A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole on March 15, 2016
Goodreads
One kiss lasts a moment. But a thousand kisses can last a lifetime. One boy. One girl. A bond that is forged in an instant and cherished for a decade. A bond that neither time nor distance can break. A bond that will last forever. Or so they believe.
When seventeen-year-old Rune Kristiansen returns from his native Norway to the sleepy town of Blossom Grove, Georgia, where he befriended Poppy Litchfield as a child, he has just one thing on his mind. Why did the girl who was one half of his soul, who promised to wait faithfully for his return, cut him off without a word of explanation? Rune's heart was broken two years ago when Poppy fell silent. When he discovers the truth, he finds that the greatest heartache is yet to come.
A stand-alone young adult tearjerker romance, recommended for ages fourteen and up.
As you could probably tell by the star rating of this book, I absolutely loved it! The author’s writing is immaculate and she’s truly able to make you feel all the emotions surrounding this heartwrenching book. While many other books try to carry the same emotional punch, A Thousand Boy Kisses is flawlessly done.
This book follows the story of a girl and boy who fall in love at an extremely young age. When the girl (Poppy) was only a few years old, her dying grandmother gave her a jar with a thousand little pieces of paper and was told to document the best kisses of her life in the jar.
The first of these many kisses begins only a few weeks later with a mysterious Norwegian boy named, Rune. Slowly, they both fall in love with one another and grow up at the pinnacle of each other’s lives.
Obviously, this fairytale doesn’t last forever, as Rune is forced to move to Oslo with the rest of his family, where Poppy eventually stops writing to him. Heartbroken, Rune tries to move on with his life but uses dangerous coping mechanisms to distract himself.
A few years later, he moves back to Georgia and attempts to rekindle the love with Poppy, but what happened during this time apart is a secret that alters their relationship together forever…
If you already couldn’t tell, this book is sad, in fact, I would go on to say that it’s even downright depressing. You’ll most likely end up crying or deeply hurt at the end (even if you could predict what’s going to happen.)
At first glance, it may seem like a cheesy love story, but truly the way Tillie Cole expresses a feeling, loss, and love is unmatched, and it made this book stand worlds apart from others. Both characters have very intense and passionate personalities, yet have their own battles, frustrations, and flaws.
In some ways, they bring out the best in one another but at the same time, they know the process will only hurt them in the end. Each moment is captured with great detail but still isn’t overbearing to the point of boredom.
I easily flew through this book, and my guess is that you most likely will too. The story is so captivating and easy to read and would be a great way to get out of a reading slump or get into reading at the same time.
On a side note, music is a huge part of the book, so after you are done reading, I would definitely recommend searching up “A Thousand Boy Kisses” on Spotify or any other music platform, where you can listen to all the songs they listened to in the book. It’s going to bring everything together and make for such a great wrap-up of the story.
As I was mentioning earlier, the pace of the book is easy to follow and not too complex while still being detail-oriented. I never found myself getting bored while reading, and at the same time, I never found myself confused with the plotline or any event. That makes it extremely accessible and only makes the book even more manageable!
Finally, my favorite element of the book included the life lesson and many other mini-life lessons you learn while reading. As the characters learn more about themselves and one another, you learn from their findings, their outlook, and their mindsets.
I truly felt like I learned so much from this book and it truly changed my perspective of the topics on the book (can’t explain more while spoiling). It was the icing on top of this beautiful book and made it everything you could imagine and more.
Obviously, you can tell that I would definitely recommend this book. Whether you are an avid reader or someone who is just trying to experiment with books for the first time, this book is the perfect breath of fresh air. I would definitely have to give it 5 stars and I’m excited to read more from Tillie Cole in the future. Happy reading!
“She told me that the best and prettiest things never stay around for long. She said that a cherry blossom was too beautiful to last all year. It was more special because its life was short.”– Tille Cole (A Thousand Boy Kisses)
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