Book Recommendation: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Readers who enjoy Rachel Cohn and David Levithan will surely enjoy this holiday story: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares.

Scrooge-like Dash has gotten out of Christmas by telling his mother he’s at his father’s house, and telling his father he’s spending Christmas at his mother’s. Perusing the shelves of used books at his favorite bookstore, the Strand, he finds a red Moleskine notebook, with “DO YOU DARE?” on the cover, and with a note on the front page:

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

Intrigued, Dash turns the page.

Christmas-loving Lily has been abandoned this season—by her parents, on a never-taken honeymoon in Fiji; by her grandfather, heading to Florida to propose to his girlfriend; and by her brother, Langston, looking to spend his every waking hour with his new boyfriend, instead of babysitting her. The clues in the book were Langston’s idea for how Lily could meet a guy; Lily doesn’t expect anyone to pick it up, or, as requested, answer in kind. What begins is a series of riddles and challenges that takes Dash and Lily back and forth across New York City, as they reveal more of themselves to each other through the notebook. The two can’t help but start falling for each other, but is it for the person on the page, or the ideal in their heads? Will they act on the ultimate dare: to meet in person? And if so, will they connect, or will it turn out to be the ultimate disaster?

I loved the wit and banter Dash and Lily have between each other, and with their family and friends, even if it doesn’t sound like a lot of the teens you might know. I felt the characters were shown to be complex and layered, with clear foibles as well as admirable strengths. Despite Dash being nicknamed “Snarly” by those he comes across, he’s never unlikeable. Lily’s sweet, but not annoying.

And some of the scenes made me laugh out loud. I wouldn’t be surprised if this book starts a trend of red notebooks on shelves in bookstores across the country.

-Debra B.

Readers who enjoyed this story might enjoy other books co-written by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan including: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist and Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List.

Book Recommendation: Looking for Alaska by John Green

One of my favorite book genres is realistic fiction. This might be one of the reasons I enjoyed John Green’s Looking for Alaska so much. I think maybe I loved it because it is so well written and the dialogue and characters are very believable.

Our story begins as high school junior Miles Halter is leaving for Culver Creek Creek boarding school in Alabama. He has spent 9^th and 10^th grade at a public school in Florida where he lives but decides to go to Culver Creek for two reasons.

Reason #1: His father went there.

Reason #2: As he tells his parents the day before he leaves, “So I don’t have to wait until I die to seek the Great Perhaps.”

The tone for the book has been established. On his first day at Culver Creek Miles gets his first nickname, gets thrown into the pond, and meets Alaska, the most interesting girl he has ever met. Throughout that fall he makes good friends for the first time in his life and begins to see what it is like to really live life. He also falls in love with Alaska, despite the fact that she has a boyfriend.

Then on January 10^th tragedy strikes and changes Miles’s world forever. What happened to Alaska and how will Miles deal with it? Find out by reading Looking For Alaska.

Final Note: This book has been compared to Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. I would say to readers, read them both and see what you think. I liked this book better than Thirteen Reasons Why because I thought the characters were better drawn and more likable, but I would be interested to know about what you think.

-Katie at CCL