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

Source: Own
Pages: 183
Publisher: Knopf

Synopsis: The night begins when Nick asks Norah to be his five minute girlfriend to avoid his ex, who has just walked in to see his band play with her new guy. After one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure across New York City with the confusion, excitement and anticipation of a first date.

Review: I'm not sure where to start this review for this book. I guess I have too many emotions and thoughts in my head for this book that I can't quite gather them together and put into a logical review process.

Initially, I thought I wasn't going to make it through. The first few chapters aren't the best part of this book but they are truly needed. I found Cohn's writing style quite hard to read, the same thoughts as when I read Levithan and Cohn's Dash and Lily's Book of Dares.
However, I did get into it eventually and loved it. This is a book that brings the beauty of being young, of being in a city and puts that all together into a story and puts in the shadow of most teenager's love for music. The experiences and thoughts of the two leads are very accurate to someone who is 17 now, these are characters that I believed and made me reminisce slightly of when I was 16/17 (although that was only a couple of years ago but still).

Nick and Norah are great characters, with a host of other brilliant characters in the background. I liked Norah's powerful lead as well as laughing at her sarcasm and humour that is incredibly similar to my own. She's had some bad experiences with boys in the past and through this, she become cynical and afraid almost I guess. I also loved Nick, he is a genuine, honest character and I liked to see his reactions of the events they go through.

I get why some people don't like this book. But the reason for that is all down to this book's originality. The voices of Nick and Norah are very individual and at times I got annoyed at Norah's parts as she has an interesting, cynical, sarcastic voice that can be quite hard to read at some points. This book is very different to what I was expecting. I was expecting a love story, sure, but I was expecting it over a long period, not just a night. But I liked that, it made it immediate and quick and although perhaps in some ways unrealistic, I couldn't care less.

This book is modern, current and a true voice for teenagers. It's not a serious book by far, but I loved that. It's quirky, original and something I will remember for a long time afterwards. NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST is a book that is about young people and for young people and has some of the most individual characters I have read about in a while. This isn't the best book I've ever read but I still really enjoyed it and hopefully watch the movie (on Netflix) very, very soon.

I give it a 4 out of 5


Related Reviews:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
Love Is The Higher Law - David Levithan

On My Bookshelf (44)

This meme for originally inspired by 'In My Mailbox' created by The Story Siren
Other versions are:
Letterbox Love created by Narratively Speaking
Stacking the Shelves created by Tynga's reviews
Showcase Sunday created by Books, Biscuits and Tea

In the last few weeks it's been incredibly hectic with many, many assignments, going home, my birthday and then more work...a lot has been going on! So here are some of the books I have acquired over the last few weeks (since November which was the last time I did one of these...).

Gifted:

My parents and friends pretty much know that books are a safe bet when buying presents for me. I received A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge and Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed from my parents and friend, Emma. She said that the latter book is so inspirational and so brilliant, she wanted to share it with me.

I asked and got for my birthday Dissolution by C.J.Sansom, Mr Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan and Cress by Marissa Meyer. Dissolution is particularly special as I was recommended repeatedly by an elderly gentleman that always used to come in at the Waterstones bookstore I used to work at. Looking forward to all of these!

Bought:

I bought Every day by David Levithan because well, I think he is a genius and well, I had a discount. I felt like I HAD to buy Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell when I saw all the raving reviews on the blogosphere from some of my favourite bloggers and as I loved Eleanor and Park also by this author. It sounds amazing!

Related Reviews:

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Love is the Higher Law by David Levithan

The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Rowell

What did you get this week? Have you read any of these books?

Love Is The Higher Law - David Levithan

I've read quite a few of David Levithan books - The Lover's Dictionary and Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - which I loved his writing. So when there was the 9/11 anniversary last year and I found out about this book, I knew it would be a book I would enjoy.

Synopsis: On the seemingly perfect morning of 11th September 2001, the lives of three teenagers are altered permanently. Claire is at school, her first thought is that she needs to get to her younger brother. Jasper wakes up to frantic phone calls from his family and Peter, a classmate of Claire, is waiting outside a record store for the new Bob Dylan record. None of these teens know each other well at all. Yet in the years that follow, they will become best friends all shaped by the catastrophic events of 9/11.

