Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

In the run up to Christmas I love to get into the Christmas spirit and read a few Christmassy books and so back in September, during a particularly wild Amazon book spree, I purchased ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’ by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan in preparation for the festive Winter months. When the book arrived with a lovely thump on my doorstep I was very sensible and placed it safely in a hidden corner of my bedroom to sit and wait until the reindeers roamed the streets, tinsel was strung over every available surface and it was okay to be excited for Christmas. I definitely was not going to read this book until Christmas. I wasn’t. I wasn’t! ... I did.

            I am currently writing this blog in October… Okay! Okay! So, kill me! I saw a wreath of holly in a passing shop window and I got a teensy bit excited. Well… when I say a ‘teensy bit’ I mean I freaked out in the middle of the street, pre-ordered a new reindeer pattern Christmas jumper, pulled my ‘Snowman’ snow globe down from the spiders in the attic and shook it manically as I began to read ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’.

            But, all that is beside the point. The point is that ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’ is one of the most wonderful Christmas books that I have ever read! The book follows the story of New York teenagers, Dash and Lily (the co-writers writing the two perspectives chapter for chapter) as they get to know each other over Christmas using only the fantastic dares and challenges they leave each other in a little red Moleskine notebook.

 Now, bear in mind, just in case you like to take my word as law (As I know you all definitely do!) that this is not for all you lactose intolerant readers out there. This book definitely has rich, creamy, full-fat gorgonzola cheese as its main ingredient – and I loved it! Cheese is exactly what a Christmas book should have, heck, the entire season is cheesy, not just its literature. There were so many sweet little scenes and Christmassy settings that I could almost smell the cinnamon in the air. I have never in my life left Europe but I’ll be damned if I don’t what Christmas in New York is like after reading that book.

Dash, I thought, was a very unlikely character to appear in a Christmas book and at first I found him quite irritating. The complete opposite to Lily, he hated Christmas and chose to spend Christmas alone, hiding from parties and festivities and delicious gingerbread men.  Dash seemed to think himself incredibly deep and troubled because of this particular preference and kept spouting pretentious moody rubbish all the way throughout the book.  However, as I became more familiar with the characters and their individual thoughts and feelings I began to realise that this was no accident. Dash was meant to be annoying! Though infuriating, it was crucial to the plotline and I actually began to become quite fond of this particular personality quirk.

I liked Lily straight off the bat! I think her best contribution to the novel as a whole is her close connection with her family. Lily’s relatives feature a lot throughout the novel and though they may only be minor parts I think collectively they make the book more Christmassy than any number of snowflake baubles, giant nutcrackers or North-Pole themed mittens. This may only be a personal opinion, but, to me, family is the most important aspect of Christmas and I know that if Cohn and Levithan had forgotten to sprinkle a few aunts, uncles and lazy older brothers into their writing, then the book would not make my heart swell as much as it did.

Because I am a lazy blogger, now, as I finish this blog, the calendar reads December 15^th. I have read ‘Dash and Lily’ again since my little (massive) Christmas freak out back in October and I can confirm to you that nothing I have said as thus is a lie - induced by an early dose of mistletoe and fake shop-display snow. The book manages to maintain its lovely warmth and sweetness for the re-read and if, still, this late into December, you haven’t yet felt that familiar glow that comes from warm mince pies and santa-shaped mittens, then I guarantee you, this is the book to kick-start your holiday spirit! 

My Top 5 Favourite Teen Romance Novels

If you are a regular to my lovely little blog you will probably know that I like teen romantic fiction. A lot. Instead of going to wild parties like most teenagers in this country do, I love to curl up on a Friday night with a mug of hot chocolate, a cosy blanket, a box of tissues close to hand and a good bit of chick-lit in my lap. I’ve read an awful lot of romance fiction in my time and I thought that, what with my experience and all, I’d give you a little idea of what to look out for! So, without further ado, here is my top 5 favourite Teen Romances!

5. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

            Okay, so it may not be the most mature love story out there but it’s still has a warm spot in both my library and my heart. Written as if it were the diary of fourteen year old Georgia Nicolson, ‘Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging’ was the first romance novel that I ever read. I must have been about ten or eleven when I first stole this off of my older sister’s shelf. I was curious as to the contents of a book with the word ‘thong’ on the front cover. I snuck off to my room and read it in secret. It was the funniest book I had ever read. Georgia’s crazy antics and randomnosity had me giggling wildly and though I did not much care for love interest, Robbie, at the time, I still told all the girls in my class at school about it. ‘Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging’ is a book that refuses to take itself seriously

 and that is exactly why it has earned its spot on this list.

4. The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart

            When I first read it, I was addicted to this book like crack cocaine. For the day it took to get through it, getting me to do anything was about as easy as trying to walk through a thick brick wall.  ‘The Boyfriend List’ follows Ruby Oliver as, throughout the course of 11 ‘shrink’ appointments, she explores 15 important relationships (not all of which are romantic) that she has had with guys throughout her life. The stories are interesting and well-paced and the narrative is hilarious. This is a romance novel that for once does not actually promote the importance of love, but promotes self-confidence and friendship instead – strange, I know, but it completely works! Start reading it and I promise, you’ll be done before the day is out.

3. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Or any Rainbow Rowell really)

            Would this really be a reliable list if Rainbow Rowell wasn’t on here somewhere? Just thinking about ‘Fangirl’ and its colourful array of characters (particularly tall and lovely, Levi) makes me sigh and drift off into a Rowell induced dream. One of the main reasons I think I loved this book so much was because of its unusual set-up. We all know the story of the cute under-appreciated girl desperately trying to get her high-school crush to notice her, but never before have I heard the tale of one awkward twin, trying to run a successful fan-fiction page and refusing to adapt to her new life at college (University to us Brits)! The difficult changes that happen at college are rarely addressed in teen romance fiction and I absolutely loved ‘Fangirl’ for being one of the first to do so! The whole story was just 

lovely from start to finish. With quirky characters 

and beautiful illustrations, ‘Fangirl’ is definitely one to look out for!

2. 10 Things We Shouldn’t Have Done by Sarah Mlynowski

            I have read this book every single summer for about three years now and it never fails to amaze me. ’10 Things We Shouldn’t Have Done’ is the most unpredictable piece of romantic fiction I have ever read. I found myself laughing with glee at some of the cleverer plot twists. The story follows sixteen year old April as she and her friend Vi spend a year secretly living on their own together while their parents are out of town. Of course, as expected, they abuse this newly-found freedom and after a few wild parties and a washing machine disaster find themselves in a good bit of trouble. Hot-tubs, kittens and drunken mermaid impressions are just three of the 10 things I absolutely loved about this book.

1. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

                Oo gosh. My heart still aches a little bit from the brilliance of this one. As regulars to this blog will know, ‘Anna and the French Kiss’ has been one of my favourite books for a very long time. It actually has a whole other blog post to itself – and rightfully so. ‘Anna and the French Kiss’, in my opinion, is the perfect teen romance novel. It has everything you could possibly ask for: a beautiful Parisian setting, a charming romantic interest, and most importantly, a whole lot of nearly-kisses, almost-kisses, not-quite kisses and finally, French kisses. There has never, in all of Waterstones teen section, been a more indulgently romantic novel. It destroyed me emotionally and left my crying on my bed. It really is that good. I may have written this list just so that this book could reign supreme. 

So, join me now, let us raise our metaphorical wine glasses in 

celebration and give a toast: To ‘Anna and the French Kiss’!