Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf
Released: May 23, 2006
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 192
Source: Library

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 be 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 do? You lock lips.

Nick and Norah's instant connect begins a roller-coaster "first date" that takes them through Manhattan and into themselves. A novel concept that works.

Confession: I never really read YA when I was a YA. I didn't read much at all when I was in high school, and when I did it was usually a Nicholas Sparks novel. Then came college, and as a religion major, I didn't have much time for reading anything that wasn't required. It wasn't until I was in my early twenties and out of school that I started to read for pleasure again, and then it was mostly adult titles. Until I picked up Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

I was shocked by how much I loved it. Rachel and David are so freaking amazing at capturing the essence of being a teenager - all the angst and drama and heartbreak and confusion. And you don't need to be a teenager to get it. Granted my teenage years weren't all that long ago, but I'm sure everyone must remember what that time in life was like. Reading Nick and Norah is sort of like reliving all the best parts.

Nick and Norah takes place in a single night, and oh, what a night it is. It is a whirlwind of clubs, exes, and emotions in the city that never sleeps. The dialogue is witty and snarky and funny, and I still, two years later, can't believe how spot on it is. David Levithan has this way of saying everything you've ever thought or felt but could never convey. Never have I loved the written word as much as I have since discovering David's writing.

This novel was made into a major motion picture back in 2008. I saw the movie before reading the book, so I  really enjoyed it. Many people who read the book first were very disappointed in the film due to plot changes, casting, etc. I can definitely see where these people are coming from (Memo to Casting Director: Did you read the book!?! Michael Cera is NO Nick.), but I believe if you can look at the book and movie as two separate entities you can enjoy them both. But hey, that's just me.

There are few I know who've had negative feelings toward this book. The few who have were mostly put off by the casual cursing and sexual situations. Neither of these things bothered me in the least, but I will warn those who admittedly have a problem with these things. That said, never did I feel anything to be inappropriate or unrealistic.

I've revisited this book twice since I originally read it, and each time is just as fun as the first. I'm really hoping to make BEA this May and my list of things to do in New York includes dining at Veselka's and visiting Electric Lady Studios all while keeping an eye out for a yellow Yugo.

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Waiting on Wednesday was started by Jill at Breaking the Spine. It features upcoming releases we can't wait to get our hands on.

This is my first week participating, and I'm super excited to be talking about...

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Coming October 26, 2010 - Preorder it below

IndieBound | BN | Amazon | Borders

From Goodreads:

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

My thoughts:

I cannot freaking wait for this book. For me, Cohn and Levithan are my favorite writing duo. They are amazing enough on their own, but when they get together it's magic. I just loved their previous collaborations Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List. (In fact, you should totally keep an eye out during this year's BlogFest because I have it on good authority that someone will be giving away paperback copies of both.) Dash & Lily sounds like another great adventure brought to us by the brillantly sharp and funny Rachel and David. Theirs are two of my favorite voices in YA, and I'm so glad they have another story to tell.

Cupcake by Rachel Cohn

Please be aware that Cupcake is the third book in a series. In order to give even the briefest synopsis, this review does contain spoilers to the first and second books. The Gingerbread review can be found here, and the Shrimp review can be found here.

Cyd Charisse graduates high school and moves to New York City where she plans to share an apartment with her older half-brother, Danny, and begin culinary school. After she agrees to a clean break with Shrimp, CC is looking forward to a new, exciting life in Manhattan when disaster strikes. She falls down the stairs of her walk-up fifth floor apartment and breaks her leg, rendering her immobile. For weeks CC is only able to order take-out, watch movies, spy on her neighbors, and think about Shrimp. When she finally emerges from her apartment cast-less, CC ditches culinary school and gets a part-time job as a barista in a run down coffee shop. Just when CC is beginning to make a new life for herself, who else should show up on her doorstep but Shrimp? Shrimp claims to only want Cyd Charisse and even stays in New York for a few months, but he eventually flees to San Francisco to get back to the ocean. CC must choose between the new life she's made for herself in New York, or her old life in San Francisco with Shrimp.

