The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily

Dash & Lily #2

by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan

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.

Genres: Young Adult, Christmas, Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Holiday, Audiobook

215 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2016

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Hailey (Hailey in Bookland) · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5*

[emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

200 pages has never felt more like 400. (And this is a sequel, too.)



For background on my history with the first book: I read it for a middle school summer reading list the year it came out. (Six years ago.) I think I liked it but I was 13 and can’t hold myself to that belief. The other thing about it being six years ago is it really seems like a sequel is unnecessary. Especially one that takes place a mere year after the first. But I was on a quest for Christmasy books and I saw this. So I picked it up.



Unlike my last attempt at a festive read, What Light, I doubted this one from the start. It started off rocky, improved a bit, went further and further downhill and lasted forever. In short, I would have DNFed this if not for the fact that this was 200 pages. But God help me if it didn’t feel way longer.



As always, the characters are the main part. (Disclaimer: I can’t speak to whether they’re worse than in the first, because I don’t remember the first.) Let’s start with Dash, since he comes first, title wise. He’s, on paper, a male me - loves reading, grumpy, anti-love. Luckily, I was spared even the short-lived belief he could be a new book boyfriend by the fact that the first chapter is in his POV. And his POV sucks. “He” thinks in long, gaudy sentences without point beyond making him sound smart. And he’s boring. He doesn’t have much of a personality beyond the aforementioned list and his obsession with Lily, and even that isn’t followed much.



But unfortunately, he’s not the worst part. Because Lily? Lily goddamn sucks. (Follow-up to the disclaimer: I’m pretty sure she’s significantly worse than in the first.) Here’s a list of adjectives I angrily applied to Lily while reading: childish, attention-starved, b*tchy, bratty, unsatisfiable, selfish, annoying, and - God I hope - unrealistic. The entire book is Dash’s hopeless attempts to get her back in love with him/cheer her up - because she refuses to have an actual discussion with him.



But the book doesn’t end once they FINALLY stop with the irritating, unnecessary, unrealistic lack of communication. No, more bone-chillingly-annoying hijinks ensue. They each try to express their love for the other, but - get this! - it’s not that easy! Hahaha! Isn’t that fun! (Is the sarcasm coming through? Because I couldn’t be more sarcastic if I tried.) At this point, I was so fed up with both of their characters that seeing them have ooey gooey grand gestures of romance made me feel physically ill.



This book doesn’t even have the Christmasy feeling that redeemed What Light to two stars. No, this book doesn’t make me feel jolly or festive at all, let alone inspire the need for a candy cane that W.L. did. I could be reading this in August and have it feel equally appropriate.



Bottom line: Everything that happened in this book was so pointless and avoidable, and I didn’t even have a nice character or Christmasy feeling to help me cope. I can’t speak to the first book, but I can say that I couldn’t stand reading this one.

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well poo! I didn't love this book as much as the first book. I think Dash & Lily's Book of Dares was so much better than this one.

I still liked it, just didn't love it! And it was nice and Christmasy <-- I made up that word!



Lily was having a hard time when her grandfather had a minor heart attack. There were also some other things going on in her life.

It just didn't feel like the old Dash & Lily. Maybe because the book was so short, I don't know. I just love Dash & Lily either way so there.

And Sebastian and his boyfriend were in it of course and some stuff happened with them that made Lily depressed too. I wish the book was a little longer so we could have gotten more into what they were doing as well. Maybe the authors will write one based on those two .

Anyway, you should read it if you loved the first book because you might love this one too =)

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had some cute moments but it was too twee for me. I didn't get along with the writing style (shallow, tongue in cheek, both characters had too similar voices). First one was better because of the notebook format. I'd leave it as a standalone.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book but it was missing that Dash & Lily fun!

[Melina Souza · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The people you know the most, the people you love the most - you're also going to feel the parts of them you don't know the most".

Feliz de ter mais um pouquinho de Dash & Lily.

[The Candid Cover (Olivia & Lori) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full Review on The Candid Cover

2.5 Stars

Ever since I read Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares, I had been dying for a companion novel, so I was thrilled to see one being released. However, there is far less adventure in this story and Lily’s character is so negative. The constant negativity doesn’t make the book seem Christmassy at all, and I ended up being pretty disappointed with this one.

