Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Title: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
Authors: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2006
First read: March 2011
Number of pages: 183
Genre(s): Young Adult, Romance, Realistic Fiction

So you're a guy; you're at a band show and your ex, the girl who dumped you, walks in with the new guy. Looking for a safe exit, you ask the girl you happen to sitting with to be your girlfriend for five minutes .
You're a girl; you're at a get-together and your least favorite female strolls in. The stranger sitting next to you asks you to be his five-minute date. So what do you? You lock lips . Nick and Norah's instant connect begins a roller-coaster "first date" that takes them through Manhattan and into themselves. (from Goodreads)


Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist is the second book I read written by both Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Their most recent book, Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, captured my attention and heart from the first page to the last, so I was eager to let other works by them. And, I wasn't disappointed.

Nick and Norah have been both hurt by former relationships: Nick's ex-girlfriend, Tris, played with him and broke his heart while he thought he found the love of his life. Norah broke up five times (or was it more?) and got together with the Evil Ex, Tal, even though he was patronizing her all the time. Now they have a chance to get over their exes - but will they use it?

It all started with the kiss. Apparently, chemistry between people does exist. But the real reason they got out on a "date" was because of Nick's band's guitarist who told Norah he can't stand the sight of Nick mulling over the break-up any longer and gave her 50 bucks to take him out.
Throughout the night, Norah and Nick are linked by the people they know, the music they both like and mutual feeling of liking each other.
What's interesting about a book that is from the girl's and the boy's PoV is how they interpret things so differently. Look, Nick is helping out a band and setting up the microphone and does this testing by saying "Fuck-Shit-Cock" (not my choice of words) into micro. He thought nothing of doing it but Norah is so sure that he looked right at her when he said it. And wonders what he really wants from her.

The setting is New York City and I don't know whether it played a role, but the words "fuck", "shit" and "bitch" are in every second sentence. Boys or girls, it doesn't seem to matter nowadays. I don't whether this is an exaggeration or the plain truth, but I find it quite troubling.