David Levithan

Rachel Cohn

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

High school student Nick O'Leary, straight member of a homosexual rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

Sarah Sammis

When I read, I often tweet about what I'm reading. I made a comparison between Project Anastrophe and The Thin Man (1934). See the characters in both are called Nick and Nora (not Norah). Anyway, on one of my tweets I called the ARC I was reading "Nick and Nora in Space." For clarity I should have called it "The Thin Man in Space" but in the "tweet of the moment" I didn't.

My tweet got a response recommending Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I don't know if it was a recommendation for the book or the film adaptation. From the description of the film, I think I would like it more than I did the book. Anyway, I happened to see the book at my library and thought I'd give it a try.

The novel is cowritten by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Rachel took Norah's parts and David took Nick's parts. Cowritten books like this seem like a good idea in the abstract but they rarely seem to work as planned. The competing voices don't blend as well as they should and the book ends up feeling disjointed.

Beyond the wildly different voices, there's the problem of two "too perfect" characters having a wildly out of control in Manhattan over the course of a night and morning. Marty Stu (Nick) and Mary Sue (Norah) end up together after Nick asks her to be his five minute girl friend to avoid a painful confrontation with his ex. From there they hook up and go on their adventure, one which is punctuated by their own personal soundtracks.

Many of the negative reviews cite the swearing. The use of fuck and all it's variations doesn't bother me. I can safely say it's the only thing that doesn't bother me about the book. What ultimately had me tossing the book aside was Norah worrying about being frigid. She's what, a teenager? And a straight-laced one. And here she is not even an adult (or barely an adult) and she's repeatedly using an out of date word to worry about her sex life? What teen (ever?).

When Nick and Norah are talking about, listening to, or playing music, the novel is at its best. The rest of the time they act like sexually dissatisfied thirty-somethings in teenage bodies. It doesn't work.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Melissa Railey

This was such an interesting romance. At first, the language threw me off a little because I didn't expect it but once I got into it, I was caught up in the story and all about the romance. I loved both Nick and Norah and wanted things to work out for them. Of course, the entire story takes place within one day so we have no idea what happens to them in the long run but I wanted to feel like they were going to get their happy ever after. I found the writing style to be very unique and interesting. All in all, it was a nice little romance to fill a day at work.

alexandra

3.75/5 ★ 

i've been in a slump these past few months so managing to finish this novel in less than 24 hours is a huge shocker. which is to say, i thoroughly enjoyed NICK & NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST. i didn't realize but i needed something light, fun, carefree, and cliché. this was exactly that.

this book was short and addictive. i loved the predictable situations and unique characters. although i didn't find anything deliberately special about this novel, i'm very grateful to have picked it up because i think it cured my slump. :))

This is the second book I've read written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan in collaboration. And I just couldnt help observing that Dash and Lily's Book of Dares was far far better in comparison. Not just in terms of the story but the writing style and narration as well.

Now, I know the writing style, standard 17 year olds point of view, was clearly intended by the writer to convey realism. They actually think and do stuff that teens these days do. But that was exactly what put me off. Nick was this sensitive, heart broken musician who wrote prose and songs for a girl he clearly knew very little about. Norah was the nice, no-nonsense, plain but rich kid who was always trying to downplay it. 

They meet for one night and immediately fall head over heels in love for apparently no reason at all. This kinda pissed me off because they just met, they hardly know each other, each of them have been equal parts rude, annoying and embarrassing, but after sharing one harried kiss find themselves being attracted like magnets. 

I guess the authors were trying to show a once in a lifetime kind of romance here, a one night stand of sorts, but it never really clicked for me. They were in a club, for crying out loud, and nothing remotely moving even happened to them. They were in love with the idea of each other, not with the actual person. Also, the plot lacked background for me. Their separate lives were explored minimally and what a shame, because I think it would have provided some depth the book was lacking.

I guess all of this was intended by the author. In a way, it is kind of charming and mysterious and enchanted, but it just didn't work for me. That doesn't mean I hate the book, though. It had some pretty good parts, moving even, that I came across every once in a while. Overall, three stars covers it.

