Rachel Rambles About Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
From Goodreads:
“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 New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & 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?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

This book is cute and fun and incredibly fast-paced. It alternates from the point of view of two very lovable characters. Both Dash and Lily have hysterical, sarcastic voices that made me laugh out loud on pretty much every page. The story jumps between the two of them, tossing the reader back and forth from two very different situations. And throughout the entire novel, there is THE NOTEBOOK.

This red notebook is kind of the best thing ever. Dash and Lily, two complete strangers, pour their hearts into the pages of the notebook. They pass it back and forth, gradually unraveling the mystery of the other's identity. Through this notebook, they come to know each other. Needless to say, this is not your typical love-at-first-sight YA novel romance. This book is about two teenagers who find comfort in each other through words hastily scrawled in the pages of a red notebook. For most of the book, they don't even meet in person. The majority of this relationship is the two of them communicating through the notebook.

Dash and Lily are both characters who I love to death. They are quirky and smart and interesting and funny and easy to relate to, but also very different from each other. Lily is a very upbeat, optimistic person, while Dash is a little more, well, snarly.

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is one of those books that needs to be devoured in one sitting. The story is incredibly fast paced, and I literally was unable to put it down. I spent an unhealthy amount of time laughing out loud at this book. It's a hysterical, fun contemporary that I couldn't help but fall in love with.

-Rachel