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

Merry Christmas! Or in case you don't celebrate Christmas, Happy Holidays!
I read Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares around a week ago, and I thought, given the Christmastime setting, why not post my review on Christmas day? Or rather, schedule it for Christmas day, because when there are presents to be opened, who would choose to write a review instead?

____________________________________________


Dash convinced both his parents that he was spending Christmas with the other, resulting in them both going away for the holidays and leaving him alone - just as he likes it. 


Lily's parents are on a belated honeymoon, and have left her under the care of her brother, who'd much rather be spending his time with his boyfriend.

Their worlds soon collide when Dash finds a red moleskin notebook nestled in the stacks of used books The Strand's 18 miles of shelf hold. Therein, he finds challenges that, should he choose to accept them, will lead him to Lily.

I opened this book with high expectations that Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List by the same authors predisposed me to have. And then it totally exceeded those expectations and blew me away.

I've always reasoned that the best authors of young adult fiction are themselves young adults or at least young at heart, or else the characters don't really feel like teens and their dialogue doesn't capture the way teens really talk. No such problems occurred in Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares. The characters were amazing. They felt like real teenagers and their personalities stood out and gave them the feel of real people as opposed to just characters.

I was expecting the plot to be less-than-favorable, since Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's writing style is to not outline and just go where their characters take them, but it made the character's exploits feel more natural.

I also love the way this book explores the way people we meet compare with the ideal people we build up in our minds and how they compare to how we imagine them.

Reading this made me want to leave my own notebook in a bookstore just so I could meet someone like Dash (being a smart-ass makes other smart-asses endearing to me). It makes me want to be friends with someone like Lily, and hang out with someone like Boomer. It makes me want to spend Christmas in one the world's biggest cities with limited supervision (okay, so maybe I wanted to do that anyway).

Definitely one of my favorite books of the year, I give Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares 5 out of 5.

Review of Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Naomi both loves and is in love with Ely. Ely loves Naomi, but prefers to be in love with other boys. They have a No Kiss List of people neither of them can kiss - a kind of insurance against a drama breaking them up.

There's no reason to put Naomi's boyfriend, Bruce, on the list. But when Ely kisses Bruce, no No Kiss List can prevent their break up.

The bright and minimalistic cover of this book was what first got my attention, and that I'd already read a novel co-authored by David Levithan (Will Grayson Will Grayson) is what grew me to pick it up.

Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List was quirky, funny, and explored so many different relationship dynamics, due to all the different perspectives offered. There was the straight girl in love with her gay best friend. There was the seemingly straight boy falling in love with his girlfriend's male best friend. I'd go on, but you get the picture.

The characters felt unique from one another, with realistic and well-developed personalities. Their voices were easily distinguishable in the alternating first-person perspective.

This book also explored sexuality - realising you aren't as straight as you thought you were, or just being content with your own, no matter how it strains existing relationships. I haven't read a lot of books featuring gay main characters, mainly for the reason that there aren't a lot out there, but after reading this, I might consider seeking out more.

Naomi & Ely's No Kiss List is short, having only 240 pages, and is a nice light read. I give it 4 out of 5.