Dash & Lily's Book of Dares »

David Levithan has said that with Boy Meets Boy, he "set out to write the book that I dreamed of getting as an editor -- a book about gay teens that doesn't conform to the old norms about gay teens in literature." According to the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers program -- and his rabid readers of all ages -- he's succeeded.

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Publishers Weekly

Cohn and Levithan use a familiar but fun formula for this holiday-themed collaboration--think Saint Nick & Norah--mixing an enticing premise with offbeat characters and some introspective soul searching. Two New York City teens left alone for Christmas "meet" when Dash discovers Lily's cryptic notebook wedged between J.D. Salinger books at the Strand. Its clues lead him on a treasure hunt through the bookstore; he responds with his own clues, and soon they are using the notebook to send each other on adventures across the city and to trade their "innermost feelings and thoughts." Fans will enjoy the zingy descriptions and characterizations that populate this Big Apple romp (at one point, Dash must reach inside the coat of the Macy's Santa to retrieve Lily's message; later, he sends her to go see a "gay Jewish dancepop/indie/punk band called Silly Rabbi, Tricks Are for Yids"). Readers will be ready for the real romance to start long before the inevitable conclusion, but as with this duo's past books, there are more than enough amusing turns of phrase and zigzag plot twists to keep their attention. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)