Review: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Title: Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist
Author: David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Series: ---
Challenge: N/A
Publisher: Knopf Books
Publication Date: August 26, 2008 (movie tie-in edition)
How Received: Borrowed
Rate: 5
 Summary (as quoted from Amazon) Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a comedy about two teens thrust together for one hilarious, sleepless night of adventure in a world of mix tapes, late-night living, and, live, loud music. Nick frequents New York’s indie rock scene nursing a broken heart and Norah is questioning all of her assumptions about the world. Though they have nothing in common except for their taste in music, their chance encounter leads to an all-night quest to find a legendary band’s secret show and ends up becoming the first date that could change both their lives.
My thoughts:
Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is one of the most fun books I’ve read in a while. The story is told though two viewpoints ; one from Nick, a young man still recovering from a harsh breakup, and the other from Norah , a young woman who is trying to get over her breakup while at the same time still holding on to the broken fragments of her previous relationship. The book begins with Nick playing with his band in a small venue in NYC. When the next band gets on, Nick comes off the stage, hoping to relax a little… Only to see his ex-girlfriend, Tris, walking up to him. Freaking out, Nick turns to the girl next to him and asks if she can pretend to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. The girl next to him is Norah, and she responds to Nick’s question by pulling him down and kissing him. With a little bribery from Nick’s band members, Norah extends her five minute date with Nick to the entire night, and together, they go on a spontaneous adventure into the various venues, diners, and clubs of NYC. As they explore new love and the art of taking chances, Nick and Norah might just find that sometimes you can’t plan the best night of your life. Norah was a super awesome character - I loved her unique humor and sarcastic personality. I felt like I was with her the entire time, navigating the treacherous waters of new relationships and feeling the freedom of just letting go. Nick was equally awesome. He was a very sweet guy, adorable in his kind manners while still having an interesting sense of humor and a sarcastic manner of speech. Tris, (Nick’s ex and (surprise!) Norah’s frenemy, really shocked me. She was a very important character in the story ; without her, I don’t think Nick or Norah would’ve made it through a whole night together. Filled with rad playlists, amazing characters, awesome bands, and unrelenting adventure., Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is a must read ; I highly recommend it.
5/5
~Moujnir