Thursday, March 07, 2013

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


A red moleskin journal, tucked between rows of book of your favorite author in your favorite bookstore. It’s just natural that it will perk your interest, right? And if the book is a list of dares… it’s even more natural to do whatever it tells you to do.

It’s Christmastime in NYC, and maybe there is nothing Dash hates more than Christmas. To quote him, Christmas is, ‘the most detestable time of the year. The moo-like crowds, the endless visits from hapless relatives, the ersatz cheer, the joyless attempts at joyfulness—my natural aversion to human contact could only intensify in this context’. On the other side, we have Lily, who loves Christmastime gazillion times more than Dash. Lily loves everything about Christmas, so much that she even organizes her own caroling society. And yeah, she’s also called Third-Verse Lily by the carolers because she’s the only one who remembers past the second verse of any Christmas song.

Through the series of dares, Dash and Lily begin to get to know each other. It’s a scavenger hunt. No one knows what they will discover in the end of the hunt. Meeting the other through the journal is like magic, but what if… what if the ending is not-so-magical? Will the magic break when they finally meet in person?

To begin with, I love this book. It’s such a cute read, definitely one of my favorite contemporaries. There’s something so thrilling about scavenger hunt, and the idea of meeting someone-meant-to-be along the way is sooooo exciting. I love the characters in this book as well, each of them is easy to identify with in some ways.

Although I liked both Lily and Dash’s voices, I found myself liking Dash’s voice a notch higher. He’s such a cynical person with geeky streak, but it’s lovely that he can be a romantic as well. Lily is a person I wouldn’t mind to get along with. She’s the type of person that would bring smile on your face even on your darkest days. She has such upbeat personality, and I think they are perfect for each other. Snarky Dash and eager Lily.

This is a fun and light reading, but the story is very relatable. Love has never been explained that easy. The less we know about someone, the more we think that maybe that person is the one in our head. We carry on living that there is someone out there, someone who is the one and we know that the instant we meet. They guy/girl in our mind. If that doesn’t work out, then the person is not the one. But I guess we’ve already known deep inside. The universe doesn’t decide what is right or wrong. We do.

Recommended for any fan of sweet and fun contemporary, Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is one of my favorite read-in-one-sit books. It’s cute, it’s fun… it’s addictive.

”Game over,” you say, and I don’t know which I take more exception to—the fact that you say that it’s over, or the fact that you say it’s a game. It’s only over when one of us keeps the notebook for good. It’s only a game if there is an absence of meaning. And we’ve already gone too far for that.








I rate this book:
Four cups of tea. Amazing! Love the book, it’s simply awesome. I love the tea flavor!  A strong recommendation.


PS: I MISSSSEEEEDDD YOU GUYS A LOT! Hopefully you guys missed me too hehe. c:

14 comments:

  1. HILDA, YOUR BACK!!!! =D I've missed you!! Great review! I started this book once a few years back but didn't finish it, I don't remember why. Sounds like a fun and cute romance, I love scavenger hunts. I'll have to try this one out again =)

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  2. YOUR NEW BLOG DESIGN IS BEAUTIFUL!<3 ;) Also, lovely review, dear! I've been on the fence about reading this, mostly because I like more depth in my books opposed to fun, but when I'm in the mood for this type of a read, I know what to pick up now! :D So wonderful to have you back, dearest!(:

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  3. YOOOOOOU'REEEE BACKKKK!!!! <3333 You have made my day better. No idea why. And the header! *C* ZOMG! Its so gorgeous. How do you make such gorgeous things? Your blog is just amazing. MISSED YOUU!!! *GLOMP + AWKWARD HUG*

    And this review! I can't can't believe you didn't give it a 5 star cause it should. Well, I can't force you or anything, but I love Dash too. Who doesn't love a nerdy guy? And all of Lily's relatives? Did you mention them, I didn't see it in your review, but her family is just...Dang. Snarly and Shrilly. <333

    Love ya, Hilda! C:
    <33333

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  4. Welcome back!!! I was worried you'd gone for good! I've been meaning to read this book for ages. It's so cute. I still might keep this one in my back pocket for Christmas this year.

