Dash and Lily's Book of Dares ~ Theme & Summary

Summary

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares is a collaboration of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn.  The adventure begins at the brink of Christmas time in New York, in which Lily's parents have left her with her brother to go on an anniversary vacation.  Bored with Lily, Langston gives her the idea of leaving a book in her favorite shelf of her favorite bookstore, the Strand, to meet a new friend while missing her family traditions.  Little does she realize that the dares she has left on the pages will be quickly picked up by her ultimate match: Dash.  Lying to his separated parents about staying with each other, he is determined to spend the Christmas alone, browsing the Strand for new editions to his many favorite books.  After Dash follows the instructions and is admittedly amazed by Lily's dares, they exchange the book across Christmas time and find themselves struggling through wax figure viewers and going to the biggest Macy's in America... on Christmas Eve.  The question is, should they stay hidden behind the pages or ruin the expectations the pages have set by coming face to face?

Theme

The theme of this book is "You have to take chances."  I think that, at first, neither of the characters really ventured out of their comfort zone.  Dash was always just his snarky, book-loving self who just wanted to be alone: it was easier that way.  Lily was always traditional and loved festivity and books, though she didn't make much friends.  Both introverts become more extroverted, or maybe just more comfortable with people, in the course of this story.  Starting out with simple dares, Dash ventures to parts of the organized chaos of the Strand he's never been and Lily goes to see the cruelest Christmas movie of all time: Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.  As the dares go further, the characters seemingly find themselves doing stranger and crazier things that they'd never have thought of doing before, even scribbling secrets in the red notebook that takes them on the adventure of a lifetime.  If they never tried, they'd never have known what the world has to offer, and what they have to offer the world.

Rating

I'd give this book four & a half stars.  With a quirky plot, lovable characters, and a humor that kept me laughing throughout the novel, this book won me over fair and square.