Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, 230 pagesYoung Adult Challenge; Four Month Challenge: read a book by two authors
How can you spend hours every day trying in small ways to figure out who you are, then have a near-stranger give you a sentence of yourself that says it better than you ever could? p 20
Naomi and Ely are best friends. Ely is gay and Naomi is not, hence they have created the No-Kiss List, people who they aren't allowed to kiss since they both might like him. Ely and Naomi have grown up together in New York City, in the same apartment building and have some shared messy history. They aren't completely likable when they narrate their own chapters and it wasn't until girl-Robyn narrates a chapter (she's a self-proclaimed Velma; get the Scooby-doo reference?) that I was able to see some of the reasons why Naomi is as obnoxious as she is, and was able to like her.
In fact, it took a while to get past the hip, snarky conversations between Naomi and Ely, but eventually, I really liked the book and the lessons learned by our main characters. Greenwich Village teens live a faster, crazier life so expect a little wilder lifestyle than would be found elsewhere. These characters are in college as well, so this is older young adult content.
No. No no no no. It is not easy. Things that matter are not easy . Feeling of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you're friends is easy. Being friends is not. p 199
I read one book by David Levithan last year and liked it enough. His new book is written with John Green, so I am excited for it to come in at the library for me. :)
ReplyDeleteOooh, look! I said I was going to wait for your review and here it is, already reviewed. This sounds really good. Kailana and I can tell you what we think of Will Grayson, Will Grayson if you don't rush out and check it out or buy it before we get to it.
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