Silly kids in love

I was going to save this for a Filmbook entry, but I cannot tell a lie: The only reason I picked up NICK AND NORAH'S INFINITE PLAYLIST, a book I had happily walked past on the New Fiction table without a second glance, because of the trailer. Specifically, one actor in the trailer. Most specifically, Mr. Michael Cera.

I don't have a crush on Cera, best known as George Michael Bluth on "Arrested Development," Paulie in "Juno" and Evan in "Superbad." He is adorable, but maybe because he's only 2 years older than my brother, I feel like I would make a better protective sibling towards him. His band could crash on my floor! We could go to diners and I could give him advice! I am not a creepy old lady!

In any case, his next movie is based on this YA novel by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan about two teenagers who meet at a rock concert in New York and have this kind of madcap night. This book is very short -- "You could probably read it in like an hour" was my roommate's note -- and, for me, kind of a modern-day Manhattan fairy tale. (People who are not teenagers will note the titular nod to "The Thin Man," to begin with.) Nick has just played with his constantly-being-renamed band and is about to run right into his ex-girlfriend and her new flame. Norah is minding her friend the party girl and wishing she were going to do something fun. Nick begs Norah to pretend she's his new girlfriend for the next five minutes. And off it goes from there.

If I were 13 I would probably sleep with this book under my pillow and wake up crushed that my boring teenage life was not like this and there were no boys like Nick out there. Since I am not 13, I appreciated the use of real-life New York locales like Veselka and the strange sweetness of these two characters who are kind of lost but finally having a little fun. And that was enough for me to like this book, even if I didn't love it or want to keep it out of the library. I liked it enough to check out Cohn and Levithan's follow-up, NAOMI AND ELY'S NO-KISS LIST, which I liked less but identified with more (if that makes any sense). Consider my movie expectations raised.

Screenshot: Collider.com