Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
I read this in an attempt to prolong my high from watching the miniseries (which, although somewhat teeth-grindingly twee, I ultimately found to be lovable, largely thanks to the lead actress's charm) and also because the Cyrano/Shop Around the Corner faceless-pen-pal trope has been dear to me ever since I was a bookish kid. (Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if this trope were beloved of all writerly types!)
Absolutely lovely. Dashing. Hilarious. Romantic. The book that captures December magic and young love perfectly.
Re-read
“But isn't this a dance? Isn't all of this a dance? Isn't that what we do with words? Isn't that what we do when we talk, when we spar, when we make plans or leave it to chance? Some of it's choreographed. Some of the steps have been done for ages. And the rest -- the rest is spontaneous. The rest has to be decided on the floor, in the moment, before the music ends.”
Somehow, most years since Christmas 2010, I end up re-reading Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. It isn't a literary classic but somehow this book talks to me, combining colourful characters, brilliant dialogue, hilarious situations, New York during the festive season, all tied up as a light YA romance with a heavy literary taste.
“I was horribly bookish, to the point of coming right out and saying it, which I knew was not socially acceptable. I particularly loved the adjective bookish, which I found other people used about as often as ramrod or chum or teetotaler.”
“It looks like Animal and Miss piggy had sex," I said. "And this was the spawn."
"My eyes!" Boomer cried. "My eyes! I can't stop seeing it now that you've said it!”
The idea of leaving a notebook with clues in a bookshop to find a kindred spirit is just spot on for a book lover like me. Dash and Lily 'meet' through this medium and share messages and stories while compelling each other to seek out the notebook from hiding places around the city. At first, the deliciously crafted dares spur the characters on, but soon the messages become much more important. Both end up expressing their beliefs and feelings, allowing them to be more truthfull and open than if they'd met face to face, with positive and negative consequences.
“Be careful what you’re doing, because no one is ever who you want them to be. And the less you really know them, the more likely you are to confuse them with the girl or boy in your head”
This witty and quirky story is just the ticket to get you in the mood for Christmas.
PS: Yes, when I visited New York, I just had to go to The Strand and have a look...
PPS: Netflix has adapted this book into a mini series, and it is lovely. Not exactly the same, but they have kept the spirit :O)
“But isn't this a dance? Isn't all of this a dance? Isn't that what we do with words? Isn't that what we do when we talk, when we spar, when we make plans or leave it to chance? Some of it's choreographed. Some of the steps have been done for ages. And the rest -- the rest is spontaneous. The rest has to be decided on the floor, in the moment, before the music ends.”
Somehow, most years since Christmas 2010, I end up re-reading Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. It isn't a literary classic but somehow this book talks to me, combining colourful characters, brilliant dialogue, hilarious situations, New York during the festive season, all tied up as a light YA romance with a heavy literary taste.
“I was horribly bookish, to the point of coming right out and saying it, which I knew was not socially acceptable. I particularly loved the adjective bookish, which I found other people used about as often as ramrod or chum or teetotaler.”
“It looks like Animal and Miss piggy had sex," I said. "And this was the spawn."
"My eyes!" Boomer cried. "My eyes! I can't stop seeing it now that you've said it!”
The idea of leaving a notebook with clues in a bookshop to find a kindred spirit is just spot on for a book lover like me. Dash and Lily 'meet' through this medium and share messages and stories while compelling each other to seek out the notebook from hiding places around the city. At first, the deliciously crafted dares spur the characters on, but soon the messages become much more important. Both end up expressing their beliefs and feelings, allowing them to be more truthfull and open than if they'd met face to face, with positive and negative consequences.
“Be careful what you’re doing, because no one is ever who you want them to be. And the less you really know them, the more likely you are to confuse them with the girl or boy in your head”
This witty and quirky story is just the ticket to get you in the mood for Christmas.
PS: Yes, when I visited New York, I just had to go to The Strand and have a look...
PPS: Netflix has adapted this book into a mini series, and it is lovely. Not exactly the same, but they have kept the spirit :O)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was cute. I wish something like this would happen to me. Dash is officially one of my book boyfriends.
3.5 stars. nothing revolutionary; cute christmas book delivered what it set out for. fun fact: this was my favorite christmas book when i was 12 ish !!!!!! so perhaps i'm a little generous with the stars because of the nostalgia .... wtvr merry chrystler
The story depicts two teenagers who are connected through messages sent back and forth through a notebook, even though they have never met before. It follows the development of the two characters, Dash and Lily, and the love story that unfolds from an unlike place.
I really enjoyed this book but definitely wish I had waited to read in December or so. It takes place in New York during the holiday season and I didn't really know how big of a part the season played in the book. I definitely did still enjoy it though, but think it would have been a perfect read during winter.
Usually I don't enjoy all the main characters in a book but I really did in this one. I found both Dash and Lily to be well developed and very realistic. I loved how the story went between their two views as well, sometimes it is nice to know what the other characters are thinking and feeling about situations and scenes they are in. They each had their own individual voice and personality that my heart felt for both of them through the story, especially links to their family and personal life.
