Cohn, Rachel and Levithan, David. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2008.
Genre: Contemporary
Intended Audience: 14 and Up
Personal Reaction to the Book:
Yes! This is what it’s like to read a cool, confident female protagonist with a strong voice of her own.
Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist is co-authored by the popular YA novelists David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. The novel is about two young adults (both on the older side, I think 18 and 19 years old) who meet at a club. Nick sees his vicious ex-girlfriend, Tris, and asks the girl at the bar, Norah, a total stranger, to pretend to be his girlfriend for five minutes. Thus sparks an unforgettable night where they navigate their growing attraction for each other.
This was a really awesome read. First of all, the book alternates from Nick and Norah’s perspectives. This was a really cool way to see both of their mindsets. Sometimes when authors do this the characters end up sounding the same, but here they had totally different perspectives. I also liked that they had brash voices. There was a TON of “fuck this” and “fuck that” and just plain old “FUCK FUCK FUCK” language going on, which I feel is authentic to how some teens speak. The content is definitely for teens in their later years, though that depends on your comfort level with censorship. Overall it was an awesome novel, and I loved that Norah was so conflicted and confused and experimenting with her sexuality and independence. It rang totally true to life, when you’re a teen and one minute you’re damning all men for being pigs and the next you’re totally attracted to some random nice guy. Bravo!
Author Facts
- Cohn went to Barnard (just like me!) and graduated with a B.A. in political science.
- Cohn’s cats are named Bunk & McNulty.
- Levithan’s acclaimed first novel, Boy Meets Boy, started out as a short story he wrote for his friends for Valentine’s Day.
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