Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

Rachel Cohen and David Levithan's first book, Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist is currently filming the movie version starring the adorably awkward Michael Cera and superfly Kat Dennings. I had that book home forever and just never got around to it, although now I'll have to since I'm sure the movie will be excellent. Instead, I started with Cohen and Levithan's second book together, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List. This young adult novel tells the story of a pair of extremely tight childhood friends and neighbors, straight beauty Naomi and gay legend-in-his-own-mind Ely. After a falling out that's caused by Ely kissing Naomi's boyfriend Bruce, their friendship seems to be over. This novel is in a format where each chapter is narrated by a different person, sometimes it's Gabe, the doorman who wants to date Naomi, sometimes it's Naomi's friend Robin (girl) or Robin (boy). Sometimes it's Bruce (the second, of the previously mentioned kiss) or Bruce (the first, a high school boy Naomi loves to lead on). Although this sounds confusing, it's not bad and the multiple narrators work to tell a great story. The separation makes both main characters realize what they may have sacrificed for their friendship and how that must change so that they can move on. I know I've been reviewing lots of YA lit lately, but it's all good stuff and my future-teen-librarian friend always has the best recommendations, so I gotta see them through.

I Love You, Beth Cooper

Larry Doyle's novel I Love You, Beth Cooper has been on my reading list for a while and is one of those books that I keep starting, giving up for something else (like the entire Twilight series) and then picking up again. This book is entertaining and harkens back to a high school life that is overblown, yet still recognizable. After all, someone sings Green Day's Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) at the graduation ceremony. The main character Denis starts the book by announcing in his valedictorian speech that he has been in love with popular, pretty cheerleader Beth Cooper all throughout high school. He mentions that it all started when he sat in the back of Spanish class, telling Beth and the whole school, much to their amusement, "I have loved you from behind.." This confession of love is complicated by Beth's large and emotionally disturbed boyfriend Kevin who spends much of the rest of the book trying to beat Denis up. Beth's friends aren't much help to poor Denis either. Ironically, Denis's best friend Rich, although endlessly entertaining, is too busy quoting memorable movie lines to assist his friend in matters of the heart. With lots of action, great movie quotes starting each chapter and extremely witty dialog, this book is worth checking out.