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

 

Reviewed by Abby

My favorite seasonal Young Adult book that always makes me feel cheery and bright around the holidays is Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares! This book takes place in one of the most popular rom-com settings, New York, so you know it’s going to be a delightful read about an adorable blooming relationship.

Lily is a Christmas fanatic who isn’t in the holiday spirit this year because her parents are vacationing without her and her older brother. To help Lily feel better and to get her to stop bugging him, her brother suggests she have a little fun in the city and create an anonymous scavenger hunt. Lily decides to leave a red moleskin notebook full of handwritten dares in one of her favorite bookstores for the reader to complete. She knows whoever is bold enough to carry out the notebook’s demands is the person for her.

The individual who discovers the notebook on the shelves is Dash, an intelligent and inquisitive teen who is the exact opposite of Lily. He hates Christmas and is more of a loner, but is always willing to try new things. He takes on each of Lily’s imaginative dares with slight hesitation but with plenty of heart, because he badly wants to learn the conclusion of this story and meet the person behind it all.

Lily also wants to meet the mysterious writer who had the guts to take on each of her challenges. But in typical rom-com fashion, things always go awry and the two get swept up in the city’s hustle and bustle before they are able to come together. Lily and Dash continue to fulfill the dares and leave the red notebook in various places across the city, all the while never (knowingly) running into each other in the process. I found myself eager and somewhat impatient for them to meet up as they kept getting into hilarious situations from the dares. Eventually, the two do meet and it is exactly the awkward yet sweet encounter that we all cringe about when reminiscing about our own teenage love stories.

Dash & Lily is a cute and lighthearted Young Adult novel for those in need of more holiday romance reads. There are certainly moments in the book that do not feel realistic whatsoever, but the book still provides those necessary feelings of wonder and excitement that we have become accustomed to during the Christmas season. It is also the first book out of a three part series! I personally prefer the original story, but having more of Dash and Lily in your life is never a bad thing! This book is available in the Bristol Public Library’s Young Adult shelves for those interested. 

Happy Holidays!