Book Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Release Date: October 26, 2010

Source: Library

Summary: “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 ofNick & 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.

Review: Aw, this book was just so gosh darn cute. Seriously, I've been seeing rave reviews for this book for the past TWO YEARS and I've finally had the time to read it. And I have to say, I picked the absolute perfect time to read it. Right after Christmas, I loved reading Dash and Lily's stories as they exchanged their book of dares in New York during Christmastime. 

Lily is your typical quiet girl: she loves being left alone in her own little world of books, knitting, and soccer. But when she's left alone with her brother and his boyfriend for Christmas, Lily wants more in her life. Wishing for adventure and a romance of her own, Lily's brother takes it upon himself to create a little game in one of Lily's red notebooks (which she's kept ever since she read Harriet the Spy as a little girl and fell in love with Sport), leaving it in between JD Salinger's books at a local bookstore. Little did Lily know that the perfect guy would pick it up: Dash. Once he spots the little red notebook, he's captivated by Lily and decides to play along. Over the next couple of days, Dash and Lily dare each other to go through numerous lengths to get the notebook to the other one, never meeting face to face. As much as they're intrigued by one another, they don't know if they really like the person they're writing to, or the idea of the other one they've formed in their minds. Only meeting face to face can solve that, and neither of them knows if their prepared for that reality. 

Dash and Lily's relationship was just so fun and whimsical that I wanted to grab my own blank notebook and leave it on a bookshelf for a handsome stranger to find. Preferably someone just like Dash. He's someone who loves books, writing, and the OED...basically any literary lover's dream. I loved the little dares they gave each other and the adventures they ended up going on thanks to the little red notebook. And I think it's beyond cool how the authors wrote this book. On the back flap, it says that Rachel Cohn wrote Lily's chapters, while David Levithan took on Dash's chapters (they alternate throughout the book) without planning anything out before. That is such a cool way of approaching how to write a book and I must say, it definitely worked. 

If you're like me and still haven't read this book, you have to right now! Dash and Lily are two characters you will never forget and their story is one you'll have yourself daydreaming about happening to you one day. So go out and pick this book up before this season is over! Believe me, you won't regret following these two lovable characters all over a snow covered New York on their mission to find love.