Naomi and Ely's No-Kiss List

Reader reviewed by Laina

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Summary (from the publisher's website, because the thing on the back of the book is really, really long): NAOMI AND ELY ARE BEST FRIENDS. Naomi loves and is in love with Ely, and Ely loves Naomi, but prefers to be in love
with boys. So they create their "No Kiss List" of people neither of
them is allowed to kiss. And this works fine - until Bruce. Bruce is
Naomi's boyfriend, so there's no reason to put him on the List. But Ely
kissed Bruce
even though he is boring. The result: a rift of universal proportions
and the potential end of "Naomi and Ely: the institution." Can these
best friends come back together again?

Review:
I know what you're thinking... you're thinking I'm going to say I hated
it and you're expecting me to find a half dozen things I didn't like
it. Guess what people? You're wrong. I quite liked it!

It was
really, really funny and well written, with interesting characters. I
actually read most of this when I'd first woken up, before I even
turned on the light, which shows how involved I was in it, reading in
half-light. It's a very good read for when you're in a crabby mood and
feel like you can't find anything to read.

The one thing is, the
book used pictures for some of the words, like instead of saying
spider, there'd randomly be a tiny picture of a spider, and that threw
me off a bit (aka, I stared the page for a good thirty seconds trying
to figure out what the heck it was...). But you get used to that after
a while, and it's they were mostly when Naomi was the narrator.

That
brings me back to another thing I did like, the switch in narrators.
There were at least six different narrators, but each of them had their
own unique voice, so that you could tell exactly who was telling you
what was happening. And it wasn't confusing at all like that can so
easily be.

Conclusion: A very good read, good for a crabby mood.
I'd recommend this to older readers, though, as there is some mature
content. Not much swearing, though, which is cool. Four roses.

*Reprinted from http://lainahastoomuchsparetime.blogspot.com/ with author's permission.

Reader reviewed by Tian

Maybe some things cant last forever:they have to change, and people have to move on from their childhoods. Naomi and best friend+boyslut Ely thought that they would be BFFs 4ever... but when Ely violates the sacred "No-Kiss-List..." by kissing Naomi's boyfriend Bruce the Second, everything goes SPAZ. Will Naomi and Ely's friendship stay alive, will they solve their various family, friends, love issues?

Cohn and Levithan use simple, hilarious, and straight-talking prose in an endearing story that is 100% original as well.

This story reminds me of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist, but the prose is a bit more choppy and awkwardly timed. The story is told from 1st person accounts, and I feel like there were a bit too many character's to keep track of (in middle of passage -> hey, wait, who's talking again?) The closeness of Ely and Naomi, doesn't need to be stated. But even when they fight, their closeness, their understanding of each other, is touching. The authors manage to create excitement and uncertainty yet still let you into the characters hearts. And the sign language is so sweet.
Naomi and Elys story is about friendships as much as love. It's about relationships: those that change, are born, and are renewed. I would recommend it for some sweet, funny light reading.

Reader reviewed by Sara Zoe

From the writing duo that brought us Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist comes another just as fun, just as witty, just as interesting story.

Naomi and Ely live across the hall from each other in New York City. They've been bff forever, and they've grown into each other's impossible eccentricities. Thing is, Naomi wants it to be more, but Ely is gay. Which she knows, but deep deep deep down she is in denial.

So their bff status is in jeopardy anyway, but then Ely goes and kisses the person on their No Kiss List that makes the most "in your face" statement - Naomi's boyfriend.

More than anything, I love the fun and fast writing of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan - they work well together, complement each other, keep the different voices fresh, funny, and real.