Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel CohnMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Goodreads Synopsis:
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked in to his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City--and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.
This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be--and where the next great band is playing.
Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you'll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.
My Review:
This story was so refreshing, like bathing in a pool of whimsy. Especially after the string of disappointing reads, and one terrible read prior.
I liked the flow of the story and the immediate "action". Rachel Cohn didn't let the story build up to the climax by introducing everyone and their background first. She incorporated it into the current story, providing just the right amount of information to suffice when necessary.
As far as the teenage atmosphere goes, I enjoyed the fact that she didn't feel it necessary to make all the characters drink, do drugs, and sleep around. Yes, they may have been allowed out (to places I'd never have been allowed to, and at ungodly hours), but they didn't abuse that responsibility. They could find themselves in a situation where that sort of behavior is acceptable, but they still chose not to partake. I think that is what made this so refreshing to me, that they could still have a magical evening with substance without substance (does that make sense? It does in my head).
Yes, there was a lot of cussing, but I feel like it was appropriate, because there are some individuals who actually cuss that much.
Yes, there was also a lot of sexual references.
So, even though there was sex, drugs, underage drinking, homesexuals, very sexually active people, drag queens, etc. mentioned, it wasn't shocking. It just was a part of life, just like the sky is blue and the grass is green. That was another refreshing aspect of this story.
I really liked Norah right off the bat. She was sure of herself and her future, at first. She knew what she wanted and direction her life was going to take. Then after a small serious of unfortunate (and some fortunate) events, her world was turned upside down. Even though she started to second guess herself, she let the night play out, and I think things will work out for her.
Nick was pitiful at first. I did not feel sorry for him, or even any sympathy. However, after the same series of events as mentioned earlier, he redeemed himself. He turned out to be a sweet guy, the one always stuck in the friend-zone. I think things are starting to look up for him too.
The ending was perfect. Cohn hinted at a happy ending, but didn't quite wrap things up. It wasn't left with a cliffhanger, but we aren't sure how certain things were resolved. It was just over, simple as that. Sometimes that is a bummer, but in this case, it just worked.
So, maybe I liked this more because I was just coming off a reading slump, but what does it matter - I enjoyed myself anyways, and that is the purpose of books. I wouldn't recommend this book if anything I wrote about offends you, but if it doesn't - READ THIS! I'm off to watch the movie now, hopefully it's just as whimsical as this story.
Favorite Quotes:
“She's cinematic and I'm a fucking sitcom.”
“But I guess you don't see the planets when you're staring at the sun. You just get blinded.”
“I want to kiss her without counting the seconds. I want to hold her so long that I get to know her skin. I want, I want, I want.”
“Wold domination is exhausting and cliche. People ought to just focus on being individual responsible citizens of the earth instead of assholes.”
“I've given him more mixed signals than a dyslexic Morse code operator.”
“...because if you can make yourself happy in the rain then you're doing pretty alright in life.”
“My heart literally aches, that shit is not made up; it hurts for an unexpected, brief time warp of suddenly wanting and longing and believing, but then not having.”
“My pride shut me up, my hurt shut me down, and together they ganged up on my hope and let her get away.”
“I'm liking that I can throw any kind of sentence at her without worrying it's too out there.”
“Better to end this dream before it becomes a nightmare.”
Read from July 24 to 27, 2015
Top 5 Genres*: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Music
*According to Goodreads
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My ratings system
5 stars - I absolutely loved it
4 stars - Good book and would recommend
3 stars - Decent book, but wasn't spectacular
2 stars - Not good, but was able to finish it
1 stars - Did not finish (DNF) and I don't usually rate a book I haven't finished (just to be fair to the author)
View all my reviews
