Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2006. 184 pages. $16.95 (Hardcover). ISBN 0-375-83531-8. Grades 9-12.

My Thoughts...

I adored Nick and Norah's Infinite Playist the movie when I saw it in theatres in 2008, and although I saw the note in the opening credits regarding its book inspiration, I never thought to read the novel. I am so glad I have now. I normally object to seeing a movie prior to reading a book if I know it is in existence because I find that the movie usually ruins the book. In this case, however, I do not think that was the case. As I read Nick and Norah I did find myself seeing clips of the movie in my head, especially actor's faces. I was not, however, distracted by this prior knowledge because while it was familiar it was not too fresh on my mind. I did waste about fifteen minutes trying to recall a similar situation in another book, only to find out upon rewatching the movie what I was thinking about was from the film version. I will definitely and already have recommended the book and movie together to several people because I think that they complement eachother well.

The Book: This book is co-written and told from two different points of view. Chapters alternate between the male lead (Nick) and the female lead (Norah). Each chapter reveals their individual thoughts, internal/external conflicts, and how they are feeling during each situation. Therefore there is not a narrator telling us what is going on and propelling the plot. Rather we are seeing it and experiencing the wild night in and through the memories and reflections of the characters. I loved how each chapter changed tones and though in one person's point of view included dialog. There were so many great quotes, and the emotion and way the two characters criticize their actions and selves is so true to how we think. It was a great read and I didn't want to put it down until I knew exactly how it was going to wrap up. I did find myself waiting for some events from the film to take place, but when they didn't I wasn't disappointed. Instead I was glad to be able to see why they didn't take place. It turns out there is one big relationship/characteristic different between two characters in the book and film. While it is very noticable, the film and the book still portray the same message and meaning in the end.

The Movie: I think the movie was a great interpretation of the book! I could pick out exact dialog from the text, I could see how the director/writer adapted the internal dialog of the chapters in to a fast moving plot, and I found that random details from the movie that didn't make sense really came from the text. At the same time I noticed there were some humor and gross out comedy added to the film to either make viewers laugh or keep them engaged. I did think that I would have casted the film differently, however, or at least done the costumes differently because Cohn and Levithan's descriptions were pretty exact. I think the film did a fantastic job of taking the experiences from the page and out of the minds of the narrators and turning it in to an action packed night. A lot of the book was internal and it would have been hard to convey every emotion and every scenario.

I think this book and movie, either together or separately would appeal to a wide variety of readers. There is the emphasis on music; playing, recording, mixing, and then just loving and listening to it. There is the love story. There are the struggles of fitting in, getting dumped, choosing the right path for the future, etc. Anyway, this was a fantastic reading and watching experience.