More like a high 3, 3.5. Sweet and fun to read after watching the mini series.

This is not something I would normally read by any stretch of the imagination, but I was pleasantly surprised by what a cute story it is. Has a light holiday theme (the reason it caught my eye) and is a good, fun book to give a teen in your life.

What else can I say about Lily and Dash that most people haven't said already? I loved this book and it was just what I needed at the moment: something cute, fun, entertaining, well-written...

Lily is a sixteen yo nerdy book worm who goes to an all-girl school. Since she is spending Christmas alone, her brother decides that she should get a boyfriend. And if there's a perfect guy for Lily, he is most likely to be found browsing old editions of Salinger's books. Lily places a red Moleskin journal with the first clues. But when Dash finds the journal and solves the first riddle, he doesn't end the game just yet, but decides that it takes two to play this game...

This book was hilariously funny and intellectually very satisfying. I mean, hello. You have two bookworms passing bookish clues back and forth. I don't even have to mention the number of lit references or Dash's annoyances over misspelled words, incorrect grammar or misplaced books and DVDs. As lit nerdy as it gets, and, as a character, I adored him. He is so wonderfully sarcastic, observant,a "snarly wannabee hipster", sometimes too smart for his own good. Lily's dares for him put him in the most hilarious situations. At places I was laughing so hard that my family gave me weird looks. Recall the scene with Santa. Still, at some point he lapses into a Werther-like state of self-pity and worldschmerz that was completely out of place. Luckily, that only lasted for a few pages.

I was not so much in love with Lily, though, and enjoyed her part less. If Dash feels too mature sometimes, she is too childish. As the baby in the family, she is overprotected, well-read too, but too sensitive. But despite Dash and Lily being so different, as a couple they are fantastic. I can see why these two opposites would attract each other. Similarly, I enjoyed Levithan's writing more than Cohn's.

I would recommend this book for the upcoming Christmas season. The setting and the atmosphere-New York at Christmas time-was enchanting. If you're looking for a cute contemporary teen romance with great writing and lots of humor...well, what are you waiting for?

Pudo haber tenido 100 páginas menos y aún así sobraban detalles. A veces los personajes no me caían taaaan bien, pero pues son adolescentes finalmente.

No seguiría con la trilogía pero repetiría la serie cada diciembre.

So one day Dash goes into his favourite bookstore and while browsing old books, he finds a red Moleskin with a set of instructions that will take him all over New York to find 'the girl in his head'... if he dares.

This was a quick, cute read for the weekend :) I liked Lily's voice better, and although at first I thought Dash was a brat, by the end of the book I found him quite dashing, too. It was very interesting to see both Dash and Lily get out of their comfort zones through the dares, and by doing that getting more comfortable in their own skins (not that Dash had problem with that anyway, but still, the boy does do some growing up).

One thing I didn't like about this book is that the supporting characters were very plain and on-dimensional. You have the clown best friend, the overprotective parents (the way they treat Lily was beyond offensive), the self-centred brother, and I could go on forever. The other thing that bothered me was the vocabulary - seriously, it was like watching an episode of Dawson's Creek, I've never met 17-year-olds who talk like that.

But all in all, I think it's a very recommendable book for a lazy Sunday :)

Very funny. Great fall/winter read.

so so cute! just the type of christmas romance i needed

A 16 year old has been telling me for months that I need to read this book, and I can see why she loved it. The alternating narrators are funny, quirky, intelligent, non-conformist book nerds. Granted, Dash is a little too full of himself and his giant vocabulary, and Lily is a bit much in her "one oversized majorette boot and one Chuck" getup, but overall I thought they were adorable. There were moments in which I wondered if the authors had at all planned out their narrative arc (they hadn't) and moments in which I thought the characters really shone. Some of the ensemble cast added greatly to the understanding of who Lily and Dash really are, while others I could have done without. (Why does Dash lie repeatedly to Priya, but then she shows up to support him in a crisis? What kind of friends are they? That seemed weird to me.) In other words, I think the super-team of David and Rachel should have had a more heavy handed editor to tighten the book. Overall, though, cute and appealing to a certain smart demographic that is snarly but wants to believe in something.