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily, like Dash and Lily’s Books of Dares, contains adventure, though definitely not as much as the first book. The adventures in this story are mostly Dash trying to cheer Lily up, and even find her. I was hoping for something more like the first book’s wild and mysterious concept, so I was pretty disappointed in this one.

I enjoyed Dash’s character more than Lily’s in this book. He is kind and does everything he can to make Lily happy. Lily, however, while being an okay character herself, is depressed, and her parts failed to get me in the Christmas spirit. While reading, I felt really sad for her, which I was not expecting from a holiday book. It got to the point where I dreaded switching to her POV because it was so negative. The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily really needs some more Christmas spirit.

My main issue with the book, which I kind of mentioned above, is the constant negativity. There are so many things that go wrong, such as Dash and Lily considering taking a break and Lily’s grandpa’s failing health. The whole book was pretty much everyone feeling sorry for Lily and trying to cheer her up. It didn’t even feel like a Christmas book after so long.

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily is the companion to Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. Since it is a Christmas book, I was expecting something happier, but was disappointed to see the negativity brought on by Lily’s character and the constant disasters. Although it does pick up at the very end, I feel like this book kind of ruined my experience with Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares. I would not recommend this book if you are 100% satisfied with the way the first book ended.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

I did not like this book. The first book was okay and perfect to get people in the Christmas spirit. This one was just boring and slow. The things that happened were ridiculous and it definitely did not put me in the Christmas spirit. I found Lily and Dash annoying at times and I was not interested enough in their relationship to care.
I'm so sad to say this book disappointed me.

[Stacey | prettybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is one of my favourite YA festive novels. I've read it three times, over Christmas 2011, 2013 and 2016, so I was elated to discover that there would be a sequel.

The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily is sadder, more melancholy than its predecessor. Lily's grandfather is sick and she's unable to appreciate her favourite season. For this new Lily, there's no magical Christmas tree and no festive reindeer skirt. She is depressed and grieving, insecure about both her relationship with Dash and her place in the world. It was tough to see Lily going through such a hard time – quite different to the bouncing, positive and enthusiastic girl we've all come to know and love – but it was important to see a different side to her. And that goes for Dash, too. He joins forces with her older brother to cheer Lily up. It was lovely to see his romantic and thoughtful side (even though he can be a bit clueless at times!).

I cannot say that I preferred the sequel to Dash & Lily's Book of Dares – it didn't fill me with as much festive glee as the first book did, but it was an unexpectedly complicated journey for the two teenagers. Even though it can be read as a standalone, I'd suggest reading the books in order to get the full experience of how Dash and Lily came to be.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review!

I also reviewed this book over on Pretty Books.

[K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alternate title: USE YOUR FUCKING WORDS.

I mean.

First of all, the Australian covers of this duology are the most godawful shit. Seriously. They're so, so ugly. We have Dash and Lily's Book of Dares at work and I can't persuade a single student to read it, even after nine months of trying. Which makes me sad, because the first book is super cute and I love it.

This one, however, is a) depressing as all hell, and b) just flat out frustrating. Lily drove me absolutely nuts from start to finish. She expected Dash to be a mind reader, and took things out on him and everyone around her when he wasn't. She seemed like the world's most naive 17 year old, what with her refusal to use swear words and her decision to use HER COLLEGE MONEY ON A CHRISTMAS PARTY and her "I have no idea what special ingredient these SPECIAL cookies contained. Like...?????"-ing. Girl. You were such a quirky LIKEABLE character in the first book. But in this one? I wanted to punch her in the face from start to finish.

Frankly, I think the thing I was most disappointed about by this one is how little the secondary characters were in it. I loved the secondary characters in the first book, and yet this time, we get page after page of Lily moping and Dash moping about Lily moping and uuuuuuuuugh.

Add in the fact that the one Hispanic character has four lines and three of them are exclusively in Spanish, and I was...not well pleased with this book.

