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

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Published 2010 by Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House)
YA contemporary
4 stars

“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.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that 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?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Bite-Sized Review
I didn't expect to like this book nearly as much as I did. I loved the characters and the writing from both authors. This book is definitely going to become a Christmas tradition.

Chocolate (things I liked)
-Dash. Dash might be one of my all-time favorite characters. I liked him so much that I actually used the highlighting feature on my Kindle, which I have done approximately once before (to see how it worked). Dash says things like

My parents hadn't spoken to each other in eight years, which gave me a lot of leeway in the determination of factual accuracy, and therefore a lot of time to myself.

I love the phrase "leeway in the determination of factual accuracy." It makes my fond-of-linguistic-quirks brain smile. And then there's

I had always felt that mittens were a few steps back on the evolutionary scale -- why, I wondered, would we want to make ourselves into a less agile version of a lobster?

which is just hilarious. I think that's the most I've geeked out over a character in a while, so that's probably enough for you to get the idea. (Dash is awesome.)

-In fairness, I liked the other characters as well. The appropriately-named Boomer, who couldn't seem to say anything without fourteen exclamation points; Mrs. Basil E., who might be the coolest great-aunt anyone has ever had; the titular Lily, who was occasionally exasperating but very relatable. What was even more appealing, though, was how the notebook changed the characters, even those who were only peripherally connected to it. Even though this book is touted as a romance, I think it is really more of a coming-of-age novel, and it does it very well.

-I think my favorite part of this book was actually the beginning, watching Dash and Lily trying to top one another's increasingly absurd dares in the notebook. Although there was also the Thing With The Dog And The Baby, which was just brilliant.

Brussels Sprouts (things I didn't like)
-There was a point somewhere around the middle of the book where the plot slowed and failed to be as fascinating as the rest of the book. A bit later it did pick up again, and then it was back to its captivating self, but for a while there I thought it had peaked way too early.

-I have said before that YA contemporary romance is sort of far from one of my favorite genres, and while this book is an impressive exception to that rule, there were times when I felt it was...excessively YA-contemporary-romance-y. Which, in the book's defense, is what it was supposed to be, so I guess it's not really a fair thing to list against the book. Um...look, a reindeer!

Review | Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Where Things Come Back
John Corey Whaley
Published 2011 by Atheneum (Simon & Schuster)
YA contemporary
3 stars

Bite-Sized Review
I liked this book, but didn't love it. I think I would have been happier if it had felt more complete, but while it was a good story, the ending seemed abrupt.

King-Sized Review
Where Things Come Back is told from two perspectives. First is Cullen Witter, a seventeen-year-old stifled by his tiny town in Arkansas. At the same time a depressed birdwatcher thinks he's found a species of woodpecker that was thought to be extinct, Cullen's younger brother vanishes without a trace. Cullen is a fascinating narrator, treating most of the rest of the town with contempt as their obsession with the woodpecker distracts from his family's search for Gabriel. While his chapters are mostly in first person, he occasionally shifts into third person to distance himself from the situation or to imagine some wildly unlikely outcome. Said unlikely outcome usually involved zombies, which was fun.

The second perspective was that of Benton, an uncertain missionary in Africa. This one's a little harder to describe than Cullen's without spoilers, but in some ways it was more interesting. To be totally honest, these chapters sort of straddled the border between interesting and obnoxious, though they managed to stay mostly on the interesting side. Crazy people are special like that. But interesting or obnoxious, these passages are very well written, enough that I could believe the characters believed in their motivations, even the obviously insane ones. That's pretty impressive.

The small town of Lily, Arkansas was a fascinating setting. Never having lived in a really small town like that, I had previously thought of it as something of a mythological creature, but Whaley managed to bring Lily to life in this story. The town was absolutely essential to the book, even outside the woodpecker craze. It affected the story in all of the ways the varied cast interacted, in the way they behaved, even the way they thought.

My biggest issue with this book was in the ending. Even though some of the plot was concluded, a lot of the loose ends were just left hanging, and I was left on the last page thinking, "Well, then what happened?" Even the pieces that had an ending didn't quite resolve – there was no wrapping up at all. The book just sort of ended, which I'm generally not a huge fan of.

But don't let that stop you from reading this book. It's interesting and well written. The characters are really individuals and the setting is excellent. It's a bit slow, so you might not want to pick it up if you're looking for epic battles, but it's a good book.

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Good

Thoughts | The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Fault in Our Stars
John Green
Published January 10, 2012 by Dutton Books (Penguin)
YA contemporary
5 stars

I'm sure you've all seen the many, many rave review of this book, and you don't need another one.

