Review // Sam & Ilsa's Last Hurrah by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Published: 5th April
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Format: Kindle
Synopsis: Sam and Ilsa Kehlmann have spent most of their high school years throwing dinner parties, and now they’ve prepared their final blowout, just before graduation. The rules for the twins are simple: they each get to invite three guests, and the other twin doesn’t know who’s coming until the guests show up at the door. With Sam and Ilsa, the sibling revelry is always tempered with a large dose of sibling rivalry, and tonight is no exception. One night. One apartment. Eight people. What could possibly go wrong? Oh, we all know the answer is plenty. But plenty also goes right – in rather surprising ways.

Writing this review is going to be one of the hardest things i've ever done - because I really just did not like it. It hurts even to type that! Rachel Cohn & David Levithan have been my writing duo heroes for a LONG time now. Their books are my absolute favourites (particularly Dash & Lily) and there are literally no words to describe how happy I was when I found out they were releasing a new book - and that I got it early. So what went wrong? *sigh*

Right from the off I disliked both Sam & Ilsa which is uh, kind of a big problem when the entire book is about them, their relationship with each other and their relationship with everyone else. I honestly just didn't care what they were going through. They were pretentious, terrible friends and really annoying to have to be with for an extended period of time.

It was really difficult to keep track of who was talking, which POV I was in etc as there wasn't a lot of substance to Sam or Ilsa for me to be able to easily identify them. It almost felt like Cohn & Levithan were trying really hard to be wacky with the dinner guests but they were actually completely overlooked. It was nearing the end of the book before I could even remember who their friend were. I think at one point a character appeared after being missing for a while and it genuinely took me a hot second to realise they weren't a new character and/or that that character had even been gone. It was kind of all over the place.

I'd say the most interesting character was their Grandmother and she didn't even feature in the book other than someone they occasionally talked about. I considered that maybe I was just too old to enjoy these books now but I was 100% here for Twelve Days of Dash & Lily book which only came out early last year so it can't be that. It's going to be very interesting to go and read reviews after this and see what everyone else thinks about it!

I wanted to love it wholeheartedly. I want Sam & Ilsa to be added to my list of fictional best friends. I wanted to throw a dinner party inspired by this book. None of those things happened. Honestly, I over-rated it on Goodreads purely because there's a sneaky little Nick & Norah reference and I was so overwhelmingly happy about it that I momentarily forgot that this didn't meet my standards.

I still love Cohn & Levithan. I'm going to definitely re-read this in a few months and reevaluate my opinion (we all have months of meh reading!). I haven't given up! But for now, if you're wanting something to blow you away - this isn't it.

Review // Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Nick's just seen the girl who dumped him walk in...with a new guy. What else can he do but ask the strange girl next to him to be his new girlfriend for the next five minutes?
     Norah would do anything to avoid conversation with the not not-friend girl who dumped Nick...and to get over the Evil Ex whom Norah never really totally dumped. What else can she do but answer Nick's question by making out with him?
     With one electric, unexpected kiss, the five-minute couple of Nick and Norah set off on an un-charted adventure called the "first date" that will turn into an infinite night of falling in and out (and in and out, and maybe in and maybe out) of love. Theirs is a first date of music, laughter, heartache, confusion, passion, taxi driver wisdom, and a jacket named Salvatore. And of course a killer soundtrack.
     As Nick and Norah wander through the middle-of-the-night mystic maze of Manhattan, they share the kind of night you want to never end, where every minute counts and every moment flickers between love and disaster.

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist was given to me as a Christmas gift. I have been a fan of the film since its release in 2008 and until recently I had no idea that it was based on a book. It is my second time reading a co-written book starring David Levithan (unfortunately I didn't get chance to review it!) but my first time reading something by Rachel Cohn.

I loved the dynamics between Nick and Norah! Sometimes, when you read a book about teenagers in love, it can get a bit too much. Too much gushing and fawning over each other and making you want to vomit but this is different. We hear the inner thoughts of both Nick and Norah and of course they talk about the things they like about each other but more importantly we learn about THEM.
From the meeting of the characters to the inevitable end, we are taken on an adventure in which they discover love and arguably the main thing; they discover themselves. Both Nick and Norah are striving to get over a bad breakup and let's be honest - who hasn't been there? ;)

I particularly liked the music references throughout the book. The blurb mentions a killer soundtrack and it's not lying! I found myself looking up songs on YouTube to set the mood and it was refreshing. I thought that the idea of 'Salvatore' was really cute too. Many times i've worn boyfriends clothes or whatever and it's just felt nice, and makes you feel close to them when they're not around. It's something simple but it really works.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves YA books, and music lovers. Of course, it's a book for anyone, but I think music lovers in particular will enjoy Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.


Books Read in 2012 - 3.
Currently Reading - Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare / A Study In Scarlet - Arthur Conan Doyle