Dash and Lily's Book of Dares: a brief review

taken from goodreads.com

I haven't given a book 5 stars on Goodreads in a long time. Okay, I just looked and I have actually given 5 stars to more books than I thought. But still, it's a big deal. And I gave this book 5 stars because I really liked it. It was fresh and original, and it was sweet and funny. I laughed, I didn't cry, but I did zoom through it despite my sleep being disrupted by an infant whose teeth are about to finally break and who is adjusting to both a time change and changing time zones in one week.

Dash, a Christmas grinch, doesn't really love time with either his mother's new family or his father's new family, and tells both of them that he's spending the holidays with the other, granting himself a solitary Christmas alone in New York City. Lily, a Christmas lover, feels neglected by her vacationing parents who left her at home alone with her older brother for the holidays in New York City. When Lily's brother decides to create a city-wide scavenger hunt for Lily to keep her out of his hair, Dash gets caught up in the activity as well. Soon they are sending each other on errands and trips all over the city while simultaneously forming a bond through their notes back and forth.

Okay so the plot of this book is hard to explain. At the very least, it's hard for me to explain. I tried a couple different times when JT asked how my book was, and I just didn't ever feel like I was making it seem very good. But it is. It's pretty brilliant, and it's a great read. I highlighted an incredible amount of lines and passages as I read because I loved the writing so much. Authors David Levithan and Rachel Cohn switch off the writing of each chapter, coinciding with the voices of Dash and Lily; it's brilliant, and works so well. I hadn't realized until I read this book that they've actually written a couple other books together too, and I can't wait to read them at some point. Full disclaimer: there were a couple times I felt like the plot was a little far-fetched and that the kids were a little academically mature for 16 year olds...but it's a book and it's entertainment and I loved it so I didn't care too much.

And here's the part where I pretend that I didn't just write a book review on this same blog ten minutes ago (this is what happens when you listen to audiobooks and read on your Kindle simultaneously) and update you on my 2015 reading goals progress:

• Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand
• Monster, by Walter Dean Myers
• Dash and Lily's Book of Dares, by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
• The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
• Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
• Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?, by Mindy Kaling
• Yes Please, by Amy Poehler
• A Long Way Down, by Nick Hornby
• This is Where I Leave You, by Jonathan Tropper
• Wild, by Cheryl Strayed
• Serena, by Ron Rash
• Prisoner of Azkaban, by J.K. Rowling
• Goblet of Fire, by J.K. Rowling
• Order of the Phoenix, by J.K. Rowling
• Half Blood Prince, by J.K. Rowling
• Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling

Cruisin', friends. I'm just cruisin'.