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

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares 

by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan 

Source: bought hardcover
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
Publication Date: October 26th 2010
Age Genre: Young Adult
Challenges: TBR - Cleaning my Shelves
Challenges: Contemporary

“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 bestselling authors ofNick & 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 journey with Dash & Lily was a difficult one. I chose to read this book for three reasons: the awesome title, the cover (which I love, don't even know why!) and the fact it's written by two authors on my "need to read" list. That's like, two at the price of one, you know?

So when I got it, I opened it right away. Aaaand closed it a chapter and a half later. I just couldn't get over how pretentious both of them were! I mean, they didn't even sound like teenage kids. That was just... so hard to swallow, at the time. And so, I dropped it, put it back on the shelf, and occasionally glanced at it warily.

That changed when I drew Dash & Lily as one of my March reads. I have a real tough time deciding what to read - kindle and physical, so ever since I made a list of ALL my physical and kindle books, I've been using random number generator to pick my next reads. It's been working like a charm.

Dash and Lily did not become any less pretentious this time around, but as I trudge onward, I found I could still enjoy them. They could still make me laugh. I could still find them cute together. Maybe because they were just glaring opposites, and yet completely the same in a way.

The moment I decided to let go of how un-teenage they were (whether by being so overly "mature" or by being so completely "bratty", as it were in Lily's case--I mean, how effing selfish and self-centered can you even be?...) I started enjoying myself.

Their adventure was funny, and weird, and crazy. The people around them were colorful and intriguing. It was... mindless fun, you know?

To me, this book is more the journey it took me to reach the end, than the book itself. Which is probably why this review lacks as a review, but also why it still matters enough for me to write it.

Nitzan★