Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick O’Leary, the straight bass player in queercore punk band, is playing at a club in downtown Manhattan when he spots his ex-girlfriend Tris with a new guy. So he asks a random girl dressed in an oversize flannel sitting nearby to be his five minute girlfriend. The random girl, Norah Silverberg, surprises him by kissing him.

Little does Nick know that Norah and Tris attend the same school, and they are not on friendly terms.

This five minute date turns into an late night adventure around New York City, which includes a Subway ride, visits to a Russian eatery, a Korean grocery store and an encounter with a Playboy Bunny bouncer.

It is the first collaboration novel from Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Cohn writes the chapters from Noah’s perspective and Levithan writes the chapters from Nick’s point of view.

Cohn and Levithan went on to co-write Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List (2007), Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares (2010), The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily (2016). Further collaborations are in the works.

A word of warning this book does feature quite a lot of coarse language and sexual references.

A feature film was released it 2008 directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as Nick and Norah.

Reader reviewed by Amy Ward

Okay, I wanted to read this book before I rented the dvd.  And I wanted to like it so much.  The core story is so good.  I love the idea of the characters of Nick and Norah.  I just couldn't get that into it because of my prudeness (is that a word?)  I am not the type to drop f-bombs every other word or any other cuss word for that matter.  I had so much trouble enjoying the actual story because of the language.  Usually in stories, I am able to just skip over those words but there were just too many!  My eyes started to cross!    I did finish the book but would only recommend it to more mature readers.

Reader reviewed by stephanie

Reader reviewed by Beth

This book was fantastic! I really enjoyed the realism of the novel.  You could feel the grit of the New York City underground.  The best thing about this book was that it was just plain cool.  The references to Heathers (which is a fantastic movie) and the music make you feel like you want to get to know Nick and Norah.  The two of them are very different, and I loved having the story told from both perspectives.  A note of warning, however.  The language is very strong, and if you are offended by the f word than this book is not for you.  If you don't mind, then pick this book up now and get ready for a wild ride!

Reader reviewed by Ann

This book has been out for awhile but I recently just read it and I honestly was blown away. Before, I thought this book was like any other book about teenage hook ups but when I actually read it, it was so good. I really felt as if I was in the character's heads and at times I wanted to yell at the the characters and tell them what to do. I loved the plot of this book and I really recommend it because I for one could not put it down. 

Reader reviewed by Laina

Summary (from the back of the book): 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 necxt to him to be his new girlfrien for the next five minutes?

Norah would do anything to avoid conversations 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 cab 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.

Review: I loved it!! I absolutely loved it!! And I'm trying really hard not to use a ton of explanation marks. I thought it was cute and fun and quirky and interesting and just really, really good. I loved the switch back and forth between Nick and Norah's voices, they were both such interesting narrators. And a couple of the side characters, Dev in particular, I just loved because they were so crazy and great. The authors also described Manhatten so perfectly, just the way that makes you want to visit, move to New York just to see the places they mention. Beautifully described is the music, too, the atmosphere of the clubs and things they spend the night in. I just loved it, period.

And the Yugo. Any book with a Yugo named Jessie is going to find a permanent place on my favourites list.

A little warning, though, there is a ton of swearing. On one page I counted twenty-five f-words. Yeah, you read that right, twenty-five f-bombs on one page - and it was a short page, beginning of a chapter page. Now, personally, swearing mostly amuses me. I don't swear, but you curse at me, I'll probably just laugh at how goofy you sound. (Do NOT go cuss in my chatbox, though, that will NOT amuse me.) But the cursing may offend some people. My opinion is that's the way eighteen and nineteen year olds talk. That's life. It's realistic. Deal with it.

Conclusion: Gosh, this one was good. That's really all that needs to be said.

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

Reader reviewed by katie

I read the book about three months before the movie came out. I laughed, cried and everything in between. Trust me this book has a little bit of everything. After Nick gets off stage he spots his ex-girlfriend, desperate to look like everything is cool he asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. Norah says okay just to make his ex (her enemy) jealous. Five minutes leads anywhere from a drunk best friend to stealing a named jacket.
This book is very...realistic in a way because something like that could very well happen in real life but at the same time it isnt something that you see every day. This book portrays a teenager's mind in the works. I didn't expect the movie to be half as good and I was right but it was okay. Definitely recommend this book!

Reader reviewed by tricia

A great read!!!!!

The story starts off with a 5 minute deal. For Norah to act as Nick's girlfriend. Norah is trying to get over her ex, and nick cant forget Tris, his old girlfriend. the story roams the night the two met. the book is full of music and has a contemporary edge.

be forewarned though, the book has alot of swearing.

Great read overall, i deeply encourage you to read it.

Reader reviewed by dykehalo

I love this book. It was amazing. I read it in 1 day and really enjoyed it. I loved the back and forth between the two characters showing us both sides to things. This books spans over the time of one day/night of Nick and Norah's life when they meet. The whole idea of this book and they way it's done is brilliant.
It does have quite a bit of profanity in it which i didn't mind but some people do.
Rachel and David have done a fantastic job on this book.

Reader reviewed by the book muncher

Nick loses it when he sees his ex-girlfriend at the punk club, so he asks the girl next to him to pretend to be his girlfriend. Norah wouldnt agree under normal circumstances, but she happens to know the girl who dumped Nick, a girl she doesnt particularly like, so she kisses him in response. What starts as a five-minute relationship turns into the beginning of a strong bond between the two. That night, they explore New York City, the meaning of the connections between people, and fall in love.

Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist is a beautiful love story blossoming from a shared love of punk music. Both Nick and Norah were interesting and sensitive characters, each with their own relationship problems, each afraid to enter into a new relationship. I thought it was sweet how they fit so well for each other. Each time one left the other, I felt almost anger, because throughout the entire story, I there was a sense that Nick and Norah were meant to be together, and that they couldnt be apart. This is the type of bond I was looking for in Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn, so I was a little surprised to find it in this novel. But this link made the story so romantic and sweet.

I also really liked the alternate narrations between Nick and Norah, because I got to see their feelings. It was amusing how, for example, Nick thought something and Norah thought the exact opposite of the same situation, but somehow everything turned out fine. I didnt feel that I completely got to know them, because the story took place over the course of only one night and only certain aspects of their characters were explored, but I did like what was shown of them.

I most definitely recommend this novel, but be aware of the excess of profanity used in the writing (I counted exactly 250 appearances of the f-word) and a continuous yearning for sex. However, since the story was so sweet and optimistic, I look forward to reading the next book coauthored by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, Naomi and Elys No Kiss List.

reposted from http://thebookmuncher.blogspot.com