The last third or so was cute. But not cute enough to bring it up to anything more than meh.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25* re-read

From the time I was a baby, my mom took me to the library at least once a week. Librarians were like Mary Poppins to me. They always knew how to match a book to my mood or to whatever I was going through at the time. I could always find peace in books."
"And escape."
"Escape sure. But it wasn't so much about getting away, as going to. You can go anywhere in a book. Books are adventure. Knowledge. Possibility. Magic.”

When I read this for the first time, in 2016, I didn’t like it that much, the weight of expectation pressing on me I guess. This time, it was a completely different experience and I actually appreciated it a lot more. This story you see has a very different feel to it, being a lot sadder and melancholic than the first one. Lily has lost her happy nature while taking care of her grandfather, who has been very sick for months. She displays all the signs of depression and everyone around her, including Dash, are trying to bring her back to her normal cheery self.

"I love you, and it's driving me crazy to see you so upset. I want to fix it, and I know I can't. But what I want to do is rewrite this whole world so you can fix it. I want to come up with a story that all the world will choose to celebrate, and in it, the people we love will never get sick, and the people we love will never be sad for long, and there would be unlimited frozen hot chocolate."

The authors, Cohn and Levithan, deal with these ‘heavy' topics very well, while injecting the humour and heart-warming scenes we expect, all set in the wonder that is New York City in December. All the secondary characters made an appearance, Boomer being a favourite. And yes, there were plenty of literary references too. Give it a try but don’t expect the same as the first book. I’m starting book 3, which is set in London :O)

"“We're librarians, sir. And we will not let you check out this future librarian unless you prove to us that you'll take good care of him when he's in your home.”

[Elisabeth Plimpton · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an idiot Santa is for flying around alone. Because who would want to travel the world without another person's heartbeat beside him?

▴▴▴

i'll admit it's been a few years since i read the first dash and lily book, and my memory of it is vague and fuzzy. but i expected so much more christmasy charm from the sequel! this was disappointing.

it's a year later, and dash and lily's relationship has shifted. what once was warm has begun a slow cold shutdown, and they feel disconnected. lily is overwhelmed by changes in her life, and dash doesn't know how to fix things. it's cold angst city for the first chunk of the book, and it feels fitting.

my biggest grievance with the original dash & lily's book of dares was that their romance felt ephemeral, too sparkly and new to last. now the glitter has inevitably faded, and it's painful to face the cheery holiday season when you're in a relationship that feels undeniably not right.

even though lily is a christmas kid, she avoids the holidays hard until she's forced to face them. i can understand this avoidance, and the weight of missing out on something that's supposed to bring you joy.

eventually dash and lily talk and get some spark back. things become cute and light again, and the book is highly readable. but pretentious dash annoys the hell out of me, and there just isn't enough charm here.

i only really enjoyed lily and her christmas angst. very relatable, year after year:

I don't like how everything is changing. It's like when you're a kid, you think that things like the holidays are meant to show you how things always stay the same, how you have the same celebration year after year, and that's why it's so special. But the older you get, the more you realize that, yes, there are all these things that link you to the past, and you're using the same words and singing the same songs that have always been there for you, but each time, things have shifted, and you have to deal with that shift. Because maybe you don't notice it every single day. Maybe it's only on days like today that you notice it a lot. And I know I'm supposed to be able to deal with that, but I'm not sure I can deal with that.

[alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

so cute!! i finished it in one sitting. this novel felt like a fan fiction to the original, which i adore. it made me miss new york so very much and put me in the christmas spirit. would definitely recommend if you're looking for a holiday pick-me-up!

[Sylvie {Semi-Hiatus} · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 Stars

My last book of 2018!!!!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to finish this today, but I hope I will. *fingers crossed*

[♛ may · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book review is dedicated to my girl, Lady Pim . . . also known as Annie ☆ {a court of mist & books} ☆

The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily is the absolute cutest, had me cooing the whole time (well, not the first half, but you get my point.)

After reading the first book over a year ago, I fell in love with Dash and Lily and their quirky personalities, random hilarity, and ridiculous lives. Reading book two was like rereading book one with the benefit of not having the plot revealed (if that even makes any sense). This book was so. darn. cute.



