book review: dash & lily's book of dares

Finished reading this in the car with a huge smile on my face. Im rating it 4.2, it's definitely a wonderful feel-good book perfect for the holidays. 

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is a Young Adult contemporary book about Dash, who goes into the local bookstore one day and finds a red moleskin notebook filled with dares from a girl named Lily, who hopes for the perfect guy to accept her challenges. Being curious, Dash starts to follow the instructions from Lily's notebook and writes some new ones of his own. Both teenagers exchange dares back and forth through the notebook, expressing their thoughts and wonders along the way. When they finally meet, would the person they've come to know in the notebook be just the right person for them in real life?

This book had a slow start in my opinion, and i guess it's because the story wasn't as exciting before Dash and Lily had actually met. But the second half was really great and i read the half in almost one sitting! Gahh loved the ending. It's definitely a cliche heartwarming read but it's one i really enjoyed. I almost can't believe that the authors had each written alternate chapters, David Levithan writing for Dash's POV and Rachel Cohn writing for Lily's. For a while it felt like everything was written by a single author. This was lovely because both characters were so rich in personality. 

Lily is a character i can somewhat relate to, especially because she is someone who is afraid to get out of her comfort zone and explore the world more. Dash is quite dashing(heh see what i did there?), he definitely isn't a typical fictional teen male and i think i'd probably have a crush one someone like him in real life. I really love the idea of pouring your thoughts into a notebook, to be read by a total stranger whom you get to know more about and become closer to. It's pretty much like having a penpal, or writing a blog post. I'm familiar with the feeling of being understood, or at least listened to without judgment. The idea from this book makes me want to hide my own notebook in a bookshelf somewhere. Unfortunately i don't trust Malaysia to be a suitable place to do this, lol too bad.

The main issue i could get from this book is about whether somebody in real life really can fit into your own idea of a significant other(the one you've imagined in your head). We're surround by so many things that contribute into shaping our preferences, like movies and books and even virtual communication with a stranger. These things leads us to having certain expectations when we look at real life, and trouble comes by when expectations are shattered.

The only thing that bothered me a bit about the book is the many references it had for books/authors/people/stuff that some readers may not be familiar with. I managed to understand most of the sarcastic remarks in reference to those things, but i have to admit there were a few that i just didn't understand. I think people who are familiar with the Western/American culture wouldn't have much trouble with this. It's just a little hard for everyone else because there aren't any explanation to elaborate on the references.

OMG, there were so many great lines and thoughts in this book though. I dog-eared about 9 pages, and i NEVER dog ear my books. They weren't fantastic lines per se, but they're things i can relate to and find pretty well-written. One of my favourites;

"Danger comes in many forms, i suppose. For some people, it might be jumping off a bridge or climbing impossible mountains. For others, it could be a tawdry love affair or telling off a mean-looking bus driver because he doesn't like to stop for noisy teenagers. It could be cheating at cards or eating peanut even though you're allergic.
For me, danger might be getting out from under the protective cloak of my family and venturing into the world more on my own, even though I don't know what -or who- awaits me."

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves fluffy YA contemporary. If you're not a fan of that genre, then you should probably stay far away, lol.