If you've read my Gingerbread and Shrimp reviews, you probably know that I am not a huge fan of Cyd Charisse. Apparently I am in the minority because everywhere I look, her books have gotten great reviews. I've been reading through these reviews in hopes of an "aha" moment where I discover what I've been missing this whole time. I still haven't found it. I did, however, find a review on Goodreads that explains what I don't like about Cyd Charisse much better than I could say it myself:

"...I think what rubs me the wrong way is actually lightly touched on in this, the third in the series: Cyd has lots of money, but never seems to consider it. She thinks of herself as cool/punk/rebel/coffee shop girl, but the books feel incomplete to me because she doesn't face any real consequences or struggle in her attempt to define herself. So when she seems to be handed opportunities to go to school, or work at a cool cupcake business, it rings bells of entitlement and inauthenticity. And, while this is addressed in the book when she gets the smack-down from a girl who works at a manicure shop, after Cyd admits she works only for spending money because her parents pay the bills, it never really goes anywhere." (You can read the rest of Meghan's review here.)

This! This! This! It's not so much the fact that Cyd Charisse is entitled (although that is pretty gag-worthy), it's the fact that there are no consequences! She never seems to learn anything, but everyone loves her anyway.

Shrimp by Rachel Cohn

Please be aware that Shrimp is the second book in a series. In order to give even the briefest synopsis, this review does contain spoilers to the first book. The Gingerbread review can be found here.

Shrimp basically picks up right where Gingerbread left off. Cyd Charisse returns from New York City after getting to know her bio-dad Frank and her half-sibs Danny and lisBETH. Back in San Francisco, Cyd's only goal is to get back with her "one true love" Shrimp. And to avoid her mother's endless stack of college applications. CC (as she is now known) survives her senior year of high school with her two new friends Heather and Autumn at her side. Getting away from problems of his own, half-brother Danny visits CC on the west coast and brings her back to NYC for a long weekend away. During her second visit, CC is torn between her old life in San Francisco and the possibility of a new life in New York. CC realizes that growing up is hard to do, and that she needs to make some tough decisions soon that may or may not include Shrimp.

Well, I did not give Gingerbread a very good review, and I'm afraid this one isn't going to be much better. I do want to stress that I enjoyed the story, characters, and writing. I just can't get into Cyd Charisse. I have trouble reading about main characters I can't relate to, and this was my problem with Gingerbread and Shrimp. I'm moving along and am about half-way through the third and final installment of the series, Cupcake. Why, you ask? I told you, I am no quitter!

Gingerbread by Rachel Cohn

Gingerbread begins when Cyd Charisse moves home to San Francisco after getting kicked out of her fancy New England boarding school. Life in "The City" proves to be difficult when her mom and step-dad sentence her to Alcatraz (also known as her bedroom) and keep her from seeing her surfer boyfriend Shrimp. (Yes. His name really is Shrimp.) Cyd Charisse is eventually shipped off to New York City to spend some time with her real dad, Frank. In NYC Cyd meets her half-siblings Danny and lisBETH for the first time, and begins her journey to self-discovery.



I feel like I need to start off by saying that I DO like Rachel Cohn. I love love loved Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I loved the characters, I loved the story, and I loved the voice Cohn created for Norah. I was so excited to start Gingerbread, but unfortunately it just did not hold up for me. I didn't care for Cyd Charisse's character at all. I thought she was a whiney, spoiled brat, and although I enjoyed parts of the story, I couldn't get past Cyd's annoying-ness. I had a hard time relating to her which I think is key to really getting hooked on a book. I also found it hard to believe that being sent to NYC was supposed to be a form of punishment, but I will say that once Cyd made it to New York the story did pick up for me.

I will be continuing with the Cyd Charisse series because 1) I already have them from the library, 2) I'd like to give Cyd a fair chance, and 3) I'm a sucker and can't give up on a series. Next up, Shrimp.