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

It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. See Nick’s ex-girlfriend just walked into the club where Nick’s band is playing... with a new guy. So Nick thinks that if the girl sitting next to him at the bar (Norah) will just act like his girlfriend for a couple of minutes - he’ll be able to avoid that whole "I can’t live without you" scene with the ex. Nick was definitely not expecting Norah’s reaction to his question, since she grabs him and plants a big, juicy wet one on him. That one kiss is the beginning of their adventure that takes place throughout one crazy night in the Manhattan underground punk scene... a car that won’t start, writing a song while sitting on the curb, bar hopping, chasing Where’s Fluffy?, a jacket once owned by Salvatore, and eventually two kids who just wanna be themselves and be liked for who they are.

I know nothing about punk music, only a tad about Manhattan (since I’ve only been there once), yet I still managed to fall in love with this book. The writing is phenomenal - especially the dialogue - clever and witty, yet still touchingly real. It was funny and had depth and heart. You really felt for these two people and felt like you could know them in real life. Their mutual love for music is really explained and you feel it through the writing. The story is told in the first person switching back and forth each chapter between Nick and Norah's point of view. I found myself relating more to Nick than to Norah, he was more reserved and maybe even a little naive. Norah I found I couldn't really relate to so much, but she was still a very funny and likeable character.

I actually read this book before I saw the movie. If you’ve seen the movie and haven’t read the book because of this, you should definitely read the book. They are two different entities with some similarities. They are both good in their own way so this is one I’ll have to say: "Don’t judge a book by its movie."

All in all, I love the idea of this book. It is entertaining, funny and heartwarming. I can definitely see myself reading this over and over - and enjoying it the same, or more, every time.