You begged, and you pleaded... okay no, you really just googled*... but because it won the first annual Cybils award (YA), and because I loved it, here are a few of my favorite quotes from Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan):

"You haven't missed me for one fucking minute. You have never for one single second in your entire pathetic life missed me. You might have missed fucking with my head, and you might have missed the satisfaction you so clearly got from demolishing me, but those are your emotions you're missing, not mine. I'm afraid I can't help you" ( Norah telling off her ex, p. 40).

"I'm on a date with a good guy and I've given him more mixed signals than a dyslexic Morse code operator" (Norah 57).

"I know you probably think I'm a horrid bitch from the planet Schizophrenia, but I"m honestly not trying to mess with your head. I"m just messing with my own head and i seem to have dragged you along for the ride. I think you're nice to me and that scares the fuck out of me. Because when a guy's a jerk or an asshole, it's easier because you know exactly where you stand. Since trust isn't an option, you don't have to get all freaked out about maybe having to trust him. Right now I am thinking about ten things at the same time, and at least four of those things have to do with you" (Norah 63).

"I don't know if Nick and I are going to friends or lovers or if he's going to Will and I'm going to be Grace, which will be disappointing along with boring, but whatever Nick and I are going to be to each other, it can't be -- it won't be -- just a one-night-stand thing. I know this" (Norah 155).

"I open my mouth and she opens her mouth and it's like she's breathing right through me. And her body is wet and it's right against mine and I want, I want, I want... I want, I want, I want." ( Nick 157)

It would have been incredibly easy to simply quote the entire novel -- the writing is that good, but I have a feeling that would probably be a copyright violation. But, if you're looking for more quotes, check out some other reviews (like Jen Robinson's)

Update (10/4/08): I posted a few more quotes and some recommended reads in honor of the release of the movie!

*Seriously, one of the most frequent searches that I see on my blog's statcounter is "quotes nick and norah's infinite playlist."

And the cybils winner for Young Adult Fiction is....

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

by

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan!!!!

See here for the complete list of winners.

Cybils Winners Announced... TOMORROW!!!

When it comes to February 14th, most people fall into one of two camps -- those that love Valentine's Day and all that it implies (namely, chocolate), and those who think that it is a conspiracy created by Hallmark to make single people feel bad. But those of us in the kidlitosphere have a different reason to celebrate on February 14th...

(drumroll please)

The winners of the first ever Children's and YA Blogger's Literary Award (CYBILS for short) will be announced.

And I already know who the winner is for the YA category, but I can't tell you because I've been sworn to secrecy. I will tell you however, that I'm very happy with the outcome -- but since I was really happy with our shortlist, that probably doesn't tell you very much.

But to refresh -- we (the YA panelists: Jackie, Little Willow, Tadmack, Mindy, and myself) started with a list of 80 nominations (we actually had 81 at one point, but a book that appeared to be a historical mystery turned out to have aliens in it, so we sent it over to the SF/Fantasy committee). If you're curious about some statistics on the nominees, check out this post of Jackie's)

After much e-mailing and group chat, we finally came up with a shortlist of five titles:

Shortlist (in alphabetical order)

Book Thief, The
written by Markus Zusak
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, A
written by Dana Reinhardt
Wendy Lamb Books

Hattie Big Sky
written by Kirby Larson
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Rules of Survival, The
written by Nancy Werlin
Dial

Check back tomorrow for the WINNER!!!!!

Cybils YA Finalists!

Announcing the 2006 Cybils (Children's and YA Blogger's Literary Awards) finalists for Young Adult Fiction:

Book Thief, The
written by Markus Zusak
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life, A
written by Dana Reinhardt
Wendy Lamb Books

Hattie Big Sky
written by Kirby Larson
Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Rules of Survival, The
written by Nancy Werlin
Dial

(note, the links go to my earlier reviews of these titles -- I didn't review The Book Thief because I read it several months before starting this blog -- though it is an amazing book and I very highly recommend it!)

It might have taken almost three hours of online deliberations -- but we (the nominations committee -- Little Willow, Jackie, Mindy, Tadmack, and myself) were finally able to a consensus and we're all quite happy with our little list. (I still wish we could have included An Abundance of Katherines -- but there's only room for so many books.) And, check back later in the week -- we're planning a big joint blog posting about all of the nominees!

Also, I must say a huge thank you to Jen for including me on the nominations committee, and to Anne and Kelly for coming up with the idea and organizing it so quickly and so well. And now, I must go read from the other committees' short-lists (I am especially excited about being able to read Fantasy again).

