confusion, passion, taxi driver wisdom, and a jacket named Salvatore. And of course a killer soundtrack.

As Nick and Norah wander through the middle-of-the night mystic maze of Manhattan, they share the kind of night you want to never end, where every minute counts and every moment flickers between love and disaster.

A quote:

But I guess you don't see the planets when you're staring at the sun. You just get blinded.

Any thoughts:

I love reading collaborations, I really do. It’s like what they say -- two heads are better than one. In perfect union, Cohn and Levithan create an adventurous world in which everything is beyond epic.

But I would have to warn whoever wants to read this and emphasize this twice, maybe three times: lots and lots of cursing. The F-bomb is dropped everywhere. It doesn’t appear every page; more like every sentence or so. There is also adult content that may be described a little too much for one’s liking. I wasn’t bothered by any of these, but I’m only saying.

What I really loved was the setting. It happens in the heart of the city late at night and early in the morning. It’s the time when most people are asleep and it’s just so wonderful. It’s interesting to go through the places Nick and Norah pass by together. The best part is the singing and dancing in the rain. That was a marvellous scene in my head.

The book was very different from the movie. I watched it first, but somehow it didn’t bother me at all. I love both for their unique yet similar plots. I’ve yet to watch the movie again, but I remember the humour and it was amazing. I’d say it doesn’t matter whether you watch the movie or read the book first. Either way, you’ll like it.