Review: I was 6 when 9/11 happened so as you can probably guess, I don't particularly remember much about that day only what my parents have recounted. They said it was strange because there was something about me that was different from the young schoolgirl in the morning to the Rebecca in the evening. I knew something big and horrible had happened, I just didn't understand what. Everyone I think has their own 9/11 story because of the horrible, horrible events of that day. For me, experiencing and growing up in the aftermath of 9/11, no amount of documentaries, news broadcasts and stories I consume will make me understand that day. I may have not been in New York that day, but there were plenty of people who were.

Which is where Levithan's novel comes in. It is told from the point of view of three teenagers - Jasper, Peter and Claire - as they tell their stories of that day, the aftermath and the years proceeding that day. All this is done in a way where it's like you are there, leaving within the moment that they are, seeing it all happen again. You are quite literally immersed in the story, which is both amazing in writing but also horrible in putting you there within that terrible moment, experiencing it again.

This book is simply beautiful in many ways. It is short with only 160 pages which is exactly how this book needed to be. The writing is so focused on the enormity of this event for the three protagonists that the messages and voice is felt from the very first line. I finished this book feeling quite different from when I started it, it makes an impact that is both emotional yet somehow positive (it's incredibly hard to explain this so yeah, sorry if that made like no sense).

Claire, Jasper and Peter are all such different people with really no real, tangible connection yet somehow their lives become intertwined with one another in a rather lovely way. From this emotional, troubling event, there comes this glimmer of hope. As I think I read somewhere in a review for this book, while you're so disgusted and horrified at this dreadful event, there's also this hope that equally intertwines and becomes more prominent at the story progresses.

This is a short book. And if only for that reason, this is a book that everyone should read. Whether you remember the events on 11th September 2001 or not, this book resonates with anyone and everyone and should be appreciate far far more than it is currently. This is an incredibly hard book to review and to properly describe the magnitude it leaves you with when you finish the last page. All I can say is this is one of the most beautiful and well written books I have read in a while.

I give this a 5 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.davidlevithan.com/
Pages: 176
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday
Challenges: None

Related Reviews:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan & Rachel Cohn
The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan
Will Grayson, Will Grayson - David Levithan & John Green

On My Bookshelf (33)

This meme for originally inspired by 'In My Mailbox' created by The Story Siren
Other versions are:
Letterbox Love created by Narratively Speaking
Stacking the Shelves created by Tynga's reviews
Showcase Sunday created by Books, Biscuits and Tea

This is probably the last one for a couple of weeks. The next one should include my 18th birthday (ah!) which is in just over two weeks. 

Bought:
- The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan - This is a book I've read already (my review) after borrowing it from a friend. This is one of the most clever books I have come across, featuring the story in the form of a dictionary of words that mean something particularly special to this couple which when pieced together make a heartbreaking narrative. It is a book I liked, not loved yet when I saw this for £1 at work, it was a little too good not to buy. I'll be whacking this one out when I need a quick read or a good old cry.

- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte - After studying Wide Sargasso Sea (the unofficial prequel to Jane Eyre about Bertha), writing about in my coursework and then seeing the film of Jane Eyre, I realised I really wanted to read this novel. I need to read more classics anyway so I thought this would be a good start as I already know the story. I found this in the sale at work also and loved the cover. Nice cheap book buying spree!


Kindle:
I've had quite a lot of new e-books on my Kindle recently from Netgalley and the Amazon sale so I thought I'd include them!