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life by Dana Reinhardt

Just as Simone is beginning her junior year, her parents drop a bombshell on her: her birth mother has called, and wants to meet her. While Simone has known her entire life that she was adopted but has no interest in learning anything about her family history. She has too many other things on her plate, finding extracurricular activities at school, learning her SAT words, and trying to run into Zach, the cute guy who works the coffee counter at the local organic market.

After a conversation with a friend (who is also adopted), she decides to make the call to her birth mother, Rifka, who as it turns out, is (or was) a Hassidic Jew. Simone slowly begins to learn her family's story, and, more importantly, to realize that it was something she needed to know.

I absolutely adored this book. Though I have two small complaints:

1. The Title -- I never really believed that Simone thought her life was impossible. She was quite possibly the most well-adjusted teenager I have ever read about. Every time she complained about something that was happening in her life, she would also mention the things going on in her friends' lives.

2. I listened to the audio version, which was really good, but the narrator was the same one who did Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson) and I kept getting confused. Moral of the story -- listen to this on audio, but read Speak (because it's just one of those books that everyone should read!)

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson

By the time she is 16, Hattie has been shuffled from one relative to another, when she receives a letter telling her that she has just inherited a homestead in Montana. Having nowhere else to go, she sets out for her new home. Upon arriving in Montana, she discovers that she has only 10 months to "prove up" her claim (and thus, to be able to keep the 320 acres left to her).

What makes Hattie Big Sky unique however, is the time period. We normally think of homesteading as something that took place in the 19th century, something involving covered wagons, but in fact, it was still going on in the early twentieth century, even during the first world war. Much of Hattie's story is told through letters that she writes to her friend (okay, maybe more than a friend) Charlie, who is fighting in France. She watches first hand the discrimination that her German neighbors face.

Hattie Big Sky will appeal to fans of historical fiction (one might notice the glowing praise on the front cover that comes from Karen Cushman, author of Catherine Called Birdy and The Midwife's Apprentice), and to those who love Little House on the Prairie* and Anne of Green Gables.

*Yes, I was one of those -- my mom started reading the Little House books to me when I was only 2 and I spent an entire summer pretending to be Laura Ingalls Wilder and riding around the house on my rocking horse)

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin

Now, I know I have a backlog of 10 or so books I need to review, but I read The Rules of Survival last night and I just have to review it.

Once I started reading, I absolutely could not put this book down, and when I finally finished it, I suddenly realized that I had a headache that went all the way down one side of my face. The story had been so intense that I had been clenching my jaw for almost two hours.

And now, I know it may seem odd to be recommending a book that gave me a headache, but it was completely worth it, and it's nothing compared to the pain that the Walsh children suffer.

Matthew is 14, and he lives with his two younger sisters, Callie (12) and Emmy (6) and his mother Nikki, who is becoming more and more unhinged. His main concern in life is keeping his sisters safe from his mother. After one especially frightening incident, he realizes that he needs to do something to get himself and his sisters away from Nikki, and he turns to Murdoch (one of his mother's ex-boyfriends) for help.

Werlin tells this story in the form of a letter written by an 18 year old Matthew to his younger sister, and therefore often addresses the reader as "you," which really helps to draw the reader into the narration. The language is simple and easy to read, which helps to balance out the difficult themes. This is a novel that needs to be read, as Matthew's story, like the story of so many children out there, is one that needs to be heard.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Let me just start by saying that I am absolutely, positively, head-over-heals, in love with this book.

Last weekend, a couple of friends and I took a little road trip, and I took it with me. I read for an hour or two on the road. Then, after going to bed at 3 in the morning, I actually woke up early Sunday morning to finish it by the light of my lightwedge (yes, I am a dork), while all my friends were still sleeping!

I normally return books to the library as soon as I'm finished reading them -- but this one is still sitting in my drawer in the back of the library as I type this.

Of course, I kept it out (supposedly), so I could share some quotes -- so I could share with you the brilliance of Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, but then I realized I would have to read it again -- which while enjoyable would kind of get in the way of all the reading I'm going to have to do for the Cybils

But I was just so impressed. So many books for teenagers have their protagonists falling in love for the first time, which really isn't that realistic when we're talking about 17 and 18 year olds, so I was surprised to read a novel where the main characters have been in relationships before, and where those previous relationships weren't completely horrible or completely wonderful, but complex and real, like human relationships. And really, that is what Cohn and Levithan did so well; they created living, breathing, imperfect characters.

And the best news of all -- they're collaborating on another novel, due out August of 2007!

Added later: I've noticed that many people are finding this post by searching for "Nick and Norah's Quotes" and other such things, so if that's what you're looking for, check out my later post with some of my favorite quotes.
Updated again (10/4/08): more quotes and some recommended reads