The Twelve Days of Dash and Lily

By Rachel Cohn and David Levithan.

 

Previous book here.

 

It's one year later, and Dash and Lily have been together this entire time, but most of the year has been rough for Lily since her grandpa became ill. She's not feeling things so much, and the one time she said "I love you" to Dash, he didn't say it back. (My guess is that Dash didn't exactly realize since he has no mention of it in his chapters.) Anyway, she's kinda pondering breaking up. Dash, on the other hand, is actually teaming up with Lily's brother to try to perk her up for Christmas, as she hasn't been in the spirit. He and his bestie Boomer get her a Christmas tree. Lily throws a tree lighting party and accidentally invites both of Dash's parents at the same time, the parents have a little fire incident, Dash puts it out but ends up destroying the sweater Lily decorated and gave him...oops.

 

I did, however, approve of Mrs. Basil E's expert handling of Dash's awful dad: "I've often found it helpful to have a shovel around when you're dealing with a rake," and "Why don't you sit down next to me? As little as I expect I'll enjoy your company, it will gratify me greatly to see you out of the way. Lily takes these celebrations very seriously, and in my estimation, you are currently the person in the room with the highest likelihood of ruining this one. Let's make sure it doesn't happen." (Doesn't work, but she tried!) 

 

In addition to feeling overwhelmed/depressed/bummed about her grandfather in the last year, I really found myself relating to Lily's angst regarding her feelings for Dash presumably being more than he feels for her. "Since the moment passed unreciprocated, I've tried to have a little more distance from Dash. I can't make him feel something he doesn't feel, and I don't want to get hurt trying, so I decided to let my love for him simmer on the back burner of my heart, to allow me to be more casual and undemanding of him up front." Lily's mom gives some good advice when she says she wishes Dash would just know what to do without being told, and her mom says, "It's not natural to their species, and you should find it highly suspicious if he does," and it's up to her to tell him and not wait for him to tell her something he has no idea she's waiting to hear. "Are you going to be someone who takes charge of her feelings and her actions, even if the outcome might hurt, or someone who lets herself be unhappy simply because she won't ask for what she wants?" Hah, I am totally the latter myself. But it was good in the book. 

 

There's drama about Lily's family again--the Fiji job was quit when her grandfather became ill, but now her dad's working in Connecticut and considering moving there.  This isn't as urgent as the last time since it's more like "just go live at Mrs. Basil E's if you want to," though considering what to do with her grandfather is a sad issue too. Anyway, Lily starts openly circling the drain about breaking up, leading Dash to engineer yet another scavenger-hunt-ish adventure with her family to make it all better and for the reader to go "aww, I wish this was a thing someone could do IRL!" 

 

I continue to be amused at the author's brainstorming of movies--this one features "Corgi and Bess," about Queen Elizabeth and her animatronic corgi. There's also a mention of "The Naughty and the Mice," a supposed Pixar movie about attic mice drag racing Matchbox cars at night.

 

There's also some random craziness, like a gingerbread orgy (see below) and Dash and Edgar literally doing a pistol duel...water pistol duel at an old folks home, and a horrible skating accident brought on by Lily throwing glitter.  

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this, particularly the bits about Dash and Lily's love for each other, they really hit me emotionally. I wasn't too happy about Lily considering breaking up, but they make it work. I do kind of think that the book dragged on a little past the denouement, as it were, but overall it's a fun experience to read. Four stars. 

 

Quotes:

• "Who else but Dash would delight in a Christmas decoration displaying the face of a celebrated literary serial killer and give it to his girlfriend as a present? The present only made me adore Dash more." -Lily
• At one point, Lily somehow gets a job for the day as a gingerbread decorator and is shown X-rated gingerbread men in the back. "They even have their own orgy den!" Later, "So where were you, really?" "At a gingerbread house-making orgy." 
• "Boys never say what you want them to. It's probably the only lesson I've learned in life." -Lily. TRUE, GIRL.
• "Here's the thing about love. You get a last chance. And then, when that doesn't work, you make yourself another last chance. Then another. Then another. You keep going until your last chances run out." -Mrs. Basil E. 
• Dash explaining Santa Claus to a kid is great, and something to keep in mind if I ever end up being asked by a kid. "It doesn't matter whether I actually live at the North Pole or whether I'm the one who brings you presents every Christmas Eve. People like Tanner are going to tell you I'm pretend, and then when you get older, people like Tanner are going to tell you other things are pretend. But you know what to say to that? So what. That's what you tell them. Because at the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether the story's true or not. What matters is the care that's been put into the story. The love. If something is pretend, that usually means someone has taken the time to build a story for you to live in. And building stories takes a lot of work. And yes, there will come a time when you'll see the story isn't true. But the intentions behind it? Completely true. The love behind it? Also true." 
• Dash then has a beautiful speech to Lily about how we need to know where home base is, and that he loves her, and he wishes he could fix it all for her, and how he wants to come up with a story where everything is happy. "There is a messed-up kind of beauty in the way we can all bend over backward to make life seem magical when we want to. In other words, after giving it some thought, I think that reality has the distinct potential to completely suck, and the way to get around that is to step out of reality from time to time and find something a little more enjoyable with someone you completely, unadulteratedly enjoy. In my life, that's you." 

Also, the full quotes from Lily's mom::

 

"First of all, it's not fair to expect Dash to be psychic about what you really want from him. Second, and this is just a broader piece of advice for you about anyone you might date, but any male who automatically knows how to tick off all the items on your female wish-fulfillment list is too good to be true. It's not natural to their species, and you should find it highly suspicious if he does. Third, if you feel so strongly about him, I think it's your responsibility to be honest with him about it and not wait for him to tell you something he has no idea you're waiting to hear."

"But what if Dash doesn't feel the same way?"
"That's a risk you have to take. This is one of those moments when you get to decide who you want to be. It's like an awkward, uncomfortable growth spurt, but one that ultimately moves you in a definite direction. Are you going to be someone who takes charge of her feelings and her actions, even if the outcome might hurt, or someone who lets herself be unhappy simply because she won't ask for what she wants?"

 

"I'm talking about emotional intimacy, not physical. Acknowledging how you really feel, who you really are. Opening up your soul to another person. There's nothing scarier."