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

Pub date: October 26, 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pgs: 260 pgs
Source: library
Setting: Contemporary New York


Blurb from 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 New York Times bestselling authors of Nick and 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?


Me:
This was a really fun book. I loved both Dash and Lily and their evolving relationship. Both very realistic teens who are rather unique. Their family and friends were so quirky and fun. So much humor, I was laughing through the whole thing. Like when Dash writes about the new Pixar movie, which was so ridiculously funny, and then references to the movie kept popping through the rest of the book, which made it that much more funny.

What made me like it even more was when I read the author blurbs after finishing the book. It said Cohn and Levithan emailed the story back and forth without planning any of it out beforehand. How totally awesome is that. Especially when it's a book about two characters writing notes back and forth to each other. Dash begins the book with how much he hates Christmas, then we meet Lily and find out how much she loves Christmas. It just made it that much more fun to know they made it up as they went.

I was worried that it would be like the movie Sleepless in Seattle, where Tom and Meg didn't meet until the last three minutes. But, luckily, Dash and Lily meet a lot sooner than the last three minutes and had some fun interactions before the last scene.

Great book for anytime of the year, but especially Christmas.