The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily takes place a year after book one finished. Dash and Lily have been dating for almost an entire year and like all relationships, things are beginning to get rocky. Lily is going through a frustrating time in her life and is faced with so many responsibilities that she’s finding the things that used to be the cause of her happiness feel like a burden.

But Dash ain’t having any of that.

So off we go, following our favourite peculiar, adorable, love-struck characters as they try to get back on track, and did I mention that it was fricken adorable?!

Not only that, but this book is hilarious. The sarcasm and snarky comments/retorts are gold. Even the secondary characters, with their strange fashion sense and authoritative voices are ridiculously comical.

Ahhhh, I need more cute, humorous, and entertaining contemporaries like this.

“The minute she left the apartment, I missed having her there. But as with all loves, I supposed, the consolation was in the fact that she'd be back.”

4 stars !!

[kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, Christmassy and all in all, a really enjoyable read.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares is one of my favourite contemporaries, so I was both extremely excited and slightly apprehensive when I heard it was getting a sequel. This wasn't what I was expecting from a Dash and Lily sequel, it wasn't all sparkles and Christmas magic and honestly, I loved that. I really appreciated that this focused on a side of the holiday season that often gets brushed over, the fact that for a lot of people, it's extremely difficult, emotionally and physically. I really appreciated that we got to see Lily, someone known for her pure love for Christmas, not knowing how to be happy or magically forget all her troubles simply because of the festive season. This so easily could have been a story about someone who was sad, 'getting over it' because of Christmas, but it wasn't and I really appreciated that about it. It still has its adorable Dash and Lily moments and it still gave me all the Christmassy feels but it was also a lot more than that. Book of Dares is still one of my favourites and I do think I prefer it slightly over this one but to me, they're different books. One that delivers all of my Christmas (and essentially life) goals and dreams through its pages, and another that resonated with me in other ways and gave me something I needed to read at exactly the right time. They both now have a sentimental value to them and I'm sure I will continue to read them for many holiday seasons to come.

[Cameron Chaney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, I liked this, but it could be pretty slow and there were parts that began to annoy me. I liked the direction things were going with Lily at first, then she started into the whining and I got irritated. Before then, she was selflessly being worn down, and I thought the book would be about her friends and family giving back to her. And this did happen, but only after she started complaining and running away. This could have been handled a little better.

Still, this sequel was charming enough, but it isn't going to be for everyone. Most fans of the original book seem to be split on this one, and I can see why.

[samantha Bookworm-on-rainydays · Rating 4 out of 5]

okay if this book doesn't put you in the holiday spirit then you're just a Scrooge anyways. This book is great, writing will keep you on the edge of your seat. and it's perfect for the hoilday season but it was a bit short sadly.

[Kassiah]

I. Am. So. Excited!

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was cute. Now I need to read the first book. Haha

[Estíbaliz Montero Iniesta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3'5
La verdad es que este libro ha sido una experiencia interesante, a falta de otro adjetivo. El primero me gustó muchísimo, así que me adentré en esta segunda parte prácticamente sin haber leído la sinopsis porque tenía muy claro que iba a leerlo.

Y bueno, debo confesar que, durante la primera mitad del libro, no estaba disfrutando mucho de la historia porque no era para nada lo que esperaba. Creo que los autores se arriesgaron bastante al descolocar así a los lectores, porque introdujeron bastantes cambios en la dinámica de los personajes y, sobre todo, cambiaron bastante a un personaje en concreto. Lo cierto es que ese cambio es bastante sonado y cambia la esencia de la historia durante esa primera mitad, hasta el punto de que no se parece demasiado al espíritu del primer libro. Por ese motivo, no estaba muy convencida.

Pero sí que es verdad que, después de acabar el libro y de que la segunda mitad mejorara considerablemente (creo que en esta segunda parte se recupera bastante el espíritu del primer libro, más navideño, más entrañable), y tras llegar al final de la historia, al final sí que entiendo por qué han hecho lo que han hecho con uno de los personajes y qué pretendían transmitir, cuál era el mensaje. Esta segunda entrega no se centra tanto en la Navidad y en cómo se sienten Dash y Lily respecto a ella, sino que nos habla de madurar, crecer, perder un poco de vista la propia identidad, etc.