But that's not why I'm not writing a real review. I'm not writing one because I can't.

Oh, sure, I could tell you that there was Epic Crying, not the graceful kind where tears trail silently down your cheeks but the awkward kind where your face gets all blotchy and you stop being able to breathe through your nose and your skin gets dried out from all the salt. And then there was Laughing Too Hard to Breathe, which led to more crying. I could tell you about how Augustus and Hazel are sweet and special, how the writing matches Hazel perfectly, blah blah blah. That would be great, if it mattered.

Spoiler alert (don't worry, not really): it doesn't.

It doesn't matter because this book is far more than the sum of its parts, as nice as those parts are. Describing this book as good or bad would be as ridiculous as calling the whole of existence good or bad. Some things just are. They defy qualification.

This book is infinite, a sigularity compressing time and making the rest of the world disappear. It's also not long enough. It's awful and wonderful, hilarious and tragic, magical and painfully prosaic.

But most of all, it is. And it might, for a moment, remind you that you are too.

Looking for Alibrandi by Melina Marchetta

Looking for Alibrandi
Melina Marchetta
Published 1999 (1992) by Orchard Books (Hachette)
YA contemporary

This heartwarming tale of family and self features Josephine Alibrandi, an Italian-Australian student in her final year at a strict Catholic high school. Because of the circumstances of her birth, she and her mother are frequently the topic of disapproving discussion among the Italian community, and though Josie knows who her father is, she has no desire to meet him. But when he moves back home, she doesn't have much of a choice. Not that she'll go down without a fight, of course. But as she gets to know her father, as well as to see another side of her mother, Josie learns more about her family and her own life.

YA authors take note: this is what real teenage melodrama looks like. Josie is loud and dramatic, but it's charming rather than annoying. Because Marchetta is such a great writer, I found it easy to relate to Josie's problems and sympathized with her when she got angsty about them. More of her problems were related to family than boys, which was refreshingly normal.

There were definitely some emotional moments in this book. Marchetta does a great job with these scenes, making them seem real and touching. Basically, this book, like Marchetta's other works, seems very true, with realistic characters and situations. If you haven't read any of her books yet, you really should!

Quality: Good
Enjoyability: Excellent

In the same aisle
If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Jellicoe Road
Melina Marchetta
Published 2008 by Harper Teen

Bite-Sized Review
Jellicoe Road is emotional, beautiful, and touching. Everything about it feels real enough that you could imagine these characters existed in reality, somewhere just down the road, around the bend. For that alone, I most definitely recommend it.

King-Sized Review
After being abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road, Taylor was never really close to anyone. Now the leader of the school in the annual battle between the students of the school, the town's youths, and the visiting cadets, Taylor juggles war games and the personal issues brought forth by her guardian Hannah's sudden disappearance. As she unravels stories from the past, Taylor begins to learn about her own present.

I'm always a little surprised when I find myself loving contemporary novels that have nothing to do with magic or saving the world. But I've found that Melina Marchetta is a wonderfully reliable source of such books, capturing her readers' attention with strong characters and enthralling writing. Fortunately, Jellicoe Road, like the other Marchetta books I've read, is more about a person and her family than romance, making it a much better YA contemporary than most.

As I’m coming to expect in anything written by Melina Marchetta, the characters in Jellicoe Road are vivid, and the narrator, Taylor Markham, even more so. The first-person present narrative, which I don’t normally appreciate, lends an immediacy here that works very well for the emotion of the story. Taylor's lonely, confused character is clearer in how she thinks than what she thinks, and Marchetta does an excellent job showing the former as well as the latter.

Before you read this book, you should probably know that the first quarter or so is confusing. It will all make sense in the end, but until you get further into the story, all the references to territorial wars and cadets and tactics and the secret meetings are a bit bewildering. This may be a flaw or a strength. Yes, it's irritating, but at the same time it is once again a reflection of how Taylor thinks and her nature, which is much more central to the book than the territory wars, comes across most clearly in these pages.

However, later in the book is when everything really begins to click. Marchetta skillfully weaves the mystery of the past into the narrative of the present, and when all the answers are finally revealed, they feel natural, like they should have been obvious all along. The romantic elements are realistic and sweet without being overwhelming. This book has the best kind of ending, one that leaves hope in its wake, but says the story isn't quite finished yet.

Quality: Excellent
Enjoyability: Excellent

Jellicoe Road is similar to:
If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Mini-Reviews

I've been slacking on writing reviews, and there are a bunch I need to catch up on. Unfortunately, they're for books I read at least a week ago and neither loved nor hated, so I don't have all that much to say about them. I decided to just throw a bunch of mini-reviews into one post so I could catch up (and then be immediately behind again because of the Wicked Winter Read-A-Thon)!

