Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Release Date: 5th Otober 2012 (UK)
Publisher: MIRA (UK)
Source: Netgalley
Reason for Reading: It's Christmassy!
Rating: 4/5

Goodreads description:

“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 comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.


My thoughts:

I'd been slogging my way through Game of Thrones (which I still haven't finished, I love it, but it just seems to last for ever...) and was in the mood for something a little lighter. This was Christmassy so I thought, I will give it a go! I love David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy so much so I figured it was a fairly safe bet, and I was totally right.

I loved how the Christmas setting made me feel really festive, though I was a little sad a large body of the story happened just after Christmas, I guess it needed to for everything not to feel so rushed. I love the idea of Christmas in New York, so the setting was a huge bonus for me.

I think I liked Dash a little more than Lily,even though he's a Christmas hater. He was mildly sociopathic, rather intelligent and pretty funny. Yeah okay, so maybe very few teenagers use huge words, but there are some out there that do (and I have known a few of them) so I can excuse that. Cause I know they exist.Lily I did like cause she was so exuberant and enthusiastic, and yes she was a little naive but I found that okay, she had been extremely sheltered her entire life. But I definitely found Lily's narrative the funnier of the two, especially her mentions of her 'Shrilly' alter ego. I actually laughed out loud, in public, several times which is always highly embarrassing.

**Somehow, my review managed to get deleted after this point, before or after I posted it I don't know, but I can't remember what I put exactly. Note to self: back reviews up somewhere**

I loved the story, the idea of a part treasure hunt, part game of dares, part confessional. It was cute and funny and really worked in a city like NY. I didn't find it over the top or unrealistic at all which was good.What I mostly loved was how down to earth both characters were about the outcome of the game they were playing, about the reality of their relationship. Neither of them acted as though they'd met their soul mate, or were madly in love. They questioned whether they'd actually work in person, work as a couple when all they knew of each other was contained within the pages of a red moleskin. They didn't hit it off immediately and were both very restrained which I really liked. It was also great to see an initial attraction based not off looks but off the intellectual stimulation and ideas and secrets and confessions shared in the notebook. I loved that it was a clear example of personalities winning out over anything else.

My one issue with it was down to what I have dubbed 'John Green Syndrome'. Whilst not as bad as a JG story, this book definitely had an element of that pretension and faux-philosophy I sorta resent. I hate the profound statements, the comments about life, the universe and everything. I find it fake and totally unnecessary, hence the dropped star from me.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is fun, it's festive and it's a fantastic read. Perfect for the holiday season.