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

At First Sight: In the pre-Christmas haze of New York, Dash is wandering around the Strand - the iconic bookstore in NYC - when he finds a red notebook tucked among the the books. Inside, there is a challenge sent by a girl named Lily. 

Bored, Dash decides to follow along, first running all over the bookstore and then expanding the quest outside, as he has little else to do this holiday season as his parents have both left the city, firmly believing Dash is staying with the other parent. 

In Brooklyn, Lily is having a hard time dealing with the worse Christmas ever! Her beloved grandfather is in Florida, her parents are in Fiji and the rest of her family kind of wish she would grow a little out of her holiday fixation all ready! So, in an effort to keep her busy and out of his hair, Lily's older brother Langston concocts and idea to find Lily a 'guy', someone outside the protective blanket of their grandfather's influence (as grandpa knows EVERYONE in their neighborhood).

So, the red notebook is born. And soon Dash and Lily are running all over New York City - with it's tourist traps, holiday craziness and snow - getting to know each other in paper, a little afraid to know each other in person.

Second Glance: First off, let me thank Heidi of YA Bibliophile who sent me Dash and Lily's Book of Dares a couple of months ago after I won it in a giveaway in her blog *jumps for joy*. 

Anyway, I was quite excited when I got this book, I generally really like the Cohn-Levithan books, but Dash and Lily weren't exactly what I expected. In general terms, I liked them both - even if sometimes Dash came off a little snobby and Lily a little naive; the people around them speak volumes of the kind of people they are. 

And I LOVED the secondary characters; like Lily's extended family and Dash's best friend' Boomer (I really did love Boomer who unabashedly loves Pixar movies).

But I did have a couple of problems with the pace of this book, for some reason I had a hard time reading a lot of it in a row, though I did like the way the narrative went back and forth between Dash and Lily and how distinct their voices were. Also, it got to a point were things were little anit-climatic and I sort of developed a personal problem with Dash and Lily and felt a little left down.

I can't really say much about that because is spoilerish, but well, that's how I felt.

Bottom Line: This is a pretty decent holiday book, with great supporting characters and an amusing plot. But it didn't leave me with the wonderful sense of possibility that Nick and Norah's Infinite Play List did, so I don't think Dash and Lily will go to my special shelf, but I'll definitely keep them around.

Favorite Quote: "You think fairy tales are only for girls? Here's a hint - ask yourself who wrote them?. I assure you, it wasn't just the women. It's the great male fantasy - all it takes is one dance to know that she's the one. All it takes is the sound of her song from the tower, or at look at her sleeping face. And right away you know -this is the girl in your head, sleeping or dancing or singing in front of you. Yes, girls want their princes, but boys want their princesses just as much. And they don't want a very long courtship. They want to know right away." - Sofia.

1/2

Cover Love #5 - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Here's the cover for Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (according to Amazon), it's the latest collaboration between Rachel Cohn and David Levithan and comes out October 26th of this year (again, according to Amazon).

And here's the 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 New York Times 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?

I personally loved Nick and Norah's Infinite Play List, so I might check it out.

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Naomi and Ely have been best friends from the cradle, growing up together int he same building and surviving everything together - including an affair between Naomi's dad and one of Ely's Moms - and they have created a No Kiss List of people that are out of limits, trying to prevent the break up of the Naomi and Ely Institution (especially since they both like boys).

However, when Ely kisses Naomi's boyfriend Bruce the Second (who actually wasn't in the list) all hell breaks loose, with friends and neighbors taking sides as Ely and Naomi's shared world implodes on itself and changes into something completely different.

Naomi's character wasn't a particularly sympathetic one, she often came as selfish and petty to me, but you can understand her pain, it's not so much that she minds that Ely kissed her boyfriend, but she does hate the fact that she now has to let go of her fantasy where she and Ely got married and lived The Perfect Life (Ely's gayness aside).

Ely fared a little better with me, he's a gorgeous and proud gay boy who has been around the block a few times but, after hurting Naomi, he decides he doesn't want to hurt Bruce the Second as well, so he's taking it slowly for the first time in his life which both confuses and thrills him. The scene when both Ely and Bruce2 confess to each other that each of them thinks he's not good enough for the other was one of the sweetest scenes ever.

Now, the Bruces, Bruce the First (Bruce1) and Bruce the Second (Bruce2) both dated Naomi, and they where my favorite characters of the whole book. Bruce1 is an insomiac, a high school junior who once upon a time dated Naomi and who worships her even though he isn't that sure he loves her. Bruce2 is a quiet, plain college student who never thought he was gay until he found himself 'liking' Ely and then falling for him.

Over all, the book is a solid read though it didn't resonate with me quite as much as Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist but it does have it's good moments and it's worth reading.

Grade

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

Nick's ex just walked through the door with a new guy, so he asks the girl standing next to him to be his girlfriend for the next five minutes. Norah knows Nick's ex, she's her not no friend Trish and since she's avoiding an ex of her own, she answer's Nick's question by making out with him .

One kiss down and a whole night to go as Nick and Norah wander through Manhattan on their 'first date', taking about life and love and, above all, music during a night when everything could happen.

In life there are certain books that leave you with a little bit of an afterglow once you have finished, Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist is one of those. You race to the whole book wanting to know how the night is going to end and wishing it never did; but when it does end, you give a happy sigh and lay in bed at night, listening to the music inside your head and wishing it happened to you too.

Nick and Norah also have something that sometimes is hard to find in today's YA fiction: it's quite realistic. It doesn't end with a cute little bow, in a perfect happy ending. There are no 'meant to be's in this book, but the ending is hopeful and true.

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