A red notebook hidden in a famous New York bookshop sets two teenagers on a trail of dares across the city during the holidays
A notebook on the shelf
It is the week of the winter holidays in New York, and sixteen-year-old Dash is spending it alone, having told each of his divorced parents that he is staying with the other. Browsing the shelves at a huge used bookstore, he finds a red notebook tucked among the books, filled with clues and a challenge. It belongs to Lily, an exuberant, sheltered sixteen-year-old who wants something to happen this year.
Who will enjoy it
Readers aged about thirteen and up who like witty, bookish romances, New York settings and cosy holiday stories.
What you will get
A witty, bookish holiday romance in which two New York teenagers swap a notebook of dares across the city before they ever meet.
Dash & Lily's Book of Dares Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Young Adult · New York · Holiday romance · Notebook dares
Length
288 pages · ≈ 8 h
More about this book
The setup is the fun. Dash and Lily never meet at first; they communicate only through the notebook, leaving it for each other in bookshops, a department store, a wax museum and other corners of the city, each dare a little more daring than the last. Dash is cynical, sharp and a word lover, and his chapters are full of wry jokes. Lily is cheerful, sentimental and adores the holidays. Each tries to impress the other with a slightly idealized version of themselves.
The book is co-written by two authors, with David Levithan writing Dash and Rachel Cohn writing Lily, and their voices play off each other nicely. The supporting cast is delightful, especially Lily's protective brother Langston and her formidable great-aunt. The question underneath the fun is a serious one: can the real person live up to the person on the page? The romance is sweet, with some teen parties and drinking.
Light, clever and very New York, it is a perfect read for cold evenings. Sequels followed. The final scenes, as the two finally come face to face, are funny and touching, and anyone who loves bookshops will enjoy the setting. About 288 pages in the Ember paperback.
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