The Twelve Days of Dash & Lily by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan - 3.5 stars

[Teodora]

In many ways, this is silly, but it is also funny, Christmas-y, and really an enjoyable read for this time of the year. I often laughed out loud while reading it, which is a rare occurrence for me. I don't have the most typical sense of humor.

If I am to compare it with the first book in the series, it seems like the writers gave less thought to this one, and didn't try as hard. But oddly enough, it's what made me like it more. The first book was a book for literary snob teenagers. This was simply a book for teenagers in search of some holiday fun, albeit smart teenagers.

What I enjoyed most were the neurodivergent codded characters. I have no idea if the coding was intentional or not, but I found myself in the characters, and this is what matters. I also liked the silly jokes and the comedic situations with a slight sexual connotation. Perfect for young adult fiction in a way that keeps this book tame enough for parents to approve but spicy enough for teens to find it interesting. That, of course, is the case of parents who care for such things (my parents were never ones to censor my reading, and nor do I intend to do it for my kids).

Another thing I enjoyed was the way this book felt a bit like visiting New York during Christmas. I was part of the action, I lived what the characters lived. That's always good in the story.

Now, of course, there was a lot of miscommunication involved, and the characters behaved like silly teenagers, but that's what they were. It's odd how with some books, if the characters act silly, it bothers me, and I can not enjoy them. With others, like this one, I'm fine with it. Maybe it's a matter of I can imagine myself making similar mistakes as a teenager, and I definitely see myself behaving like Lily. I don't like baking, but other than that, we're the same.