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Websites for Some of
My Favorite Teen Authors:
::David Levithan
::Patricia McCormick
::Robin Benway
::Libba Bray
::Cecil Castellucci
::Holly Black
::Judy Blume (worship!)
::Jacqueline Woodson
::Wendy Mass
::Rachel Vail
::Megan McCafferty
::Sarah Dessen
::Carolyn Mackler
::Kristen Kemp
::Billy Merrell
::Markus Zusak
::E. Lockhart
::Julie Anne Peters
::Pete Hautman
::E.R. Frank
::Sonya Sones
::Ellen Wittlinger
::Gail Giles
::Ned Vizzini
::Sarah Mlynowski
::Kirsten Smith
::Lauren Myracle
::Daniel Ehrenhaft
::Blake Nelson
::Robert Lipsyte
::David Yoo
::Adrienne Maria Vrettos
::Coe Booth
::Jenny Han
::Robin Wasserman
::Melissa Marr
::Nico Medina
::Bennett Madison
::Justine Larbalestier
::Scott Westerfeld
::Jaclyn Moriarty
::Siobhan Vivian
::Melissa de la Cruz
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who's just walked in to his band's show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City – and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.
This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be – and where the next great band is playing.
Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you'll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go.
"The wattage goes way up as two of the bright lights of contemporary writing for teens come together for an incandescent he said/she said night of storytelling... There's perfectly captured teen music-geek talk and delicious stuff about kissing and what lies beyond. Sensual and full of texture."
Kirkus Reviews (starred)
"The passion and intelligence of these characters, along with the authors' intimate knowledge of and complete respect for their audience, make this novel unique... There are many heart-stopping, insightful moments in this supremely satisfying and sexy romance. A first-rate read."
School Library Journal
"Electric, sexy (...the scenes are seriously hot), and genuinely poignant, this is a compelling story of the risks and thrills of burgeoning intimacy."
The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred)
"...the accomplished authors create an alternating-points-of-view romance that is edgy, sexual, and oh-so realistic. Hip and bold descriptive phrases highlight this book - a novel that will achieve cult status with older teens."
VOYA
ALA Top Ten Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
ALA Best Book for Young Adults (BBYA)
New York Public Library Books for the Teen Age
Kirkus Best Book of the Year
Book Sense pick
CCBC (Cooperative Children's Book Center) Choice/ Fiction for Young Adults
Cybils (the Children's and YA Bloggers' Literary Awards) winner for Young Adult Fiction
Naomi ♥ Ely.
And she's kinda in love with him.
Ely ♥ Naomi.
But he prefers to in love
with boys.
Naomi and Ely have been inseparable since childhood - partially because they've grown up across the hall from each other in the same Manhattan apartment building, and also because they're best friends. Soul mates. Or are they?
Just to be safe, they've created a NO KISS LIST - their list of people who are absolutely off-kissing limits for both of them. The NO KISS LIST protects their friendship and ensures that nothing will rock the foundation of Naomi and Ely: the institution.
Until Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend. And a fateful piece of gum in the wrong place at the wrong time changes everything.
Soon a rift of universal proportions threatens to destroy their friendship, and it remains to be seen whether Naomi and Ely can find their way toward new soul-mate prospects…and back to one another.
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story about love of all kinds, one that reminds us that any great friendship can be as confusing, treacherous, inspiring, and wonderful as any great romance.
"A witty and highly entertaining exploration of love, friendship, and misunderstanding."
School Library Journal
"Told through the alternating points of view of Naomi and Ely as well as those of their friends, this well-crafted novel introduces a myriad of themes such as friendship, love, letting go, and acceptance. Older teens especially will appreciate the colorful, offbeat characters who are strong, hip, funny, and authentic yet vulnerable. Readers will be left eager for more by these accomplished writers"
VOYA
Nick & Norah FAQ Naomi & Ely FAQ
Q: What inspired you to write Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist?
David Levithan is a great friend of mine, and I am a huge fangirl of his books. (The Realm of Possibility ranks as one of my Favorite Teen Books Ever.) David and I have a lot in common, including obsessions with My So-Called Life, a passion for teen literature, and a great love of music and making playlists for friends. One day David and I were having lunch together and I mentioned that I had a vague idea for a book: I wanted to write about two New Jersey, straight-edge characters named Nick and Norah (after the Thin Man movies) who would meet at a music club in Manhattan. I wanted to follow their adventures throughout the one night, and just see what would happen. I asked David if he'd want to write Nick, and I'd write Norah. He said, "Okay." And you know what? I didn't really give the idea much thought after that, as I was way too lazy to initiate a first chapter. Luckily, David wasn't, and a couple months later, he e-mailed me Nick's opening chapter. It was AMAZING. I was hooked. And suddenly my life transformed to waiting by my computer for new file attachments from David with Nick's chapters, and then sitting right down to respond as Norah. We didn't plan any of the book out in advance, we just picked up each chapter where the other left off, and I think the fun David and I found in writing to challenge one another translated into a true adventure for Nick and Norah - just like a real first date, where there can be great chemistry, but you really have no idea if it will turn out well or not. You can only dive in and hope.
Q: But you do know the original Nora had no "h" at the end of her name, right??
I do. I just liked the "h," so I gave the new Norah one. But aside from the lead characters' names, we weren't trying to write an updated Thin Man (though the temptation to put a dog named Asta in our book was certainly there). Mostly what we both always liked from the original books/movies was the warm and fun banter between Nick & Nora Charles, and we hoped to somehow infuse that spirit into our teen characters. That's about as far as the "updating" goes.
