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A review by rallythereaders
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by David Levithan, Rachel Cohn
5.0
Also posted on Rally the Readers.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was such a fun read, and it’s simply perfect for Christmas. I grew up in New York City and have many fond memories of past holidays there, so the setting alone was enough to make me fall in love with this book. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan do a magnificent job of bringing the city at Christmas time to life, from the crowds at Macy’s Herald Square and FAO Schwarz to the decorated houses of Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights neighborhood. For anyone who’s never visited New York during the holiday season, reading this book is probably the next best thing to being there.
I loved the novel’s original premise and its rich cast of quirky characters. The two narrators, Dash and Lily, are brought together by a red notebook containing a dare. The scheme was concocted by Lily’s older brother, Langston, in an attempt to help push his little sister out into the world more. It’s Dash who finds the notebook on a shelf in the Strand Book Store and decides to play along. The tasks themselves are quite funny from the outset; in order to decipher the first set of clues, Dash has to find some rather eyebrow-raising titles among the Strand’s stacks. Later on, there’s a Cinderella-esque incident involving a majorette boot getting left behind that still makes me smile just thinking about it. I found this book hilarious; it perfectly suited my sense of humor. Dash’s frequent use of sarcasm was very welcome.
Lily is such a sweet, bubbly character. She exudes an optimism that is very endearing and that I would love to have. Dash, who takes a more cynical view of the world, is the perfect foil for her. Whereas Lily is sheltered by her extremely protective, extended family, Dash’s divorced parents haven’t spoken to each other in years. This story could have gone the trite, opposites attract route, but fortunately, it doesn’t. Cohn and Levithan keep the narrative fresh with an ideal balance between poignancy and lightheartedness.
I’m not big on holiday movies where at the end, everyone is standing in front of a fireplace wearing matching sweaters and huge grins while holding mugs of hot chocolate. I definitely have more of a Dash-like outlook on life, but this book really made me feel, well, happy, after reading it. There’s no need to worry that Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is all syrup, though; there’s enough snark, especially from Dash, to prevent it from becoming schmaltzy. The novel puts you in a festive mood without giving you the sensation that you’ve indulged in eating too many holiday sweets.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares was such a fun read, and it’s simply perfect for Christmas. I grew up in New York City and have many fond memories of past holidays there, so the setting alone was enough to make me fall in love with this book. Rachel Cohn and David Levithan do a magnificent job of bringing the city at Christmas time to life, from the crowds at Macy’s Herald Square and FAO Schwarz to the decorated houses of Brooklyn’s Dyker Heights neighborhood. For anyone who’s never visited New York during the holiday season, reading this book is probably the next best thing to being there.
I loved the novel’s original premise and its rich cast of quirky characters. The two narrators, Dash and Lily, are brought together by a red notebook containing a dare. The scheme was concocted by Lily’s older brother, Langston, in an attempt to help push his little sister out into the world more. It’s Dash who finds the notebook on a shelf in the Strand Book Store and decides to play along. The tasks themselves are quite funny from the outset; in order to decipher the first set of clues, Dash has to find some rather eyebrow-raising titles among the Strand’s stacks. Later on, there’s a Cinderella-esque incident involving a majorette boot getting left behind that still makes me smile just thinking about it. I found this book hilarious; it perfectly suited my sense of humor. Dash’s frequent use of sarcasm was very welcome.
Lily is such a sweet, bubbly character. She exudes an optimism that is very endearing and that I would love to have. Dash, who takes a more cynical view of the world, is the perfect foil for her. Whereas Lily is sheltered by her extremely protective, extended family, Dash’s divorced parents haven’t spoken to each other in years. This story could have gone the trite, opposites attract route, but fortunately, it doesn’t. Cohn and Levithan keep the narrative fresh with an ideal balance between poignancy and lightheartedness.
I’m not big on holiday movies where at the end, everyone is standing in front of a fireplace wearing matching sweaters and huge grins while holding mugs of hot chocolate. I definitely have more of a Dash-like outlook on life, but this book really made me feel, well, happy, after reading it. There’s no need to worry that Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is all syrup, though; there’s enough snark, especially from Dash, to prevent it from becoming schmaltzy. The novel puts you in a festive mood without giving you the sensation that you’ve indulged in eating too many holiday sweets.