Si os gustó El cuaderno de desafíos de Dash y Lily, os recomiendo también la segunda parte, pero sí que es cierto que es mejor hacerse a la idea de que no es exactamente como el primero, por lo menos al principio.

[Ana M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lectura navideña que sigue los pasos de Dash y Lily un año después de lo acontecido en el primer libro. El primer libro me encantó, fue muy tierno y bonito, este no me ha gustado tanto, menos si tenemos en cuenta todo lo que esperaba de él.

Un libro que trata sobre el cambio y como muchas veces nos rebelamos contra él sin darnos un tiempo de adaptación y asumir que todo cambia con el tiempo.

Me ha dejado bastante triste durante toda su lectura, comparado con la ternura que había en su primer libro y me ha costado bastante conectar con la historia y los personajes en esta segunda parte. Aún así, es un libro cortito navideño bastante dinámico y rápido de leer.

[Giulia]

I guess this has become a Christmas tradition.
See you soon December.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sería más bien un 3,5. No es de los que más me han gustado de David Levithan, y el primero me parece mejor, pero me ha gustado reencontrarme con Dash, Lily y la prosa combinada de estos dos autores. Recomendado.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute follow up to Dash and Lily's Book of Dares. Such a fun idea to follow up with a meet cute Christmas romance couple a year later, and see where they're at. And well, it's not all sunshine and mistletoe, nor would one expect it to be. I started to get frustrated with Lily again, because she does not at all act her age, but then she basically owned up to it. There was some real talk in this book, from and between most of the characters, which I super loved. And it was very, very Christmassy. I think I might have liked it better than the first, actually.

PS- The Dash and Lily movie on Netflix really is super cute.

PPS- But seriously, tho, her parents! Do they . . . actually remember that they have an underage child at home? They are either the most self-absorbed people on the planet, or they are absent-minded to an absurd degree!

[Suad Shamma · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book could not have been more disappointing. What a pointless sequel and waste of paper and ink this turned out to be.

When I first found out there was a sequel to Dash and Lily, I was so excited because I was one of those people who LOVED Dash and Lily's Book of Dares and was completely and utterly charmed by the whole concept and romance of it. Having this Christmas sequel, I was hoping for a cozy and warm continuation of where they left off. I didn't expect it all to be rainbows and butterflies, what would be the point of the book? But I did expect to feel a sense of fuzziness, where you just want to get under the covers and cuddle with the book and a cup of hot chocolate.

Nope. None of that happened.

Instead, it was absolute torture trying to finish these 200+ pages, and took me forever to do so. How could Cohn and Levithan go from making me love the two characters to absolutely hating them. Especially Lily. I mean, give me a break...you are not the only one who goes through hardships and problems in life. Get a grip! She was such a selfish, whiny, little brat. And the worst girlfriend to boot! And Dash, I'll give him props for trying to be understanding, but he also had his inconsiderate moments. Put them two together, and it makes me wonder how they ever got together in the first book. I felt duped, and I hated feeling that way.

This was completely unnecessary. There was no need to write a sequel to a book that was published many years ago, if you were going to do a half-assed job of it. I am so over Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, they have been disappointing for years, and this was the final nail in the coffin. I'm done.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full disclosure, I didn't read the first book but I did see the Netflix series twice. I felt like it covered the important parts and I wasn't lost at all, so that's good! It also helped to picture the actors as the characters and boy do I wish Netflix was doing another season of Dash and Lily.

This takes place one year after the first book and it's Christmas time again. Dash and Lily have a weird distance between them so they both decide to get in the holiday spirit and plan some fun activities. What ensues are things going as wrong as they possibly can, including fires and ice skating accidents. I laughed but also felt pretty bad for both characters, especially Lily since she tries so hard. Luckily, there's a reason they're a couple and things work out. I think I'll read the third book now and maybe do a rewatch of this adorable story!

[Zoë ☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

*1.5 stars
Nah. I didn’t like this. I didn’t like the main characters and frowned loads of times while reading this. Didn’t really get me into the Christmas mood unfortunately 😅

[Molly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well that was absolute dog shite.