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

Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Genre: Coming of Age, Drama, Action
Rating: 9
Teach-ability: 2
Teachable Aspects: character, perspective, sequence of events, setting

Everyone has their story.

This book is very much a teenage book. In my opinion, it embodies what it is like to be a teenager, regardless of where you grew up or the life you live. Because of how closely this book mimics the way teenagers think and feel I think at times this book is exaggerated--but I think most teenagers are too. The drastic dramatic emotions and feelings and conclusions Nick and Norah come to are reminiscent to emotions and feelings and conclusions come to by most teenagers. For this reason, I think that it’s a book that most teenagers would enjoy reading, if not for the ability to relate to the situations and characters but also for the adventure that takes place on this one night in the two main character's lives.

I don't think I would be able to teach this book because of the content and the language of the book, but I do think that a lot of students would find the story interesting. The book is written by two different authors, which really allows for two distinct characters that have different reactions and emotions and thoughts pertaining to different situations. The way the two characters interact with each other in this novel is precise and elegant; leaving the reader satisfied with the way the story was portrayed and not confused with the opposing voices of the different authors.

The book is pretty much written in stream of consciousness, depending on the character that is narrating the chapter. Reading stream of consciousness is difficult at times, so this book might also stretch readers to read something outside of their comfort zone as far as writing style goes.

In this book the characters are strong and drive the plot, deciding where the novel does both physically and metaphorically. The characters are seniors in high school, and I think this book really captures that time well and thus I would definitely recommend it for that age group.