- Dare You To by Katie McGarry
I've read the first book in this series, Pushing the Limits (see for my review) following two troubled teens, Noah and Echo. This book, for those that have also read PtL, is about Noah's friend, Beth and her romantic encounter. It's sure to be the typical easy holiday read so I may save this until March when I go away.
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin Teen

- The S-Word by Chelsea Pitcher

When I saw the title for this on Netgalley, I was intrigued to see what this book was about. The blurb makes this book sound really powerful and quite promising so I was thrilled when I was accepted to download the galley. This book is about a high school where, after being bullied for making a bad choice, Lizzie commits suicide - but the taunting continues after her death and her best friend, Angie, tries to find out who drove Lizzie to her death. From reading some of the reviews on Goodreads, however, I might put this to the bottom of my TBR pile...
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster

- How To Save A Life by Sara Zarr
I've never read anything by Sara Zarr but seen frequent shining reviews of her books, including this one. There was a review copy of this hanging around at work but after a little search, it seems someone threw it away.
I bought this in the Kindle 12 Days of Christmas Sale because 99p? I am so buying that.
Also, does anyone else think of The Fray song whenever they see this title? No? Just me...

- Glitches by Marissa Meyer
While waiting for the next instalment in Meyer's Lunar Chronicles series, Scarlet, due out in the next few weeks, a free e-book prequel to Cinder (my review) is always much appreciated.
I read Cinder last year and it became one of my favourite books of the year quickly. Glitches is the prequel to Cinder looking at how Cinder came to be living with her horrible step-mother and sisters. Looking forward to this!

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levithan

This book has been collecting dust on my bookshelf for a while now and I decided that now was the time to read this after hearing some lovely reviews from both bloggers and friends. One of my friends even mentioned it was 'the best John Green novel they had read' which is recommendation enough, hey?
I am a big fan of both John Green and David Levithan in their own rights, both of which have written books which are some of my favourites so I was anticipating something amazing in this book. Something extraordinary with two such talented authors.

Synopsis: One night in Chicago, on a unusual corner, Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. The two teens are completely different apart from sharing the same name. As their worlds collide, the two Will's start doing new things, moving in different directions discovering romance and themselves all leading up to the biggest, most epic musical of all time.

Review: This book was neither OHMYGODSOGOOD or I hate this book. It was one of those middle books. Nothing too shabby, nothing terrible. I think part of my conclusion for this book is all down to timing.
The last books I have read by these authors were serious stuff. John Green, it was The Fault in Our Stars (the BEST book ever) and for David Levithan, The Lover's Dictionary. For those that have read both or at least one of these books, you'll see what I mean by seriousness.
So then I am presented with this book. A book full of light hearted humour, a lot of gay references and just overall, quite entertaining. This isn't a book with deep psychological meaning, no way. But it is a book that made me think, laugh, smile and be sad, all in one 200-odd page book.

The two Will Grayson's are narrated in alternating chapters. It's clear from the start which one is which author. I have to say I much preferred John Green's Will Grayson. I found him sarcastic, funny and altogether charming, the kind of person and character I like and as usual reminded me of the whole cast of John Green characters. I just felt he was easier to get into.
David Levithan's Will Grayson. Well. I have nothing against this character. But I found him a little too moody, rude and just a little annoying. I felt for him at many times, I really did. But I always anticipated John Green's chapters over David Levithan's. And David? The whole lower-case thing? So infuriating for someone who does English Literature! I liked why you did it (there was an interview between you and John at the back of the book explaining your reasoning) but seriously, there should be a warning on the front 'inappropriate grammar used'. Whoa.

The thing that confused me a little about this book was that is what the synopsis and title implies - the book doesn't do or live up to it. It implies this will be all about the two Will Grayson's. The two Will's and how they interact, maybe like they do something to ruin each other's lives or whatever. Maybe this is just my own synopsis but yeah, that doesn't happen.
The main character for me of this book is Tiny Cooper. Yep. THAT is his name. Tiny is an, erm, unique character. He is rather tall, large and incredibly strong (yeah haha, called Tiny...) but he is also incredibly...gay. Tiny for me did gel the book together, make this book much more entertaining than if it was just the two Grayson's. The book charters the lead up to the staging of Tiny's musical, Tiny Dancer about, you've guessed it, him! Tiny is QUITE a character and someone who had me smiling throughout reading.
This books is all about Tiny, truly. But I think this is because he is the common link between the Will Grayson - he links them together therefore, he features in both sides of narration.

