Lily has left a red Moleskine notebook with a list of literary clues in the stacks at the Strand bookstore. Dash finds it and is intrigued enough to follow Lily's lead and leave some clues of his own. The 'dares' refer to things like braving the Santa line at Macy's, going to an all-nighter party at a club to listen to a band named Silly Rabbi and building a Muppet at FAO Schwartz - challenges that must be met to pass the notebook. Lily and Dash each invest something of themselves and their hopes and aspirations into the journal - coming to know each other in a somewhat idealized and phantom way before they finally meet - under less than auspicious circumstances.
Okay - now this book did cheer me up! I really enjoyed the red journal (my favorite Moleskine is a reporter style blank book so I take notes and draw - I also like decorating the cover with silver and gold markers too so that I can tell the different journals apart) and was totally captured by the story as the notebook was passed back and forth. I actually slowed down and intentionally put the book aside to read other things in order to prolong the story. I could find things in common with both Lily and Dash and I even sympathetic to Boomer (who I imagine could get somewhat wearing as a friend). When Boris was introduced and things moved into the real world, I was really worried that the story was about to shoot over the top and self-destruct but it didn't, thank goodness.
I laughed out loud a couple of times too. I love the line "Don't worry. It's your embarrassment at not having the thought that counts." Love, love, love that line.
I also really appreciated the fact that Sofia wasn't turned into some kind of nemesis (the whole there can be only one thing that happens in so many books).
I do believe that I will be re-reading it next Christmas, it was so much fun. I give this book four and a half claws - though I don't have a graphic for that (Ack - I can't bisect a paw! That would be terrible! Well I did it anyhow. Sigh. )
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