Hey, guys!!
Much like when I was reading I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier, I blew right through Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan once I got into it. For one thing, the latter is also a quick read (less than two hundred pages). For another thing, once things got rolling it went pretty quick.
Nick is a bassist for a queercore punk band and is at a club playing a gig one night. He sees his ex-girlfriend at the club while playing the bass. Off-stage, ex-girlfriend Tris (with a new guy shadowing her) heads right towards Nick.
And what does Nick do? He turns to the girl next to him and asks her to be his five-minute girlfriend. Guess whom it is. I'll give you a hint: her name is in the title. And since she and Tris are frienemies, Norah answers Nick by kissing him.
Mission accomplished: Tris leaves him alone. So then Norah figures that Nick might be good for giving her and her trashed friend, Caroline, a ride home. Unfortunately, Nick's junker won't start.
So the guitarist in Nick's band and his boyfriend make a deal with Norah. They will take Caroline home and they give Norah fifty bucks to go out with Nick and help him get over his bad break-up with Tris. And Norah agrees; after all, she has an ex-boyfriend that she would like to forget.
This relationship with her on-again-off-again-ex-boyfriend-she'd-rather-forget was not a healthy one. Tal was a control freak who tried to make all of Norah's decisions for her, nearly destroyed her future, and is just a jerk in general. He also has too high an opinion of himself. It's no wonder that there was no chemistry between them.
Anyway, the whole book covers one night of clubbing and heartache and getting over break-ups and trying to decide what is real and worth having and what is just a waste of time.
To be honest, I had a love/hate relationship with both Nick and Norah in the beginning of the book. Nick was sweet and a nice guy, but he was so hung up over Tris that I pitied him too much to properly like him at first. And Norah, nicknamed "Sub Z" by her best friend and ex-boyfriend, was oftened described as "frigid" throughout the novel. Not to mention that many of her monologues were inner rants.
Both were still feeling the sting from bad break-ups and bad relationships in general (not to mention they're both human beings) so it's understandable (and pretty darn realistic) to have reasons to like and hate characters at the same time. We all have strengths and flaws, and isn't it a character's job to capture that essence of human nature?
So, even though I had trouble liking the characters at first, I got the message. Plus, Norah may rant and swear a lot, but she's also sarcastic half the time and she's funny. A girl after my own heart.
Would I recommend this? Yes. It's an enjoyable and quick read. Perfect for an airplane trip or long car ride. And it gets pretty philosophical about life, love, and music. So, yes, I did enjoy it and I think a lot of other people would. Especially people who like music. So give it a try. Find out if Norah will figure out her future and if Nick will get over Tris. And if Nick and Norah end up together.
I hope you guys enjoyed this review. I've got three library books left on my list to read. Not sure which one's up next on my list. I may surprise myself.
Leave a comment if you would like me to review a certain book and what you thought of this or one of my past reviews. And tell your friends :)
Happy reading!!
No comments:
Post a Comment