Moving away from the characters, this book works with the blend of David Levithan and John Green's styles, which I have to admit I think are quite similar. This book is not only for entertainment value. It is also about relationships, people - how to deal with both. The issue of people being gay and the different reactions to that. The book deals with lots of different things within the subject of friendships and relationships; I have to admit I did take some things away from the book.

This book was purely entertainment for me. There are some lovely messages that you could get from the end but ultimately, I enjoyed this because of the humour and the antics of the characters within the book. It was very different from what I expected and due to having read serious books by these authors, I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could of. This book was okay, nothing terrible, nothing amazing.
Tiny Cooper makes this book (even though he was a little annoying at times). And John Green's Will Grayson. And Jane. (ohwillgraysonandjanearethebestcouple!). Basically, the characters make this book unique and interesting. Very good and clever idea, David and John.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

Authors Website: http://johngreenbooks.com/ and http://www.davidlevithan.com/
Pages: 304
Publisher: Dutton
Challenges: None

Related Posts:
Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Review: The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan

Review: The Fault in Our Stars - John Green
Review: Looking for Alaska - John Green
Review: Paper Towns - John Green

The Lover's Dictionary - David Levithan

I saw this when I was still working in the book store and thought it was an interesting idea. It is such a clever and original idea that I wondered why no other author had attempted something like this.
So when my friend mentioned she had a copy after I read her copy of Dash and Lily's Book of Dares (also by David Levithan with Rachel Cohn) I was quite intrigued to see what she thought and what the book itself was like.

In a way this doesn't have a synopsis as if I told you the story within it, it would ruin the book so I'm going to dive straight in.

Review: The story within the book is told through a series of words that mean or relate to an event of a relationship between two people, who met on the internet. The words are done alphabetically so the whole story is mixed up. This is nice in a way as one page you'll have a romantic scene expressing their love for each other, and then the next, a bitter argument. I loved this juxtaposing which I think really defined a normal relationship - it can go from great to bad very quickly.

The book explores the pros and cons of love for everyone and as the characters are unnamed, it seems like this could happen to anyone. David Levithan has created a book where we all feel we can engage with the events in the story - even if we're not in a relationship right now. Not only does it explore the meaning of love, but also plays with the meanings of words.

So the major pro of this book? OH MY GOD IT IS SO SWEET.  The protagonist seems very much in love and when something terrible happens, you really feel for him.
My major con? A lot of the words were words I had never heard of before. Sad, but quite true. Seriously, I had no idea what they meant - they were words that are perhaps rarely used in the English language. This seems to be a recurring theme in David Levithan's writing, as Dash was a bit out there in his word choices in Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. I mean ZENITH? That is the last word used. I asked my friend who when we come to words, she is a queen at knowing the definitions AND SHE DIDN'T EVEN KNOW IT. I liked and understood most of them, but my advice would be to accompany this book with a proper dictionary. Sorry - rant over.

This book is easy to devour - such a quick read due to the small amount of writing on each page, sometimes just a sentence. I think would be relaxing and fun if you had an hour spare on a train journey or a Sunday afternoon. It is a special, cleverly crafted book that means something different to everyone, depending on their personal situations. Being only 17 and had only 2 relationships - both ending badly - I probably relate to little of the words in this book compared to someone older. But at it's length - everyone should read it at least once.

This could be seen as a story, although simple. It has a beginning, middle and end - just mixed up. I know the story of the relationship told but it is forgettable - not important for me. The part I'll remember for this book, and for others too, is the way it is written and the compassion and love spoken between the lines.
This is a new and quirky way of telling a story and I don't think should be discounted by anyone. Some people will hate this, but some people will adore it.

This is simply a modern couple's story told in a very modern and unique way. I commend you, David Levithan - well done.

