Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan

Title: Dash and Lily's Book of Dare's
Author: Rachel Cohn and David Leviathan 
Pages: 260
Publisher: Knopf Books
Pub Date: October 26th 2010
Source: Borrowed
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“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.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors ofNick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. 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?





I thought this would be the kind of book that would make me cry and think about the joy that the holiday season brings. Instead I spent half the book loving and laughing with Lily and Dash and the other half wishing an asteroid would destroy both of them.

Meet Dash: Product of divorce, hes a self entitled hippie who uses huge words and thinks he knows best. There there’s sweet Lily, she is insane… as in wear a different shoe, ponytail weirdo most people stay away from. Sure shes herself and teaches us a lesson about being ourselves but geez I kept confusing her with Ramona Quimby.

I finally decided to pick it up on a recommendation from a co-worker, she said it was the perfect holiday themed book to check out, and its been on my to-read list since it came out. Not to mention, I loved Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist so I was excited to read this next adventure. At first it did deliver, it starts off with Dash finding the notebook and starting on the first quest, which caused him to embarrass himself but also to think and but his nerd skills to use.

Once he returns the notebook, its time for Lily to retrieve it. Lily is super into the holiday spirit but also extremely bored because her parents and grandparents had gone on romantic vacation leaving her alone with her boy-crazy older brother. Not wanting to be responsible for her care, Lily’s brother and his boyfriend are the ones who start the notebook adventure.

Even though it starts out in a quiet bookstore their notebook adventures take them all over New York and specially Times Square. They have molest wax sculptures and go into Jewish rock clubs. It was quirky and fun. That is until they met. I expected sparks and whole lot a romance. That’s not what we got.

I felt that the way they met should have been the climax but it wasn’t, it was more like a “wait so its you?”. Then he proceeded to drop her off without getting her phone number or any kind of way to meet her again, besides randomly showing up at her aunt’s house. Even with that mellow climax, I was still rooting for Lily and Dash to end up together which is why the end of the book made me go NOOOOOOO. But no spoilers on that!

Overall it was a festive crazy love story that is fun to read, but don’t take it too seriously, just enjoy it!