Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

Title: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Publisher: Ember
Series: N/A
Service: Own
Release Date: 28/08/2007
Pages: 183
Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

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Nick’s just seen the girl who dumped him walk in… with a new guy. What else can he do but ask the strange girl next to him to be his new girlfriend for the next five minutes?

Norah would do anything to avoid conversation with the not not-friend girl who dumped Nick… and to get over Evil Ex whom Norah never really totally dumped. What else can she do but answer Nick’s question by making out with him?

With one electric, unexpected kiss, the five minute couple of Nick and Norah set off on an uncharted adventure called the ‘first date’ that will turn into an infinite night of falling in and out (and in and out, and maybe in and maybe out) of love. Theirs is a first date of music, laughter, heartache, confusion, passion, taxi driver wisdom, and a jacket named Salvatore. And of course a killer soundtrack.

As Nick and Norah wander through the middle-of-the-night mystic maze of Manhattan, they share the kind of night you want never to end, where every minute counts and every moment flickers between love and disaster.

Give me one word…

Why do you say that?

Nick and Norah meet by chance in a club when Nick sees his ex girlfriend, Tris, walk in with her new boyfriend. Wanting to not look like the sad sap that is still hung up on her Nick asks Norah to be his ‘girlfriend’. One kiss leads them into a night of adventure.

I loved both Nick and Norah’s characters however they weren’t without their faults. Nick was very hung up on Tris throughout the book, which did get irritating and Norah seemed very fickle. It was their interaction with each other that I loved. They seemed to balance each other out. Norah appreciates his music and Nick appreciates her humour and you could see why these two would make a good couple.

At the beginning of the book I really disliked Tris and although I can’t say that I like her character there are points in the book where she behaves like a human being and I respect her for that.

I really enjoyed the fact that this was not an instant love story. The amount of twists and turns and changing emotions made me feel like it was a little more realistic than love at first sight. Even at the end of the book when they both seem to have gotten over their demons there is still the niggling questioning thoughts in Norah’s mind and I liked that. The realistic doubts of whether to take a chance on someone and getting hurt.

It was nice to read a book that was not afraid to let the main character swear however at times the cussing felt quite excessive and I did question whether or not it was necessary.

If you are looking to read a book that is fuelled on alcohol, stale oreos and sleep deprivation I would recommend 'Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist'. However if you are offended by language I might give this one a miss.

Every Day - David Levithan

Title: Every Day - David Levithan
Publisher: Electric Monkey (Egmont Books)
Series: N/A
Service: Own
Release Date: 02/09/2013
Pages: 372
Format: Paperback

Rating: ★★★

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Every day I am someone else. I am myself - I know I am myself - but I am also someone else. It has always been like this.

Each morning, A wake up in a different body. There's never any warning about who it will be, but A is used to that. Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

And that's fine - until A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin's girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with - every day...

Give us a few words...

Why do you say that?

This was a tough one to rate. For the majority of the book I was absolutely hooked but there were a few things that I found to be frustrating. 

A finds himself in the body of Justin and spends the day with his girlfriend, Rhiannon. For the first time A finds that he has a strong emotional attachment to Rhiannon and wants to spend time with her which, of course, is not possible. However throughout the book we bare witness to A taking more and more risks just to be able to see her.

I love the concept of this book. It was written beautifully and is rather heartbreaking. As it is from A's point of view we get first hand experience at his frustration of not being able to keep one body, his longing to start a relationship with Rhiannon and his guilt at 'hijacking' bodies of others so that he can start living his own life. The relationship that begins to grow between Rhiannon and A is not smooth and I'm glad that Levithan made it realistic with Rhiannon struggling to cope with A's ever changing appearance.

I was unsatisfied with certain aspects of this book. Rhiannon constantly defends her relationship with Justin saying that there are reasons why they work and that A wouldn't understand. Neither do the readers. Although we may have got a biased opinion of Justin when A was in his body, the other times we see him, Justin seems uninterested in his girlfriend and I just wish we could have known what the glue was that kept them together.

My only other issue with this book was the ending. There was closure to some of the characters that we met however I wanted so much more. I felt like the book was a little rushed at the end and I would have liked to see where all the characters ended up next. I am happy to know that in 2015 we are expecting to see a companion novel entitled, 'Rhiannon' and I hope that will tie up some loose ends.

Overall, I feel that Every Day is a story that raises questions about love and the karmic consequences of our actions. Heart warming and heart breaking, I would definitely recommend that you give it a shot.