High school student Nick O'Leary, member of a rock band, meets college-bound Norah Silverberg and asks her to be his girlfriend for five minutes in order to avoid his ex-sweetheart.

Georgia Carr

This was cute, no doubt about that. Nick and Norah are certainly likable characters. I think that's it, though. 

The plot wasn't really developed which made the book feel quite slow. Whilst the characters were well written, I found their attraction to each other was dragged out to the point where I finished the book feeling, frankly, a bit bored. 

David Levithan is absolutely one of my favorites, and Rachel Cohn is great too, but this collaboration has nothing on Dash and Lily's Book Of Dares.

(Also, a rare occasion when the film is better than the book.)

jess

[review written 2011]

The first Cohn and Levithan book; or for me, the third, Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. This was just as good as the other two. I loved it. The ending seemed a bit dramatic, because I’ve been caught in New York turnstiles before (and have yet to believe I was actually there) but otherwise, yes, it was great, great, great.

Charlotte 

A book that takes place in a single day ✔

Callie Anna

Really short and interesting. The writing style was quite different, but in a good way, and it really made the book that little bit better. The characters were also, in my opinion quite realistic?
The only thing that wasn't great was that inbetween the dialogue sometimes there were massive paragraphs off topic that i often found myself skipping over.

Tameka Young

This book completely made my week. So much more adorable than I ever though it would be, I was so sad it ended. I wanted to continue the night with Nick and Norah, their journey was so much fun!

Told in alternating chapters, this he said/she said romance is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night with two teenagers who are just trying to figure out who they want to be.

Ian Brakspear

Meet Nick and Norah who meet at a small intimate club while Nick is playing with his bad. They meet, Spark something and then spend the rest of the book chasing after each other. There are lots of Song and music references along the way and its all based around an idea that you create a Playlist for someone special and picking the songs that make it onto that list! 

What is there to say about this book - Its short, Sweet and really to the point. In the 189 pages or so you get to meet the characters, Settings and see the Relationship start to flourish with the normal troubles and issues along the way. This Book is okay - There is nothing to write home about its just an Okay Book. 

Kerry Gibbons

Well that was a pretty enjoyable book generally and a very quick read. I feel like this book would be a very different experience if the reader was not familiar with New York but thankfully it's where I live and where I'm from so no problems for me.

Destiny J Tamayo

It was a very enjoyable read but some parts dragged on a bit. For the most part I loved the characters but sometimes I just wanted to slap them for their lack of communication. In some parts I honestly just skimmed because there were a lot of unnecessary details. In general I would recommend if you have nothing else to read.

Jelke Lenaerts

I just wasn't into to this at all. The characters felt a bit genaric and it was hard to tell them apart at some points. When it comes to the actually story, I just found it boring. Not for me!

full review: https://jelkelenaerts.blogspot.be/201...

Witch

I don't normally enjoy romance stories at all, but the setting and characters made this an enjoyable experience.

I have seen the movie version of this about a hundred times. It's one of my favorites. I didn't realize, up until very recently, that it was based on a book. I'm so, so glad I found out though. I adored this book. As much as I love the movie, I definitely think the book is better (different, but better). How can you not love Nick & Norah? 

I liked the authors' writing style so much I think I need to check out their other work. Soon.

It's been a long time since a book left me with a cheesy, happy glow. This one definitely did.

Cortnie

Look, completely ignoring the fact that this book is a little bit instalove, it was so freakin cute!! I really loved both Nick and Norah and enjoyed the whole concept of the book. I’m a concert nerd. I love screaming/singing along with a band, jumping up and down, completely losing myself to the music... and I LOVE reading books that involve any aspect of it. It was well written and the characters had their own voices. I was only slightly confused when listening to the audiobook about who was talking when - that’s my own defect, though. I’m sure there are plenty of flaws but I can’t be bothered to find any. I am, however, RUINED by that ending. It was both perfect and unfair (to me).

Elad Schulman

Actual ratin: 4.5

This book was such a cute and fun book to read. It was short, but somehow managed to keep me entertained. The only thing I had with it was the characters. I don't really know how to explain it, but it could have helped if the didn't swear as much as they did. I dont know why it bothered me, but it seemed a little repetitive and cliche. But other than that, I really enjoyed it.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

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