Across the Universe
Beth Revis
Across the Universe #1

I really enjoyed this book.

Amy and Elder were great main characters, and seeing the story from each of their perspectives really emphasized the differences between their worlds. The split narrative worked really well, because one character's point of view always revealed something the other would never have thought of.

The plot twists were somewhat less than surprising, but I very much enjoyed the ride in this scifi/murder mystery/political thriller. This book wears a lot of hats, but it does it well. I can't wait to see what Beth Revis has in store for us next. I'll definitely have to read A Million Suns in the near future.

Beauty
Robin McKinley


It took me a while to get into the book, but once I did I really enjoyed it. It was a little slower-paced than I expected, and I think I would have been happier if there were a villain. But as it was, it was light and fun.

I loved Beauty; she was practical and proud yet sweet. The Beast was unexpectedly nice, and Beauty's family was great.

I've read (or watched) a lot of different versions of this story, so you could safely say I had some expectations. This one didn't stray far out of the normal storyline, which was a bit disappointing. However, it was a fun read, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys romance.

The Mockingbirds
Daisy Whitney
The Mockingbirds #1

The Mockingbirds was a pretty unusual story for me (because I don't often read YA contemporary) but I liked it. It gave some interesting insights into justice and fairness, in a student-administered sort of way.

I did find it difficult to believe that there was no one in any kind of position of authority that Alex could talk to. I'm glad she did find herself questioning this kind of justice system, and while it was surprisingly fair, it still seemed a little sketchy as well as strange that no one at the school was able to handle problems. Or, you know, the police. But overall, it was a good, emotional story, and I'll definitely read the next one.

The Piper's Son 
Melina Marchetta

I really really loved Saving Francesca, so I started The Piper's Son right away after I finished. It was also good, though not as wrenchingly and wonderfully emotional as the first book. I think part of that is because it's told in third person, which is generally not as immediate. Some of it was also because there was a lot about Australian politics and unions and things that I don't really know anything about. It didn't by any means make the story impossible or even difficult to comprehend, because the specifics of all of it didn't make that much of a difference, but I do think the story would have meant more if I knew what they were talking about.

But I really liked the characters and the story itself, so this book is more than worth the read. I'm currently hunting down every book Marchetta has written, because I really love her writing.

Blood and Chocolate 
Anette Curtis Jones

For some reason this book made me think of Sunshine, which I love, so I was really looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it was nothing like Sunshine and I didn't much like it. Vicky was a really unlikeable character; she was self-centered and jealous and just really annoying. And since the plot was very centered on her thoughts and relationships, disliking her was definitely a problem. The story was okay, and it wasn't difficult to finish, but I also didn't particularly enjoy it.

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta

Saving Francesca
Melina Marchetta
Published 2004 by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Most of the time, I'll finish a book and then move on with my life. There's always something else to do, read, see. Books pass through and leave little trace beyond a vaguely fond memory. But sometimes I stumble across a book that is special. It makes me forget about bedtime and my early-morning alarm. I finish it and instead of moving on, I'm reminded of how to sit and just be.

I will assume that you've figured out by now that Saving Francesca is one of those books. It's not my usual fare. There are no wizards or dragons, and no one is trying to kill anyone else. And yet I devoured it in a single sitting. It had That Thing. That Thing is what makes books great. That Thing is ephemeral and ineffable and all those other words you say when you can't figure out how to say something magical. That Thing takes good books and makes them real and emotional and spectacular.

Maybe a little bit of That Thing is the characters. They're all real and relatable; they feel like people I know rather than people who live inside the pages of a book. Their issues, their sorrows, their joys, all felt immediate and personal. And Saving Francesca had a refreshingly normal portrayal of high school – one filled with people rather than stereotypes. It's probably the most accurate fictional high school I've seen, in a genre over-filled with life-sized cardboard "popular" crowds.

Maybe another piece of That Thing is the voice. Francesca sounds like she's just talking, something that can be annoying but isn't here. It makes her problems feel much more real and human. It made me laugh out loud and tear up a little when she cried.

Maybe a third part of That Thing is hope. Because as tough as life is for Francesca and her family, there's always hope in the end. It made me want to keep reading. It makes me want more of this story even after I've finished.

If you're in one of those moods where you're skipping to the end of the review to read my overall impressions, I can sum them up for you in three words. Read. This. Book.

Quality: Outstanding
Enjoyability: Outstanding

Saving Francesca is similar to:
If I Stay by Gayle Forman