Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily

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Synopsis

Ever since they graduated from high school, Dash and Lily have been trying to navigate a long-distance relationship with an entire ocean between them. Dash was accepted to Oxford, his long-time dream school, while Lily has decided to defer her first year of college in favor of continuing to build her dog-walking business back in New York. When Dash informs her that he won't be coming home for Christmas, Lily pulls out all the stops to surprise him with the ultimate romantic gesture: she's going to him for the holidays. However, once they've reunited in London, the couple struggle to reconnect. Dash is distracted, because his college experience hasn't been all that he'd hoped for so far, and he's considering quitting Oxford and going back to New York. Meanwhile, Lily has decided to check out a prestigious dog-training school located near London, thinking that she might want to make a move to be closer to Dash. Aided by family and friends and a whole lot of holiday cheer, Dash and Lily work to communicate and find a solution that will make them both happy and excited for their future together.

Review

Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily is the third and (probably) final book in Rachel Cohn and David Levithan's Dash & Lily series of holiday-themed YA romances. It's my understanding that Ms. Cohn writes Lily's perspective, while Mr. Levithan writes Dash's, and the story is told in alternating POVs with each chapter. In this one, Dash and Lily are now nineteen and have both graduated from high school. Dash has gone off to college at Oxford, while Lily has remained in New York, taking a gap year before starting college to work on her dog-walking business. They've continued their relationship long-distance, and both miss each other terribly. Lily decides to surprise Dash by going to London for Christmas, which causes all sorts of trouble with her family, who famously do Christmas in a big way. For Dash, it's definitely a surprise, and while he's happy to see Lily, he's suffering from an existential crisis regarding Oxford, which hasn't been all he thought it would be. They initially struggle to reconnect, but eventually start to get on the same page. However, Lily is considering attending a prestigious dog-training school near London, which her family is adamantly against, while Dash is starting to rethink his Oxford plan and considers returning to New York. With a little help from family, some hopeful holiday cheer, and a whole lot of communication, they just might find a solution that makes them both happy and excited for a bright future ahead.

Lily has always been the yin to Dash's yang, the bright bubbly optimist to his more serious and sometimes cynical personality. Unlike Dash she isn't entirely certain what she wants to do. Her family has been pressuring her to attend Barnard College, because her mother and grandmother both went there. She was accepted but decided to take a gap year to work on her dog-walking business and try to figure things out. During that time, she's grown her business by designing dog crafts, which are selling like hotcakes. She knows that she wants to continue working with dogs as a career, and Barnard isn't going to help with that. But she hasn't been able to tell her family yet. Instead, she kind of unintentionally blows up Christmas for them by announcing that she's spending the holiday with Dash in London. He's surprised to see her, but when he's quiet and seemingly not entirely enthused about her being there, she worries that maybe it was too much of a surprise for him. Lily is also initially a little jealous of Dash's new relationship with his grandmother, and a bit overwhelmed when Dash's friends, Boomer and Sophia, make an unscheduled visit while on a flight layover. Eventually they start to communicate better and fully reconnect as a couple. But meanwhile, Lily has gone to visit the dog-training school, seriously considering attending there, while little does she know that Dash is considering quitting Oxford and going back to New York. I like how Lily is coming into her own in this book. She knows in general terms that she wants dogs to be a part of her life and future career. She just isn't entirely sure what path to take to get there, and with her family pressuring her about college, she's having difficulty telling them exactly how she feels. I'm glad that she was able to figure things out by the end, and get on the same page with both Dash and her family.

When he was younger, Dash's grandmother, who lives in England, used to send a care package for him every Christmas. Although he'd never met her in person, those packages always meant a lot to him, and he became enamored of attending Oxford someday. He's been accepted and has completed his first semester, but it hasn't been the magical experience he'd hoped for. Instead, he's struggling to find his footing. The only consolation is an exciting new relationship with the grandmother he was finally able to meet. Where Dash has had difficulty in the past with his family ties, he and Gem just seem to get each other. Then Lily suddenly shows up as a Christmas surprise. He's very happy to see her, but with his mind elsewhere on the existential crisis he's dealing with, he seems to keep putting his foot in his mouth every time they're together, leading to some friction. Once they work things out as a couple, things between them start rolling along more smoothly. But Dash has been missing New York and seriously considering going back, while Lily is considering staying in London. I've always loved Dash. His introverted nature and love of books is extremely relatable to me. While he can't seem to find his tribe at Oxford, I was glad to see him be able to roll with the punches and forge a new path forward.

Since this book is classified as YA, I'll do a quick overview of any potentially objectionable content, although I don't recall a lot in this installment. I didn't exactly count bad words, but unlike with the first two books, I really don't remember many this time around. There may have been a few milder ones, but nothing that really stood out to me. Unable to take her cousin's small, lumpy couch, Lily splurges for a hotel room, which she shares with Dash a few times. Readers are given the allusion that they're probably having sex, but absolutely nothing appears on the page. There's only some mild sexual innuendo. As before, Lily's brother is mentioned to be gay and in a committed relationship with his boyfriend. Alcohol is sometimes consumed, but the drinking age is lower in England so they aren't doing anything illegal. On one such occasion, Lily gets drunk. Otherwise, I don't really remember anything else that might be concerning, so I'd say that the book is suitable for a mature teen audience.

I'm really not sure why the Dash & Lily books have such mediocre ratings on GoodReads. I've very much enjoyed all of them and feel like the series has gotten better with each new book. Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily is my new favorite in the series. I'm not entirely sure why, but maybe it's because Dash and Lily are growing and maturing, making plans for the future. Or maybe it's because we get a change of scenery in this book with the bulk of it being set in London. Both were definite selling points for me. I can sometimes be a bit of an Anglophile, so the English setting and traditions were a lot of fun. I also like that Dash and Lily are forging their futures. They struggle a little to communicate, which is understandable after a long separation, but I was happy that it didn't take as long as I thought it might for them to get in sync. I enjoyed going along with them as they figure out what they want to do with their lives, and I felt like they both chose wisely in the end. The supporting cast was wonderful as well. All the secondary characters we've gotten to know over the first two books put in appearances, including all of Lily's family and Dash's friends, Boomer and Sophia. We're also introduced to Azra, a fellow Oxford student who Dash doesn't really like at first but who ends up becoming a friend to both him and Lily. Then there's Gem, Dash's grandmother. A bright ball of energy who is far different from his father and who's lived a very full and colorful life, she seems to get Dash in a way most others don't. Overall, everything came together to make Mind the Gap, Dash & Lily a truly fun and enjoyable read. With it having been five years since this book was published, I have no idea if the authors have any more Dash & Lily stories planned, but if this is the end, it was a great wrap-up for the series, leaving me with a satisfied feeling that our intrepid hero and heroine are on a bright path that will likely lead to a forever future for them.

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Rachel Cohn

David Levithan

Themes

Amazing Animals
Book Lovers
Christmas Stories
G/PG-Rated Romance