DASH AND LILY'S BOOK OF DARES

A YA book review by Kim Tomsic

Sixteen-year-old Dash and Lily find themselves parent-less (or parent-free depending on the perspective)in their hometown of New York City during the Christmas/New Year school break. The teens have never met, but when their worlds collide, they communicate with notes and a series of outlandish cached dares.    Being bibliophiles, they toss around crazy vocab words like quiescent, epigynous, and lascivious, but you can trust the book is not crude, but rather sweet.   Dash's favorite word is a great description for this book-- 

fanciful 1. marked by fancy or unrestrained imagination rather than by reason and experience. 

There are many fun moments of unrestrained imagination in this adventure-packed parade of dares.  I did not enjoy the shout-outs to the many books the character's read (nods would have been fine if not so labored in description) but I loved the faux-Pixar movie, Lily's family, Dash and Lily's personality and notes, the caching, the unexpected twists, and of course the Crimson Alert. 

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohen and David Levithan (also co-authors of Nick and Norah's Infinite Play List) is a YA book appropriate for readers in 9th grade and up.  I give it 3.5 lollipops out of five (and will buy a few copies to give as gifts the next time the holidays roll around).  Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers (October 26, 2010)  $16.99.

ISBN-10: 0375866590

ISBN-13: 978-0375866593
Available at Dash and Lily's favorite book store:  The Strand
or mine:  Boulder Book Store, Tattered Cover, Barnes and Noble, or Borders