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  5. YOUR BLOG! It's prettiful! I love it! :D

    Haha, I really love the idea of a scavenger hunt too! It seems so awesome and sweet and...fun? Das was my favorite too, because he was cynical. Lily was just way too happy-go-lucky for me, but as a whole I enjoyed this too! Lovely review, Hilda! (:

    Loves,
    Megan@The Book Babae

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  6. Hilly! <3 So glad to see a new post over here, and I love the new header and background - it suits the name of your blog so well!

    This is a cute fun read, I didn't love it, but I liked the format and theme!

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  7. Yes!! Of course we missed you! I had a huge smile on my face when I saw a comment from you this morning. I'm glad you're back! :) Also, your new header is absolutely gorgeous! I love it to pieces!

    I'm glad you enjoyed this book, Hilda! Can you believe I still haven't read it yet? I planned to make a start on this over the holiday season, but that didn't happen in the end. I love the thought of meeting someone through a scavenger hunt (if fiction, of course... I'd never be so daring in real life, hehe!) and I can't wait to eventually meet this characters. Wonderful review as always. :)

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  8. HILDA! YOU'RE BACK! WE DEFINITELY MISSED YOU TOO! *sorry for the caps*

    Just like Sam, I was really happy when I saw your comment on my last post! So glad to see you back. And I love the new look of your blog. Blue is my favorite color! Haha!

    Anyhoo, I've heard so much about this book and almost all of it are positive. I'm happy to see that you end up really enjoying this. And the quote you included on the last part, lovely! Fantastic review, Hilda. :)

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  9. OMG OMG OMG HILDA HILDA HILDA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK!!!!! EEEEEEP!!!! OF COURSE WE MISSED YOU - I MISSED YOUR WONDERFUL POSTS SOOOO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Ahem. Sorry for the caps freak out there, I'm just thrilled you have finally come back!!! And holy cow, your new design for the blog is so beautiful! It's very unique and I love the header, full of little phrases. Obviously I loved the previous design, but this one is even more spectacular!

    Anyway, enough fangirling over how pretty your blog is, fantastic review! I've seen this book around a lot over the blogosphere lately, and it definitely looks like something I would enjoy. And that's a very interesting quote at the bottom!

    Thanks so much for sharing this lovely review with us, but more importantly: thanks so much for starting blogging again! I'm super happy you're back, Hilda. <3 xxx :D

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  10. "Love has never been explained that easy."
    I read this, and I was like, Reeeeeeeaaaaaly (Ace Ventura-style)
    Color me curious! I'll confess that I'm not a big fan of David Levithan (I know, blasphemy, right?) and the only thing I've tried to read by Rachel Cohn was Beta, and I didn't much care for it. But with that one sentence, you've managed to convince me that I need to give this a try.

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  11. Hilda!!!!!!! I missed you! Glad to have you back. (((Big hugs)))

    I have messaged you at GR and dropped by her but there was no sign of you and that made me sad. But right now, I have this big goofy grin sitting on my face. And to come back with this great book, I love love love it. So glad to see you really liked it too. It is indeed very cute and as you said, addictive. Great review, by the way.

    And I adore your new blog design. It's breathtaking. Did you make it yourself? So mesmerizing and poetic, just wow!

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  12. YOUR DESIGN! Oh wow, Hilda. So pretty :D

    While I'm not a huge fan of contemporary, I always try to find one that will blow me away. I like the sound of this, a scavenger hunt and a geeky and cynical guy? Hell yeah :D

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  13. EEEEEEEE YAY YOU'RE BACK HILDA! :)
    I missed you too.
    And holy moley, you're new design is GORGEOUS! TEACH ME YOUR DESIGNING WAYS *0*

    Anyways, I'm so glad you liked this book- it's one of my favorites too! Oh Dash, I just loved his character. He and Lily definitely made a great pair. And I really really like the quote you ended with because it's absolutely perfect!

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