The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn and David LevithanThe Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by David Levithan, Rachel Cohn

Published by Allen & Unwin on October 26th 2016
Genres: Coming of Age, Contemporary, Family, Fiction, Friendship, General, Love & Romance, Realistic Fiction, Young Adult, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 272
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
four-half-stars

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Dash and Lily have now been going out for nearly a year - and it's been a really hard year. Lily's beloved grandfather had a heart attack and fell down some stairs. He survived, but his recovery has been slow. Lily insists that everything's fine. But Dash knows that her spirit is sagging. Her enthusiasm has been exhausted. And even with Christmastime, her favourite time, approaching, she doesn't really feel...anything.Action must be taken. There are twelve days until Christmas. Twelve days for friends and family to take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the magic of New York City in December. Twelve days to find Lily's cheer, and help her fall in love with life again. Twelve days left for Dash and Lily...?

There is no better way to get into the festive spirit than by spending it with Dash and Lily. And in this lovely follow up to Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, not everyone is in the Christmas spirit. The two teens have been together for a year now but the glow of new romance is starting to dim as reality sets in. Lily’s family seems to be falling apart and the usually uncheerful Dash has taken it upon himself to make Lily fall in love with Christmas before the season is out.

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily is fun. Full of Cohn and Levithan’s signature charm, this book has Dash and Lily travelling all over New York City recapturing the moments which made them fall in love in the first place whilst at the same time falling in love all over again.

There is a lot to love about Dash and Lily. At times this book is silly and there are times when the characters’ antics are borderline ridiculous. But throughout all of their festive adventures, the people in this book have a certain charisma which results in this book being a sweet and lovely read. The characters are larger than life at times yet feel genuinely authentic in their thoughts and feelings.

Dash and Lily manage to combine their romantic relationship with their family problems in a way which feels real. These characters read as teenagers with authentic issues. I also loved how this book deals with what happens next. Dash and Lily fell in love a year ago and they aren’t the same people they were when they first met. It’s interesting to see how they relationship has progressed since the events of Book of Dares. Another plus of this book is that this instalment is a perfect continuation for fans of the first book but it would work just as well as a standalone novel for those who aren’t familiar with how Dash and Lily met (That said, I have a feeling anyone who reads this book without having read Book of Dares is going to want to go back to see how it all began!).

This isn’t a book which takes itself too seriously and the result is a lighthearted fun read with just enough real life drama to keep things realistic.

Perfect for fans of sweet clean romances, The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily combines realistic teens with some festive fun. A must read for fans of well-written, entertaining contemporary YA.

Many thanks to Allen and Unwin for the review copy. 

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