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

(Photo from GoodReads)

Summary 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.

My rating - 5/5 Red Moleskin Notebooks

POV - First, alternating between Dash and Lily

Liked - Supporting characters were fun, the idea behind this story is cute, made me feel fuzzy inside :)

Favorite Quote - "It's hard to show that you tried unless you end up succeeding." From a notebook entry by Dash (Pg. 121)


My favorite parts in this book involved the supporting characters. Without those personalities and characteristics I feel like this book could have been boring. Without Lily’s interesting family members and Dash’s eccentric friends the main characters wouldn’t have progressed any, so by far the best thing about this book is everyone else in the story.

I admit that the plot behind this book is something I wish would happen to me, but since I do not reside in New York, my own adventures would probably be lackluster compared to this story. It is pretty imaginative, I would say, and probably leaves room for some minor flaws. The constant flow of activity didn’t allow me time to really think about stuff like that though, and I didn’t feel like I should be dwelling on the small things either considering the bigger picture (such as, will they ever freaking meet??).

This book is really fun and quick to read. It only took me about two days and I truly enjoyed it. The pace was just right and the book was filled with so many exciting times that I wish I could have been a part of. My favorite parts include everything my most beloved gay Jewish couple was involved in, the Santa incident, the Boris incident, and the small part where Dash goes over to Aunt Ida’s place. I don’t feel like explaining why I love this gay Jewish couple, probably because there really is no specific reason. The Santa scene was so hilarious to me, even though I don’t remember laughing out loud or anything, its just something that would be great to see in person. I wish I could have Boris as a dog, but I already have my Sheltie mix Dexter so that’s out of the question (Boris is also not real, at least to my knowledge, but I wouldn’t let that stop me). This is also something I would love to see, and the amount of chaos would not only have me in tears but also rolling on the ground. I loved the back-and-forth between Aunt Ida and Dash, and I think Aunt Ida would be a great person to have close to you.

This book really didn’t have any big problems for me so I don’t have anything to complain about. A sequel would be cool but I worry that there might not be anywhere for the story to go that it hasn’t already been to (perhaps I’m not giving New York enough credit). If you are deciding whether or not to read this book, I say you should, because you’ll be done reading it soon enough. I might even read this a second time, which I admittedly almost never read books twice, simply because it goes so quickly and makes me feel so many good feelings.