The only aspect I didn't enjoy was part of the ending. I don't want to give away too much, but will say it is a scene involving a random baby saving scene. Really? I didn't really see how that fit with the flow of the rest of the book and thought it was a bit dramatic to just be thrown in at random.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend picking it up to read this holiday season. I also definitely plan on picking up more of Cohn and Levithan's collaboration books, hopefully they are as enjoyable as this one. [:
I really enjoyed this book but definitely wish I had waited to read in December or so. It takes place in New York during the holiday season and I didn't really know how big of a part the season played in the book. I definitely did still enjoy it though, but think it would have been a perfect read during winter.
Usually I don't enjoy all the main characters in a book but I really did in this one. I found both Dash and Lily to be well developed and very realistic. I loved how the story went between their two views as well, sometimes it is nice to know what the other characters are thinking and feeling about situations and scenes they are in. They each had their own individual voice and personality that my heart felt for both of them through the story, especially links to their family and personal life.
The only aspect I didn't enjoy was part of the ending. I don't want to give away too much, but will say it is a scene involving a random baby saving scene. Really? I didn't really see how that fit with the flow of the rest of the book and thought it was a bit dramatic to just be thrown in at random.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend picking it up to read this holiday season. I also definitely plan on picking up more of Cohn and Levithan's collaboration books, hopefully they are as enjoyable as this one. [:
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
For a silly, high school romance book it was really good! Cute premise. Interesting characters and world building.
- 4.5 -
This book is cute, NO not YA cheesy cute!, it's reality cute.
The characters are just so pretty cool yes all of them even the side characters were awesome so i declare this to my favorite christmas books beside Let it Snow.
This book is cute, NO not YA cheesy cute!, it's reality cute.
The characters are just so pretty cool yes all of them even the side characters were awesome so i declare this to my favorite christmas books beside Let it Snow.
meh.
This one was just okay. Although the concept was cute and I was intrigued by the plot and characters at first, as I read on I realized that although the things may have been 'happening' nothing was really evolving or moving along. Dash and Lily were both interesting characters at first, but half way through the book I began to get really annoyed with Lily and Dash just didn't bring an zeal or life to the storyline. Lily was probably my biggest issue with this book and one of the reasons I ultimately decided to move on instead of finishing the story. She seemed very young for 16. Very innocent and naive and sheltered - this is all fine if written well. Instead for me, Lily was just irritating. Her penchant for preferring stuffed animals to human interactions, her whininess over her parents' decision to spend Christmas in Fiji to celebrate their anniversary, the fact that she snuck out to a club to accept one of Dash's dares and then ran off for no apparent reason before returning the notebook to him. It was all just too much and I was already bored with the storyline so when I found myself becoming increasingly aggravated by a heroine I could neither identify with or like I decided that enough was enough, I wouldn't be following this book through to the end.
The concept of finding a notebook on a random shelf in a bookshop and then exchanging correspondence with an unknown who seems to get where you're coming from was really intriguing at first, but the dares weren't really dares, more like annoying tasks that needed to be fulfilled. And the way that Dash and Lily expressed themselves in their own inner dialogue seemed forced and not at all adolescent at times. It also bothered me when I learned that it wasn't Lily who ultimately started the notebook in the bookstore idea, but her brother and his boyfriend who had come up with the idea and forced Lily to go along with it. I think that had it have been Lily's idea I would have maybe liked her a bit more. She would have seemed more unusual, willing to risk, unique. Instead, like I said before, she was just blah and increasingly irritating in her immaturity as the story moved on.
I think there are a lot of people who would really like this book, but ultimately it just wasn't for me.
I didn't hate it, but I got bored and never felt the urge to really pick it up and dive into the story. I'll give it point for a few moments of cuteness and the overall plot idea.
This one was just okay. Although the concept was cute and I was intrigued by the plot and characters at first, as I read on I realized that although the things may have been 'happening' nothing was really evolving or moving along. Dash and Lily were both interesting characters at first, but half way through the book I began to get really annoyed with Lily and Dash just didn't bring an zeal or life to the storyline. Lily was probably my biggest issue with this book and one of the reasons I ultimately decided to move on instead of finishing the story. She seemed very young for 16. Very innocent and naive and sheltered - this is all fine if written well. Instead for me, Lily was just irritating. Her penchant for preferring stuffed animals to human interactions, her whininess over her parents' decision to spend Christmas in Fiji to celebrate their anniversary, the fact that she snuck out to a club to accept one of Dash's dares and then ran off for no apparent reason before returning the notebook to him. It was all just too much and I was already bored with the storyline so when I found myself becoming increasingly aggravated by a heroine I could neither identify with or like I decided that enough was enough, I wouldn't be following this book through to the end.
The concept of finding a notebook on a random shelf in a bookshop and then exchanging correspondence with an unknown who seems to get where you're coming from was really intriguing at first, but the dares weren't really dares, more like annoying tasks that needed to be fulfilled. And the way that Dash and Lily expressed themselves in their own inner dialogue seemed forced and not at all adolescent at times. It also bothered me when I learned that it wasn't Lily who ultimately started the notebook in the bookstore idea, but her brother and his boyfriend who had come up with the idea and forced Lily to go along with it. I think that had it have been Lily's idea I would have maybe liked her a bit more. She would have seemed more unusual, willing to risk, unique. Instead, like I said before, she was just blah and increasingly irritating in her immaturity as the story moved on.
I think there are a lot of people who would really like this book, but ultimately it just wasn't for me.
I didn't hate it, but I got bored and never felt the urge to really pick it up and dive into the story. I'll give it point for a few moments of cuteness and the overall plot idea.