Cohn and Levithan: In Sync

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

There is something about the way these two write together that is so pitch perfect and in sync that it's easy to forget that they are two individuals writing alternate chapters. And yet one gets the sense that, with a male and female author, the characters are formed by perspectives from both genders and are definitely enriched by it.

The plot unfolds quickly leaving the reader to figure references out as you move along, which is a blessing after too many awkward YA novels that feel the need to spell every last thing out and end up using stilted, fake dialog to start - "'Hi Fluffy, " I said to my cat Fluffy." We meet Nick in a club on stage with his band (he's the bass guitarist) and quickly learn that he has just been dumped by Tris. When she enters the club he falls apart and - in an effort to avoid her and her new boyfriend - he turns to Norah, who happens to be standing next to him, and asks if she would be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. What follows is a night on the town in Manhattan, punk style, and the dawning realization that five minutes may not be enough.

Although both Nick and Norah have chosen to be 'straight-edge' - no drinking or drugs - and their unfolding romance is as sweet as an old Spencer Tracy/Katherine Hepburn movie, the language is enough to make me hesitate to add it to my collection. The F bomb is used liberally - noun, adjective, adverb, verb, etc. I know that this would make parents crazy. But isn't the upward trend of YA lit due in large part to the willingness of authors to write for and in the language of YAs? Isn't the underlying story and character of the characters the important thing?

I'm on the fence. But this is two in a row by this pair that is so intelligent and fun - see Dash and Lily's Book of Dares - that I am already on to Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. How to justify keeping such great stuff from my students? Not to mention the cover art - fabulous!