Book Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares - Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Title: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Release Date: October 26th 2010

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Source: Bought (paperback)

Goodreads

"I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don't, put the book back on the shelf, please." 

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a cosmic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

I'm not usually one for themed reads, but during a storm back in August, I snuggled with such a great book that was set in Christmas, and I knew I had to read it again during the appropriate holiday. 

Practically a self-made orphan for Christmas, Dash is strolling in his favorite hangout spot, the Strand, when he spots a red notebook peeking out from in between the familiar spines on a top shelf. He climbs up for it, not knowing that it's the key to his most memorable Christmas yet.

I like adventures, drama, and heavy stakes, but what I really love is a fun, light, whirlwind romance between two smart and unsuspecting people, and that's exactly what this book holds. Set all over Christmastime New York, Dash and Lily's adventures towards one another are gush-inducing and stomach-butterfly-summoning.

But aside from the unusual mode of transportation, what made Dash & Lily's such a wonderful read were, well, Dash and Lily. Snarly but loyal, Dash had his own hidden emotional baggage in the form of his parents, and sometimes he was like a less-emo Holden Caulfield. Lily, on the other hand, was sarcastic and fearless, though without her family surrounding her, she feels alone for the first time ever. These two, whose likes were on opposite ends of the spectrum, collided and found something they didn't know they'd been looking for.

All that plus a cast of colorful secondary characters in snowy New York, it's no wonder why last Monday, I listed this book as one of my best reads this year, and I'm certainly glad to have spent my Christmas curled up in the sofa with it. I'm pretty sure that's how I'll be spending my next few Christmases, too ♥

MY FAVORITE PARTS were when they finally had a decent conversation while in jail, and their date at the Strand (and now I want a date there, too XD Still gotta find my Dash, though!)

RATING:

(cover and summary from Goodreads.com)