Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Dash & Lily, #1)

by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Now a Netflix original series starring Austin Abrams and Midori Francis! A whirlwind holiday season romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. 
 
“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.”
 
16-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on her favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. Dash, in a bad mood during the holidays, happens to be the first guy to pick up the notebook and rise to its challenges.

What follows is a whirlwind romance as Dash and Lily trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations all across New York City. But can their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions, or will their scavenger hunt end in a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Co-written by Rachel Cohn (GINGERBREAD) and David Levithan, co-author of WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON with John Green (THE FAULT IN OUR STARS), DASH & LILY'S BOOK OF DARES is a love story that will have readers scouring bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

• ISBN10: 0375859551
• ISBN13: 9780375859557
• Publish Date: 11 October 2011 (first published 1 January 2010)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: IN
• Imprint: Random House USA Inc
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780375859557

Reviews

[Joséphine]

January 1, 2016

Initial thoughts: Should anyone do for me what Dash did for Lily, he would most definitely be a keeper. Hah! Also, I should totally frame page 252 for the appreciation of words and for expounding the gloriousness of the word revel. Much as I re-read Dash & Lily, Word Revel did not come to be because of this book but I like this inadvertent association. After all, while I no longer would give it 5 stars as I did three years ago, I should still count it to my favourites. To be fair, I think this book works better as an audiobook, so maybe there’s that too.

What I thought particularly neat was that this time round I got to start the book on Dec 21 and end it on Jan 1. That’s the exact time frame of the book as the dates mark the chapters. While this marked the end of the of the book, for me, this is the beginning of 2016 and first book I’ve finished then.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Reading Dates
1) Sep 13–18, 2012 [Audiobook]
2) Dec 21, 2015 – Jan 1, 2016 [Paperback]
3) Dec 7, 2018 – Dec 10, 2018 [Audiobook]

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

This is the first novel I've read by both these authors, but the third by David Levithan (reviews of the other two to come next year). I have decided; Levithan is an authorly genius. Not only was this book lovely and Christmassy, it was sweet, romantic, and kind of philosophical. I loved it!

With her parents away for a second honeymoon in Fiji and her grandfather spending the holiday in Florida, Lily is not happy that Christmas is going to be spent with just her and her brother. That's not Christmas at all! To distract her and keep her busy, her brother comes up with the idea of the book of dares; Lily just may find a worthy guy through this small red notebook. With divorced parents and a loathing of all things Christmas, Dash has told each parent he is spending it with the other, and both end up going on holiday. Alone, and wanting to escape all the Christmas shoppers, he steps into his favourite bookstore, and finds a red notebook on the shelves, daring him to work out the clues, and offering him the perfect distraction from Christmas. And so begins a friendship among the pages that travels across Manhatten, but is it one that will blossom into more outside the book?

The story is told from both Dash and Lily's points of view in alternating chapters. The individual lives on Dash and Lily are quite different. Dash is dealing with some resentment towards his parents and a complete dislike of all things Christmas. Lily adores Christmas, but is completely annoyed that everyone has abandoned her at what is supposed to be the happiest time of the year. Dash is introspective, sometimes sullen, and "snarly", Lily is positive and optimistic, quite happy-go-luck, and can seem very young in the way she views things, but not annoyingly so. It's very strange and amusing, but also worrying, how they both assume the other is a certain type of person from what is written in the notebook, but are quite wrong a fair few times. The other isn't who they imagine them to be, and you worry this almost-but-not-quite blooming romance might end before it even really starts.

I don't think there's much more I can say about the plot without spoiling it for you, so I'll leave it there and just say it's a brilliant story! I can, however, talk about the book more generally. Levithan, I've noticed, has a writing style that is familiar and recognisable, no matter what the story he's telling or the characters involved. At the very end of the book, in the authors' bios section, it tells us that Levithan wrote Dash's chapters, and Rachel wrote Lily's, but I found I knew this any way, because of how Levithan writes. There's something about Levithan's writing that in every book by him I read, there is something that reaches me. Both Levithan and Cohn say things through their characters in this book that feels like they are speaking to the reader as well as to the other characters in the book. The following excerpts are two that made me stop and think "woah", for how right they are. They either say something I've always thought but never knew how to really say, or open my eyes and make me think a little. The first is what Dash's ex-girlfriend, Sofia, says to him, so Levithan's chapter.

'"I mean, like most guys, you carry around this girl in your head, who is exactly who you want her to be. The person you think you will love the most. And every girl you are with gets measured against this girl in your head. so it makes sense. If you never meet her, she never has to get measured. She can be the girl in your head... It's only when we try to make the girl or boy in our head real that the trouble comes... Be careful what you're doing, because no-one is ever who you want them to be."' (p130-131)

This just makes so much sense to me, though I never would have thought of it before. And the next - said to Lily by her brother, Langston - is just so true!

'"The important people in our lives leave imprints. They may stay or they may go in the physical realm, but they are always in your heart, because they helped form your heart. There's no getting over that."' (p233)

I don't know about you, but I love it when a book seems to get me, offers me some advice, or just says something that makes sense of my life, past or present, or speaks to me in some other way. It makes it more than just a story, but special to me personally. And it's this and the fact that this is just such a playfully romantic story that makes me love it so much!

I fell completely head over heel's with Dash and Lily's story - and the whole idea of the Book of Dares! A fantastic, fantastic book, and I am so looking forward to reading more by these two authors in future.

[Kelly]

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares was brilliant! So quirky, heartwarming and witty. Each character is warm, free spirited and eclectic in their own right. Absolutely loved it!

[lizarodz]

I loved this book. It has bee a while since I laughed this much when reading a book. Seriously, my husband kept looking sideways at me in bed because I kept either laughing or smiling to my self. This is the first book by either of these authors that I have read and I really liked the plot, and the distinctive voices of the characters.

Dash seemed a lot more mature than Lily, but then again, he had a very different upbringing and the background of a very nasty divorce. Lily was, it seems, the 'baby' of a very big and united extended family. I wish the ending was a little further along in their relationship to see where it lead. I hope the Lily stayed in NY and that they were together forever (well, for a while a least!)

[rakesandrogues]

I love the premise of this book first of all! I only recently visited Strand for the first time a couple of weeks ago so it was a lot of fun reading about it. I love the idea of Dash and Lily trading this red moleskin notebook and going on adventures throughout New York City. I live near Mrs. Basil E’s brownstone so it was really exciting to read about their adventures happening so close to me. My favorite NYC spot that Dash and Lily visited, other than the Strand, was Max Brenner. For teens living outside New York City, I would recommend taking a trip here and going through their adventures. Sounds like a blast!

Dash vs. Lily? It’s tough to say which character I enjoyed reading more about. I don’t think I have a preference because they are both just written so well. I think on some level, I can definitely relate to both characters.

Favorite dare? I love the first dare in the Strand. I thought that was absolutely clever and it made me just want to keep on reading.

DASH AND LILY’S BOOK OF DARES is a great read to prepare yourself for the upcoming holiday season! Lily’s love for the holidays is infectious and before you know it, you’ll be baking spritz cookies and building snowmen! I laughed many times throughout the book; David Levithan definitely sprinkled in some slap-stick comedy as promised. I cannot wait to see this up on the big screen – I hope it pulls through.

I think that fans of Levithan and Cohn will definitely enjoy this book. Lovers of romantic comedy and/or the holidays will also find this a fun book to read.