MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Hello all,

Wishing all my lovely followers a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope everyone had a terrific time celebrating with family and friends and eating ridiculous amounts of scrumptious food. I started the morning at 6am with a champagne breakfast on the beach and then had the family over for lunch in the afternoon.

Much love, Jess xx

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

Title: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Authors: David Levithan and Rachel Cohn

Release Dates: 26th October (US), 1st December (Australia) 2010

My Rating: 5/5

Blurb:

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.

Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favourite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash the right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
My Review:
Words can not express how much I love this book. But I will try.

Having previously read and loved Levithan and Cohn's other collaborative works, I was highly excited for the release of Dash & Lily, so much so that if you have been following this blog, you will have read about my anticipation.

Dash & Lily was everything I hoped it would be, right from the first page. I couldn't help smiling as I read each page and I grew more and more excited about how much I was loving the book as I progressed. It's always a worry that a book won't live up to my expectations, especially for this book considering how much I loved Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist.

Dash and Lily are two teenagers who have been left alone in Manhattan for the Christmas holidays. While Dash is ecstatic about this, Lily can't think of anything worse. Both are regular visitors of The Strand Bookshop (one of the coolest places for book-lovers I might add and I can vouch for it as I have been there), although they have never met, and this is where this magical holiday adventure begins. What follows are a bunch of random dares spread through some of the best known places in Manhattan (and some of the craziest at that time of year, much to Dash's annoyance!). These dares are passed back and forth to each other via a red moleskin notebook with the help of their friends and family. Anyone who has a love for New York, Christmas, quirky characters, literature, or if you simply love to watch two people who are perfect for each other find each other, then this book is definitely for you!

Levithan and Cohn collaborate so well together, in this case, Levithan writing the character of Dash and Cohn writing Lily's part, with each chapter alternating between the two. They write so well about the awkwardness of being a teenager and being just that little bit different to everyone else. You will immediately fall in love with Dash and Lily. From the very first page I was laughing. Both characters have personality's that have been so well thought out and brought to life that you know you would want to be friends with them if they existed.

This is a book of pure awesomeness with witty banter, teenage insecurities and a potential relationship that is just too cute for words. I have so much love for this book right now. Please go and buy it right now.