Book Reviews

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
by: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
★★★★☆

I loved this book. It's a story about two teenagers who meet at a concert and the crazy night they share. It has a rotating narrative, going back and forth between Nick and then Norah's point-of-view. They are both such good characters, ripe with insecurities and hormones, they felt so real. I love the references to My So Called Life and so many good bands.

My only problems were the constant f-bombs, which normally don't bother me, but there are a lot. The book was at it best when Nick and Norah were together and were just getting to know each other. It's such a sweet look at that immediate rush of feelings you get when you're falling for someone and are just desperate to get to know them better. This is the first thing I've read from either of the two authors, but it won't be the last. I'm particularly looking forward to Will Grayson, Will Grayson, Levithan's collaboration with John Green.

"Right now she's hanging on to the guy from Are You Randy? like she's auditioning to be the pocket on his jacket. And I can tell he's about ready to sew her on."

If I Stay
by Gayle Forman
★★★★

Mia is a high school senior and a talented cellist. Her life currently consists of deciding where to attend college and how her rock 'n' roll boyfriend fits into the picture. She and her younger brother and loving, hippie parents are in a tragic car accident and afterwards she finds herself trapped in a coma. She watches her helpless self lay frozen in a hospital bed and has to try to decide if she should stay or go.

I loved how this was written. It felt like the real point-of-view of a high school girl, stripped of all the shallow clichés. Through flashbacks we learn more about Mia, her relationship with Adam, her family, her love of music, etc. The story manages to be sweet, without dripping saccharine.

Silas Marner
by George Eliot
★★★☆

Silas Marner is a weaver who is thrown out of his village after being wrongly accused of stealing. He settles into life in a new town and becomes consumed with squirreling away every cent he earns. His obsession is only replaced when an orphaned toddler comes into his care. His priorities change completely as his love for his little girl, Eppie, grows. At the same time, Eppie's real father, Godfrey, is a rich man who hides his marriage with Eppie's poor mother from society and refuses to acknowledge that she is his daughter. The story was good and the moral is obvious. It's all about having the right priorities, realizing that all things come to light in the end and your past will inevitably haunt you. It was an interesting read and my first of Eliot's. I'll definitely be reading some more of her classics.