Review Detail

Nick O’Leary, the straight bass player in queercore punk band, is playing at a club in downtown Manhattan when he spots his ex-girlfriend Tris with a new guy. So he asks a random girl dressed in an oversize flannel sitting nearby to be his five minute girlfriend. The random girl, Norah Silverberg, surprises him by kissing him.

Little does Nick know that Norah and Tris attend the same school, and they are not on friendly terms.

This five minute date turns into an late night adventure around New York City, which includes a Subway ride, visits to a Russian eatery, a Korean grocery store and an encounter with a Playboy Bunny bouncer.

It is the first collaboration novel from Rachel Cohn and David Levithan. Cohn writes the chapters from Noah’s perspective and Levithan writes the chapters from Nick’s point of view.

Cohn and Levithan went on to co-write Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List (2007), Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares (2010), The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily (2016). Further collaborations are in the works.

A word of warning this book does feature quite a lot of coarse language and sexual references.

A feature film was released it 2008 directed by Peter Sollett and starring Michael Cera and Kat Dennings as Nick and Norah.