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

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

I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you dont, put the book back on the shelf, please. 

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.




Dash & Lily was one of those books I'd seen around everywhere. A lot of the bloggers/booktubers I follow have loved this book, so I thought it was about time I gave it a try - I think I was going to read it in December, but I only read the first chapter and then gave up. The synopsis for this book sounded intriguing and I thought that it would be a brilliant contemporary that I would read over and over again around Christmas time (since it's set around Christmas). But unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy it.
I started off enjoying this book, but around chapter 5 or 6 everything started going downhill. The storyline was boring me, I had to force myself to finish it but most of all, the characters really got on my nerves.

First of all we have Lily. Lily is basically a loner. She may be captain of the football team, but she has no friends to speak of. She spends most of her time moaning in this book and it was driving me insane. I couldn't relate to her at all. She was just too weird for me. She's so difficult and childish that I just couldn't handle her. And it got even worse when "Shrilly" was let loose.

And then there's Dash. I honestly don't know what I think of him. There were times when I like him, and times when I didn't. He may have been funny, but that's basically the only good thing I can think of when it comes to him. He sounded so pretentious when he talked that I kind of wanted to punch him.

Their relationship was extremely weird. I did like the communication through the notebook. I enjoyed seeing where each of them would send the other and what they would make them do for clues, but that's where my enjoyment of their relationship ended. They just didn't seem compatible in my mind. They're completely different. Dash seems to be more of a grown up kind of guy whereas Lily came across like a 5 year old for me. And it didn't get any better when the finally me. It was just ridiculous. 
Plus, like a couple of days before they sort of got together, Dash slept with his Ex! I mean, what they hell? Sure, he was slightly confused about Lily. But that doesn't mean he can run off and have sex with his Ex and then get together with Lily! It frustrated me.

The only character I actually liked in this book was Dash's friend Boomer. He was so enthusiastic and hilarious. He was kind of weird too, but that just made everything he said funnier.

The writing style also annoyed me. Some of the words I actually had no idea what they meant, and it was either Dash or Lily that was saying them! They're freaking 16 or something! I had a hard time connecting with any of the characters because of this.

There were also these ridiculous storylines in the book like the whole thing with Dash hitting a boy in the face with a snowball and Lily trying to "steal" a baby. And the psycho mums. I just really didn't enjoy it.

Overall, I just thought this was an odd book. I didn't really enjoy the storyline, the characters or the writing style. It's definitely one I won't be reading again.