Review: Twelve Days of Dash and Lily by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

Title: Twelve Days of Dash and Lily

Author:  Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date: 

Pages: October 18th, 2016
Genre: YA Contemporary Romance/Holiday

Series:  
Source: 

 

Dash and Lily have had a tough year since they first fell in love among the shelves of their favorite bookstore. Lily’s beloved grandfather suffered a heart attack, and his difficult road to recovery has taken a major toll on her typically sunny disposition.

With only twelve days left until Christmas—Lily’s favorite time of the year—Dash, Lily’s brother Langston, and their closest friends must take Manhattan by storm to help Lily recapture the unique holiday magic of a glittering, snow-covered New York City in December.

I was really excited to read this book. I did get the arc back at BEA but wanted to read it closer to the holidays and then it came out on audio and I decided to go that route. I am really glad I did. I really enjoyed this book. I felt the romance, the drama, and the holidays. It was full of fun Christmas antics, sweet romance, friends and family drama, and just feelings. 

It's been a year since Dash and Lily met and started dating. The year has been crazy and all was good at first. Then tragedy hit and things started to fall apart. This is the story about family tragedy, hopeless feelings, finding your way back, and learning what love really is as Dash and Lily figure things out together. 

This was a  very cute book. I liked the first one better because it was lighter. This one is a bit deeper and has some serious issues and some sad parts. The beginning was pretty much a downer for a bit but a bit about half way  the Dash and Lily from the first book came into play. The Christmas shenanigans and gifts were just too cute. I loved seeing what Dash and Lily were doing for each other. It was fun. 

Like I said, this book is a bit deeper than the first. The story was more about troubles and how to get through them with those you love without losing those you love. The moments when you realize your future, relationship, and present life doesn't seem to be where you want them to be. Life changes, things happen, and sometimes it takes a bit to get through the mess. This book definitely explores the family dynamics a bit more. Which I liked but I think I would have loved it more if I had been prepared. I was looking for a light fluffy read and this was not that. It did. however, have lots of cuteness and fun, though. It just had a bit of both. 

Dash and Lily relationship had changed, morphed, grown, all the above and then some. They each are at a new stage in the relationship and they are not sure where to go from here. They weren't expecting the relationship to change and as they both try to get back to where they were, they discover something new and exciting. They were still sweet but a bit more serious. I did enjoy how this book showed how a relationship changes over a year. 

I did find Lily a bit more annoying and whiny this time. I think she was acting like most teenage girls who lives are rapidly changing in a direction they don't like. In the first book.she was cute and quirky and I loved her. This time I still liked her but the love wasn't the same. 

Dash I still love. I love his snarkiness and his thoughts and perception. I did want to slap him a few times because he is quite clueless, but he still managed to be quite endearing. 

There was so much more on the family side and I loved it. Dash's family was so dysfunctional and Lily's was loveable and close. I liked how the authors showed both sides and how different they were and how the differences affected Dash and Lily. 

I wish I would have re-read the first book before going into this one but I didn't. 

All in all, I loved it, even if it didn't strike me like the first one. I still loved it and hope to see more from the two authors. 

I wasn't a bit surprised when this turned out to be a great holiday read. 

Rachel grew up in the D.C. area and graduated from Barnard College with a B.A. in Political Science. She has written many YA novels, including three that she cowrote with her friend and colleague David Levithan. She lives and writes (when she's not reading other people's books, organizing her music library or looking for the best cappuccino) in New York City.

David Levithan (born 1972) is an American children's book editor and award-winning author. He published his first YA book, Boy Meets Boy, in 2003. Levithan is also the founding editor of PUSH, a Young Adult imprint of Scholastic Press.