Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the two protagonists swear, get drunk, and are mean to one another. Naomi is a virgin, but still kisses and fools around. Her gay best friend Ely is more promiscuous (at one point, he asks his boyfriend to lick whip cream off him, and later flashes a bouncer to get into a drag queen performance at a club).
Families can talk about the pros and cons of co-authoring a book. Levithan and Cohn also wrote Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist together. Why would they want to do this? Do you think men can create better male characters and women better female characters? What do you think would be frustrating about writing this way? Parents can even encourage teens to try co-writing a story with a friend.
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Kate Pavao
Readers may be initially drawn to Naomi and Ely because they are so cool: They are beautiful, dress funky, and their conversations are full of fun turns, swear words, and energy -- and they are living in the same cool neighborhood in cool New York City, going to cool New York University. Naomi even cleverly peppers her narration with cute little icons. The premise, too, is hip and engaging: Two friends -- one gay, one straight -- have a falling out after one violates the No Kiss List and steals the other's boyfriend.
But as the fight between them intensifies, readers will begin to wonder if the protagonists couldn't redirect their angst into something a bit less shallow.
Part of the problem may be that there are so many different narrators in this book, from a sensitive doorman to the boy that first causes the fight between the two. Maybe if the authors had just stuck to Naomi and Ely we would have learned to like them better. Instead, they just seem mean: they use people, are rude to them, and can even be cruel to one another.
Naomi and Ely ultimately learn some valuable lessons. Naomi learns that she needs to stop living in a fantasy world, and Ely realizes that real relationships -- romantic and not -- require work. Readers will be impressed that the authors offer up some complex lessons instead of a pat reconciliation.
In the end, this is just an average book. There are great moments -- like that inevitable reconciliation, which is quite tender -- but readers may get bored before they get there.
From The Book
Our No Kiss List (TM) is an ever-changing one, almost like a sentient being, chemically formed by Ely's ration of Obsessive Study Time vs. Observational Boy Crush Time, and may ratio of PMS vs. Boredom. By agreeing in advance that certain people are off-limits, even truly, madly kissable ones -- I'm talking it hurts knowing that person's lips will never touch yours because of your own vow of no-kissiness -- Ely and I keep our friendship free of jealousy. The No Kiss List (TM) is our insurance against a Naomi & Ely breakup.
Plot Summary:
Straight Naomi knows her best friend Ely is gay, but she still thinks that they will one day get married and live happily ever after. This fantasy -- and their lifelong friendship -- is shattered when Ely kisses (and begins a relationship) with Naomi's boyfriend.
Related Books:
More from Rachel Cohn:
The Steps
Other Books with Gay Characters:
Tips for Having a (Gay) Ex-Boyfriend
The Straight Road to Kylie by Nico Medina
Getting It by Alex Sanchez
Georgraphy Club by Brent Hartinger
Split Screen: Attack of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies / Bride of the Soul-Sucking Brain Zombies by Brent Hartinger
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Sexual ContentNaomi is a virgin, but still kisses, fools around. Gay Ely is promiscuous (at one point, he asks his boyfriend to lick whip cream off him, and later flashes a bouncer to get into a drag queen performance at a club). |
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LanguageLots of sexual language, and other big bad words, like the f-word. |
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CommercialismStarbucks, Orbit gum, The Gap, mention of prescription sleep medications, alcohol brands. |
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Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoMain characters drink to drunkenness, There are drug references, including a character who mans the "ganja hotline." |
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