Q: Do you love the movie?
We love the movie madly.
Q: I heard you and David had a cameo in the movie, but I didn't spot you. Where are you?
We're there, sitting behind Michael Cera and Kat Dennings in the Veselka scene.
Q: Will there be a sequel?
We love the characters too much not to have considered writing more about them, but I think we've decided the ending is better left just where it is, so readers can imagine for themselves what happens next with Nick & Norah. (I certainly have my own ideas, but I'm not telling.)
Q: Do you have playlists for the book?
Of course I do! My playlists are posted as iMixes on the iTunes Music Store, and you can find them there by doing searches for either my name, David’s name, or the book name.
Q: I need to know more - help!
Please check out NickandNorah.com!
Q: What inspired you to write Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List?
I can't lie. David and I simply had too much fun writing Nick & Norah, and we were well on our way into writing a second book before Nick & Norah had even been released. The premise of the second book was inspired by a few things. On the walk to the subway from the place where I write in New York, there's a cool old apartment building on West 9th Street at Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village, near Washington Square Park, that I used to kind of fixate on, and I wondered what it would be like to grow up in a building like that. And, I've always loved the name "Naomi" and wanted to write a book with that character name. Want to know a little secret? "Ely" is named after my great friend Patricia McCormick's awesome-amazing-supreme cuddle monster cat. Most importantly, though, I think David and I were curious to write our own take on the straight girl/gay guy friendship-connection-myth.
Q: How is this book different from Nick & Norah?
David and I knew we wanted to write a second book together, but we also knew there was no way we could recapture the same energy and premise of our first book, so we tried to go in a different direction instead. Naomi & Ely is again told in alternating chapters, and also takes place in Manhattan, but the story is told from the perspective of several characters instead of only the two leads, and the story covers a broader period of time.
Q: What inspired you to write Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist?
David Levithan is a great friend of mine, and I am a huge fangirl of his books. (The Realm of Possibility ranks as one of my Favorite Teen Books Ever.) David and I have a lot in common, including obsessions with My So-Called Life, a passion for teen literature, and a great love of music and making playlists for friends. One day David and I were having lunch together and I mentioned that I had a vague idea for a book: I wanted to write about two New Jersey, straight-edge characters named Nick and Norah (after the Thin Man movies) who would meet at a music club in Manhattan. I wanted to follow their adventures throughout the one night, and just see what would happen. I asked David if he'd want to write Nick, and I'd write Norah. He said, "Okay." And you know what? I didn't really give the idea much thought after that, as I was way too lazy to initiate a first chapter. Luckily, David wasn't, and a couple months later, he e-mailed me Nick's opening chapter. It was AMAZING. I was hooked. And suddenly my life transformed to waiting by my computer for new file attachments from David with Nick's chapters, and then sitting right down to respond as Norah. We didn't plan any of the book out in advance, we just picked up each chapter where the other left off, and I think the fun David and I found in writing to challenge one another translated into a true adventure for Nick and Norah - just like a real first date, where there can be great chemistry, but you really have no idea if it will turn out well or not. You can only dive in and hope.
Q: But you do know the original Nora had no "h" at the end of her name, right??
I do. I just liked the "h," so I gave the new Norah one. But aside from the lead characters' names, we weren't trying to write an updated Thin Man (though the temptation to put a dog named Asta in our book was certainly there). Mostly what we both always liked from the original books/movies was the warm and fun banter between Nick & Nora Charles, and we hoped to somehow infuse that spirit into our teen characters. That's about as far as the "updating" goes.
Q: Do you love the movie?
We love the movie madly.
Q: I heard you and David had a cameo in the movie, but I didn't spot you. Where are you?
We're there, sitting behind Michael Cera and Kat Dennings in the Veselka scene.
Q: Will there be a sequel?
We love the characters too much not to have considered writing more about them, but I think we've decided the ending is better left just where it is, so readers can imagine for themselves what happens next with Nick & Norah. (I certainly have my own ideas, but I'm not telling.)
Q: Do you have playlists for the book?
Of course I do! My playlists are posted as iMixes on the iTunes Music Store, and you can find them there by doing searches for either my name, David’s name, or the book name.
Q: I need to know more - help!
Please check out NickandNorah.com!
Q: What inspired you to write Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List?
I can't lie. David and I simply had too much fun writing Nick & Norah, and we were well on our way into writing a second book before Nick & Norah had even been released. The premise of the second book was inspired by a few things. On the walk to the subway from the place where I write in New York, there's a cool old apartment building on West 9th Street at Fifth Avenue in Greenwich Village, near Washington Square Park, that I used to kind of fixate on, and I wondered what it would be like to grow up in a building like that. And, I've always loved the name "Naomi" and wanted to write a book with that character name. Want to know a little secret? "Ely" is named after my great friend Patricia McCormick's awesome-amazing-supreme cuddle monster cat. Most importantly, though, I think David and I were curious to write our own take on the straight girl/gay guy friendship-connection-myth.
Q: How is this book different from Nick & Norah?
David and I knew we wanted to write a second book together, but we also knew there was no way we could recapture the same energy and premise of our first book, so we tried to go in a different direction instead. Naomi & Ely is again told in alternating chapters, and also takes place in Manhattan, but the story is told from the perspective of several characters instead of only the two leads, and the story covers a broader period of time.
