Most people have December traditions, like a Christmas turkey feast, lighting a menorah for Hanukkah, or eating 12 grapes as the year ends. As a child of immigrants and someone whose first real Christmas dinner was at a Bridgemas formal, the December traditions I observe are more like habits which have become routine. Since I was a teenager, my main ‘tradition’ has been to read one particular book, specific chapters each day, between December 21st and January 1st. That book is David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares.

Dash and Lily is a 2010 young adult novel set in contemporary New York that follows two teenagers navigating their different holiday experiences. When Lily is faced with spending her favourite holiday alone, she reaches out for human connection by leaving a notebook in the shelves of a bookshop, containing a dare for its recipient. On the other side is Dash, snarky and with a distaste for the popular extravagance of December, who became “a voluntary orphan for Christmas” in order to enjoy a quiet solitude. However, he can’t back down from the challenges posed by the mysterious notebook. It quotes his favourite authors, though with unfamiliar takes on their works. While it’s not the most challenging read for the average Cambridge student, I find the book’s ease comforting, especially amid the reading lists which threaten me every holiday. We could all do with an easy read every once in a while!

“We could all do with an easy read every once in a while”

Within Levithan and Cohn’s low-stakes teenage romance lies a clear reverence for literature and learning, which may resonate with Cambridge students. The protagonists bond over books and language in a way which some may see as overly sophisticated or unnatural for 16-year-olds. But for those of us who grew up engrossed in books? Well, I always found the characters to be relatably nerdy, passionate, and realistically flawed – even as they bond over 20th-century American poets who perhaps only English students would recognise. Instead of coming across as pretentious, the characters are self-aware. Be it Dash describing himself as “horribly bookish” to a “not socially acceptable” extent, or Lily being “boring and nerdy… and not in the ironic hipster way”, the authors have made the characters aware of their potential unpopularity in a way that comes across as authentic.

What has made re-reading this book every year my personal holiday tradition is that each chapter is clearly marked by a date. The first chapter is titled “(Dash) 21st December”, and the last “(Lily) December 31st”, with little variation from this format. While I doubt this is a unique literary format, it breaks the book into charming bite-sized pieces, like a sweet treat for consumption. My tradition is to read the corresponding chapters on the dates listed, beginning on the 21st and finishing as the sun rises on the New Year. I read about two chapters a day, a brief escape into a New York adventure that guarantees a break from academic jargon. With each author writing the perspective of their own character, Dash and Lily have unique voices and juxtaposing styles, from sentence lengths to punctuation habits to vocabulary choices.

With each re-read, I find something new. This year, I’ve been struck by how Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares depicts an insightful balance between the vulnerability of growing up and the budding maturity of being 16, faced with the pros and perils of newfound independence. We may have to suspend our disbelief at why the characters are often left without adult supervision, and they certainly don’t always make the right decisions, but at 16 years old, does anyone? The novel’s beginning is well-rooted in reality (albeit the reality of middle-class white teenagers). Dash and Lily are more comfortable at home or in bookstores, not attending house parties with C-Sunday levels of alcohol or sweaty nightclubs with strangers. While the dares they leave in the notebook do push them outside of these comfort zones, the protagonists’ personalities remain more grounded throughout the novel than in other young adult literature. Both protagonists consistently retain their teenage dramatics: Dash is brooding and proud, Lily is overly emotional and spirited. Ultimately and realistically, they act their age.

“A New York adventure that guarantees a break from academic jargon”

Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares is my annual read not only due to its format, plot, and characters, but also its surprising insights into budding relationships and self-discovery. It’s a lovely balance of low-stakes romance, adventure, and moments of comedy all expressed with Cambridge-esque passion and eloquence, never failing to please and entertain me throughout the festive period. I would highly recommend reading it this December – maybe you will adopt my literary tradition as your own!