Title: Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares
Author: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Genre: YA, Contemporary, Fiction
First published: October 26th 2010
Finished reading: August 8th 2015
Pages: 260
“We believe in the wrong things, that’s what frustrates me the most. Not the lack of belief, but the belief in the wrong things. You want meaning? Well, the meanings are out there. We’re just so damn good at reading them wrong.”
I know Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares is more of a Holiday themed read, but it was chosen as this month’s read by The Book Club Of Opinionated Hufflepuffs so I decided to give it a go anyway. I ended up enjoying this read, although I still think I would have liked it better if I would have waited until December. This novel is written by both Rachel Cohn and David Levithan; writing respectatively the chapters told by Lily and Dash. I personally liked the Lily chapters better; mostly because of the prose. I also really loved all the bookish facts that are included in this novel! But some of the characters weren’t that credible OR likeable… Especially Dash and his friends. I like the weird-factor of Lily though; she sounds a lot like me at points. In short: I like the plot and the notebook that travels back and forth between Lily and Dash, but not all characters were to my taste or credible for that matter. Still, if you are looking for a nice and easy Holiday themed read, I think I would still recommend Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares.
Lily doesn’t want to spend her Christmas vacation alone and her brother talks her into leaving a red notebook full of challenges on a shelf in her favorite bookstore. She hopes that the right teenage boy will eventually find it and except her dares… When Dash goes to his favorite bookstore and finds the notebook, Lily’s wish seems to have come true. But is Dash really the right guy? Will they be able to keep sending dares as they pass back and forth the notebook? And will they be able to finally meet and not be disappointed by the ‘real’ persons behind their notebook versions?
Dash & Lily’s Book Of Dares has all the signs of a feel good Holiday read that will be perfect to read just before Christmas. I didn’t like all the characters and the Dash chapters weren’t as good as the ones written by Rachel Cohn. Still, this is a short and entertaining read that is worth reading at the right time, even though it’s not perfect.
Every time I noticed a Lily chapter was over I groaned haha. I really didn’t like Dash I’m glad you liked it! You enjoyed it more than I did 😛
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It wasn’t a perfect read and Dash definitely was annoying… I’m not sure if it’s just the character or David Levithan’s writing style in general, because it’s the first time I read his work.
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I have read Will Grayson, Will Grayson and I liked his Will, so maybe it was just Dash? I guess I’ll only know for sure when I read something that was solely written by him!
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I have that one on my TBR; I might read it first before reading a book that’s written only by him…
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I really liked it! 🙂 Hope you will too!
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I haven’t read this particular volume, but I generally enjoy Levithan’s writing very much–he’s a favorite of mine. But his writing style can be a bit different if you’re not used to it.
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What is your favorite Levithan title? I might read that one to see if it’s just Dash or if I really don’t like his writing style.
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So far, I think I liked Everyday the best–it has a nice blend of sci-fi/fantasy and slice-of-life/realism that is enjoyable, and the characters are pretty interesting. Plus, because A ends up being a part of so many different people’s lives, you get a good snapshot of how Levithan would write a broader variety of people. 🙂
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Sounds like I will have to add Every Day to my wishlist then; thanks for the recommendation!
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