The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily
By: Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Published Year: 2015
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 215
Summary (Provided by Goodreads): 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.
First Impressions
I wasn’t crazy about the first Dash and Lily book and much preferred the TV show. I don’t know if I would have been as curious about the second book without having watched and enjoyed the TV show. I do love this cover though!
What I thought
I actually think I liked this book more than the first! There will be some spoilers ahead, so if you haven’t read the first book or watched the show, you have been warned.
This book starts almost exactly a year later. Dash and Lily have been together for almost a year, but Lily’s light has dimmed since her Grandpa had a heart attack in May. Dash hasn’t been able to connect with Lily and Lily feels like she hasn’t been able to connect with Dash. Lily’s brother Langston comes to Dash for help and they work toward reigniting their relationship.
In the first book, and even a little bit at the beginning of this book, I didn’t quite understand how Dash and Lily made sense. They are vastly different and I saw their love burning out fast. In this book, Lily’s moodiness kind of makes them fit more. It was nice to see her not so optimistic and bubbly. I definitely liked her a lot more in this book. I also liked Dash a lot more. It was nice to see him less moody and putting effort into things.
The only thing I was a little bit bummed about was that at the beginning Langston and Dash come up with the idea to celebrate the 12 days of Christmas to bring the old Lily back. They start off with buying a Christmas tree and making it a partridge in a pear tree, and there is a two turtle doves reference, but after that it kind of dies off. I had really hoped it would be something where each day there was a gift or a task tied to the song. If it did happen, it was so subtle I missed it.
I liked this book more than the second. It made me look forward to a second season of Dash and Lily on Netflix as well. I also am more excited to read the third book than I was to read the second after reading this book. If you were on the fence about the first book, I definitely recommend giving this second book a chance.