Book Review: Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

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 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 the Evil Ex whome 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 to never end, where every minute counts and every moment flickers between love and disaster.

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My Library has a teen book club and this was the book for November so I kind of had to read it. Lets just say that if you don't read the book you don't get snacks...... And believe me they are GOOD snacks. I know what you're thinking. A ROMANCE! But there is so much more to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist then just the romance. The best factor in my mind was the humor. Seriously this book is hilarious! Another thing I loved was the dual narration. I absolutely LOVE books with dual narration! And this dual narration is made doubly awesome by the fact that its written by two different authors. This really gave Nick and Norah their own distinct voices which can sometimes be lost when an author tries to do it themselves.

One thing that I kept thinking throughout the whole book was "guy Highschoolers don't really do this every weekend do they???" I mean, I sure don't. And yeah I'm homeschooled so I'm "sheltered" and all that crap but seriously. Going down to hang out at stripper clubs??? Staying out all night and sending your sister home with strangers and your parents don't even bat an eyelash??? What kinds of parents are these?!?! Certainly not my parents. Or most parents of high schoolers. At least I would hope so. Otherwise I would be seriously worried about the level of parenting these days......

I've never been one of those music mavens like a lot of other people. Don't get me wrong I love music! I'm just not obsessed or have a song for everything that ever happens to me. So the fact that every song they listened to had F bombs practically every other word was just a little much in my opinion. What can I say I like my lyrics fairly expletive free.

I'll end with something positive because I really did enjoy this book. I liked that Nick and Norah were not only on this journey of music and love, but also on a journey of self discovery. When they first meet Nick is still hung up on his ex and he just can't seem to break free from his past, while Norah is closed off, hiding herself behind cynicism and coldness. But by the end of the night both of them have cast off their inhibitions and they have opened up to each other. They see that the future holds possibilities and they move into a new stage in life. A stage filled with hope.

So despite the frequent F bombs and a couple other choice things I actually thought that Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist was surprisingly good. I give it 4 and a half cupcakes out of 5!

Since this was a book about music I thought I would compile a playlist of my own. These are some songs I really enjoy for a variety of reasons.

The Bird and The Worm ~ Owl City
The Only Exception ~ Paramore
I'm Yours ~ Jason Mraz
Bite My Tongue ~ Relient K
Who Am I ~ Casting Crowns
We Are Broken ~ Paramore
You Have What I Need ~ Hawk Nelson
Dental Care ~ Owl City
Just The Way You Are ~ Bruno Mars
Bad Romance ~ Lady Gaga
Mood Rings ~ Relient K
A Whole New World ~ Aladdin
Hero/Heroine ~ BoysLikeGirls
Superman ~ Joe Brooks

Got some songs you just love? Tell me about them in a comment!

Julia :)