Monday, February 4, 2013

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist


Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Original ISBN 978-0-375-83531-5
Knopf, 2006.
183 pages
Plot Summary: Nick O’Leary asks Norah Silverberg to pretend to be his girlfriend for five minutes when he sees his ex walks into the club with a new guy. One kiss leads to a wild first date that has Nick and Norah travelling throughout the night all over NYC to find a secret gig of their favorite band…and maybe to a lasting relationship.

Critical Evaluation: This book was written with alternating points of view: Cohn wrote Rachel’s part while Levithan wrote Nick’s. Both authors write in an authentic teenage voice. What results is an honest account of the optimism and uncertainty felt when of a boy and girl meet and there’s a spark. The action takes place over a single night and is fast-paced and witty. There are also a lot of musical references. The novel was made into a movie in 2008.
Reader’s Annotation: Their “relationship” was supposed to last for five minutes. Nick and Norah had no idea that they might actually fall for each other.

Author Information: David Levithan was born in 1972 and wrote his first book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. He has authored or co-authored 16 books. One interesting thing about Levithan is that writing is not his full-time job. He is also the editorial director for Scholastic, where he has worked since gaining an internship at age 19. He is also the founding editor of PUSH which focuses on new YA authors and voices. Levithan has received the Lambda Literary Award twice: first in 2003 and again in 2006.
His website can be found at http://www.davidlevithan.com

Rachel Cohn was born in 1968 and has written 12 novels. Originally, she dreamed of becoming a journalist, but wanted to write fictional stories instead.
Her website can be found at http://www.rachelcohn.com

Cohn and Levithan have collaborated on three books.
Genre: Realistic fiction

Curriculum Ties: English Language Arts to illustrate voice.

Booktalking Ideas: I would ask the question, Is it possible to fall in love with someone you’ve just met?  
Reading Level / Interest Age: Grades 9-12

Lexile: 1020
Challenge Issues: There is a lot of profanity.

Reason for Item’s Inclusion: The alternating perspective (a relationship simultaneously seen through the eyes of both the boy and girl) is quite interesting and different. The action is fast-paced. This would be an excellent choice for a reluctant reader.
References:


http://www.rachelcohn.com

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