A review by ckausch
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by David Levithan, Rachel Cohn

3.0

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List is the 2nd book co-written by the authors of Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist. Like Nick and Nora, this book alternates chapters written from different character POVs, although this one involves more than just the 2 main characters. Naomi and Ely are young adults who have grown up next to each other in the same NYC apartment building. While Ely have been out for years, Naomi still has a dream of the 2 of them falling in love and living happily ever after. In the meantime, they have a list of boys they have agreed are off limits to both of them in order to keep their friendship happy. But the list might not be thorough enough, because Naomi's world is shaken when Ely kisses someone not officially on the list. When this happens, not only must they deal with the consequences of that kiss, but Naomi also has to be honest with herself about the fact that her best friend is gay and will never be in love with her. She also can't keep ignoring the fact that her mom is hiding in bed, refusing to deal with her divorce.

I love the characters that Rachel and David write, both separately and together. They are always real, imperfect, and feel like they could step off the page. I had a bit of a hard time believing that a girl who's grown up in modern day NYC can believe her gay best friend will eventually fall in love with her, but Rachel and David made me buy into it by the end of the book. It's a fun read, interesting exploration of friendships and falling in love and sexuality.