Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
I have saved this review especially to kickstart December!!!! It's a cheesy, fun-filled, romantic, Christmas read.
I have saved this review especially to kickstart December!!!! It's a cheesy, fun-filled, romantic, Christmas read.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is about a red Moleskine
notebook that is found by a snarly-looking sixteen/seventeen year old boy in a
New York bookstore alongside the JD Salinger titles. Good start. It has clues
in it that send him on a bit of a goosechase to find Lily, the ‘writer’ of the
first few clues. And it’s Christmastime – December 21st.
The first two chapters are really very promising,
alternating between Dash and Lily’s story. Their voices are truly distinct,
which is wonderful and either down to the good writing of the individual
authors or clever writing by having different authors take on each voice (as
they claim to have done in this case). But then, the cat and mouse type chase
becomes a bit Christmas-movie-cheesy. And then the story interest picks up
again, descends into sit-com cheese again, and so on.
But I stayed with it because I wanted to know what happens.
Do Dash & Lily meet? Do they want to get together? And (I can’t believe it
is me writing this), will anybody (other than the boys!) kiss??
The writing style will appeal to
fans of John Green. Apart from removing some of the cheese, my main gripe with
this book is that I wish I'd waited ‘til 21 December to read it (now who’s
being cheesy?)! Anyone who likes a little bit of festive, light romance, read this novel in December - and have some fun. Who knows, we might all find little red notebooks with messages popping up around the place. Now that would be dashing!
This novel made me feel all light and cheery
(and that has nothing to do with the way the story goes but it does have a lot to do
with some of its details), so at the start of December, here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas season.
Who'll be dashing through the snow.......?
Publication details:
MIRA Books, October 2012, Surrey, UK, paperbackWho'll be dashing through the snow.......?
Publication details:
This copy: received for review from the publisher
I have this sitting on a TBR pile, also waitin for December (great minds definitely think alike), but now that I have read your review, maybe I will wait till later in the month. Thanks for the advice and this review.
ReplyDeleteAah,and Alex, you're in New York too! Definitely start it on the 21st :)
DeleteI loved this so much! I just wish I'd saved it until December as well though...
ReplyDeleteIf only we'd known.....:)
DeleteFun review - agree this is ultra-cheesy but for me that's part of the charm. Perfect fun read, am planning on rereading over Christmas. (And it's only a month or so since I read it, which says everything about how much I loved it!)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Jim. Yes, the cheese definitely adds to its charm.
DeleteThanks for signing up to take part in the British Books Challenge again next year and congratulations to you both for completing this year's challenge, I hope you do as well next year :o)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great review for Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, I might just have to try and get hold of a copy to read it on the 21st :o) I enjoy a good cheesy read at this time of year LOL
Oh yes, do try and get a copy.
DeleteAnd thanks for hosting the British Books Challenge next year, Sarah.