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.davidlevithan.com/
Pages: 211
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Challenges: None

Other books by David Levithan:
Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

This is one of those books that English bloggers and readers have to deal with, book wise. I first saw the rave for this book last year when it was very BIG on the blogosphere. I read review upon review - all by American bloggers - and fell in love with the sound of this book. However, there are certain books in America that well, stay there. And living in England with all these great books not avaliable is a little annoying.
Considering this, imagine my excitement when I finally have access to a copy. My friend was reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, quite openly in my English class. When I go to sit next to her to talk, I see this book and gush about how much I loved John Green. After our ramble on how much we loved Paper Towns, my friend then said 'I also have this book too, it's very good' and puts out Dash & Lily's Book of Dares.
I'm not quite sure what or how I said it but I think it came out like 'OH MY GOD, I REALLY WANT TO READ THAT BOOK. PLEASE CAN I BORROW IT, PLEASE?!' Looking back, not the politest thing I could have said but I got my point across and she gave it to me, happily. Ah. I love her right now...

Synopsis: '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.'

Whilst browsing through his favourite book store, Dash comes across a red Moleskine notebook, and so begins the book of dares as Dash gets to know the girl behind the notebook. Lily places her red Moleskine notebook, waiting for the right guy to come along and find it and accept her dares. But is Dash the right guy? Will they just continually keep passing clues to places in New York City? And what will happen when they finally meet?  

Review: This book is one of those that is just a little different to anything else I have read. For starters, rarely do you see two authors of one book, like David Levithan and Rachel Cohn. Additionally, there are few books out there that contain dares that bring you, as a reader, to different parts of a major city, such as New York. And mainly, I hardly ever read books where at the end I'm like 'I wish these people were real'. This is such a realistic book, everything seems like it COULD happen and by the end, my friend and I agreed that we wished Dash and Lily were real people because...well, I'd want to know them.

As you can tell, I loved the characters of Lily and Dash - both I found interesting to read about, although for some unknown reason I preferred David Levithan's (Dash) chapters more. The other minor characters didn't just fade into the background after a while or were normal, boring people themselves. No, they were all very unique and different and all had an original spark so it never felt like they were two characters depicted the same way. My personal favourite was Boomer, as I'm sure many people would say. I just COULD NOT STOP LAUGHING. He was absolutely hilarious. Another favourite was Boris -  the dog. There's a scene where he runs off and, without revealing too much, ah, you'll be in stitches, I was laughing so much.

One of my only problems with this was the language, especially for David Levithan's (Dash) chapters. Dash has a lot of knowledge and loves words and books. To put it finely, I had no idea what he was talking about half the time and I'm surprised Lily did understand him. My advice: keep a dictionary with you for his chapters because I guess you might need it. 

Apart from that the language was vivid, especially in the key scenes in New York. I went to New York in October time when they were getting ready for Thanksgiving so I understand the craziness of Macy's and FAO Swartz. I can see the tourist traps in Central Park and Times Square. I can see the attraction of an unknown book store or pub. All of which visited in this book. The places are described incredibly well that even if you hadn't been there, anyone can get a feel for the atmosphere if you were there. I loved that about this book.

The romance could be a little bit more, personally. Conversely, I did feel that feeling where you want to shout at them 'KISS ALREADY!' which Dash and Lily both feel themselves. However, I think if there was this full-on romance, the book wouldn't haven been as good. The point is they meet under these strange and original circumstances where romance has to develop, you don't just feel this straight away. Being the age of Lily and Dash, I totally understood both their viewpoints on love and previous relationships. What they say may seem petty or 'too-grown-up' for them, but being a teenager, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have got it spot on - these are the feelings and thoughts teenagers have while in relationships. 

Overall, this book is wonderful. You get taken into the narrative straight away and keep this engagement with Lily and Dash and actually really get to know them and want them to get what they want. This book is incredibly original - one that cannot be copied. I would recommend this to anyone for the great writing, plot and characters. This is a book that will make you smile. 

Verdict: You'll love it  - but remember a dictionary. 

I give it a 4 out of 5

Author's Website: http://www.rachelcohn.com/rachel-david/

Pages: 260 

Publisher: Ember - an imprint of Random House

Challenges: None