''Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'' is the first collaboration novel written by

Rachel Cohn Rachel Cohn (born December 14, 1968) is an American young adult fiction writer. Her first book, ''Gingerbread'', was published in 2002. Since then she has gone on to write many other successful YA and younger children's books, and has collaborat ...

and

David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written numer ...

. The novel was published in 2006 by Alfred F. Knopf Books for Young Readers. It was adapted into the 2008 feature film of the same name, in which both Levithan and Cohn briefly appear. The novel was in part inspired by

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett ( ; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the characters he created are Sam Spade ('' The Ma ...

's ''

The Thin Man ''The Thin Man'' (1934) is a detective novel by Dashiell Hammett, originally published in a condensed version in the December 1933 issue of '' Redbook''. It appeared in book form the following month. A film series followed, featuring the main ...

'', though other than the names of the two protagonists bears little resemblance to its inspiration. The chapters from Nick's perspective are written by Levithan while the chapters from Norah's perspective are written by Cohn.

Plot

The novel is told from the alternating perspectives of Nick, the only straight member of a

queercore Queercore (or homocore) is a cultural/social movement that began in the mid-1980s as an offshoot of the punk subculture and a music genre that comes from punk rock. It is distinguished by its discontent with society in general, and specifically ...

rock band, and Norah, the daughter of a well-known music producer. After a concert, Nick sees his ex-girlfriend in the bar and asks Norah to pretend to be his girlfriend for five minutes. Norah agrees but only because she wants to find a ride for her very drunk friend Caroline. Through myriad circumstances, Nick and Norah find themselves spending the rest of the night together, heading to a strip club to watch nuns gyrate to

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

and sneaking into a hotel to make out. At the end of the novel, they decide that perhaps they don't know what the future holds, but they are willing to give this relationship a try.

Reception

''Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'' received a starred review from ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

,'' who called the novel "sensual and full of texture," a book that "perfectly capture teen music-geek talk and delicious stuff about kissing and what lies beyond." ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' also positively review the novel, calling it "compulsively readable."

Film adaptation

''Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist'' was adapted into a film of the same name. The screenplay was written by

Lorene Scafaria Lorene Scafaria (born May 1, 1978) is an American filmmaker, playwright, musician, and actress. She wrote and directed the films '' Seeking a Friend for the End of the World'' (2012), '' The Meddler'' (2015), and '' Hustlers'' (2019), as well as ...

. The film was directed by

Peter Sollett Peter Sollett (born January 1, 1976) is an American film director and screenwriter known for his feature films '' Raising Victor Vargas'' (2002) and '' Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist'' (2008). Early life and education Sollett was born on Janua ...

and stars

Michael Cera Michael Austin Cera ( ; ; born June 7, 1988) is a Canadian actor. Over his career he has received nominations for a British Academy Film Award, three Critics' Choice Movie Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Tony Award. Cera beca ...

and

Kat Dennings Katherine Victoria Litwack (born June 13, 1986), known professionally as Kat Dennings, is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Max Black in the CBS sitcom ''2 Broke Girls'' (2011–2017) and as Darcy Lewis in the Marvel ...

. The film premiered on September 6, 2008, at the

2008 Toronto International Film Festival The 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. This 33rd annual festival was from September 4 to September 13, 2008. The opening night gala was the World War I romantic epic '' Passchendaele'' from Cana ...

and was released theatrically on October 3, 2008. It tripled its US$10 million budget with a total gross of US$33.5 million.

References

{{reflist 2006 American novels American LGBTQ novels American novels adapted into films Collaborative novels Novels about music Novels by David Levithan Novels by Rachel Cohn Novels set in Manhattan