Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Pages: 272

Publisher: Knopf

“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?”

It doesn’t get much better than a love story that starts in a bookstore. At least that’s my opinion. After I finished reading this book, I was dying to find my own little red notebook in my local bookstore – I even considered putting one there myself. For about a nanosecond. While Dash & Lily’s romance is completely adorable and fun, there are just too many creeps in the world for people to do something like this in real life.

Anyway, enough of the real world. In the world created by Cohn and Levithan, the notebook ends up in the right hands and a wonderful love story ensues. Dash and Lily are both utterly engaging protagonists – and their correspondence makes for an utterly enjoyable read. I particularly like their creative placement of the notebook – of course the bookstore is the best place but the make-your-own-Muppet room comes in as pretty close second.

While this story takes place around the winter holidays, it’s not what I would call a “Christmas” story. You know what I’m talking about, the ones that make you long for winter if you read them at any other time of year – especially in 100+ degree heat. However, the juxtaposition of Dash and Lily’s attitudes toward Christmas makes for an amusing opening to the book.

A quick note about the authors: I have to admit that, at least in my mind, a bit of a stigma surrounds books written by two or more people. (Like the Warriors series. I think Erin Hunter is about 500 people now.) Dash & Lily’s book of dares is the perfect co-authored book. The way in which it was written, with one author writing the voice of Dash and the other writing Lily, was absolutely flawless.

The big picture: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is a cute, well – written romance. The perfect fluff book to take your mind off of the trials and tribulations of writing that looming English essay.