Reviews with content warning for Cancer - A Thousand Boy Kisses

Let me just start off by saying that all forms of art are not meant for everyone and people can have different opinions.
That being said, this book was painful to read. The dialogue felt very cliche John green 2014. *SPOILER*

The descriptions of death were very “angels coming home” and tried way too hard to be inspiring. Also the MMC describing most of the women in town as “bimbos” and putting the FMC up on a pedestal was ~not enjoyable~.
It did have good family elements and was sweet at times, but it overall was not good.

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beccabae's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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chesneisanchez's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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annabananadel's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

“Why be miserable when you can be happy?”

Forever always. For infinity.

Been a long while since I’ve actually shed tears over a book. Inside a clothing store, no less. In Fukuoka, Japan. During our last day of the trip.

I knew coming in this story that it is a sad story. I just didn’t know that it was a devastating one. I got spoiled when I read the synopsis of the second book but it was not really a spoiler because you’ll know about it after the first quarter of the book. I felt their love for one another. How unfair life can be to separate this couple who are clearly meant to be. Soulmates. The journey the two of them took upon at such a young age. I just wanted to be there for them both.

Sometimes, when you read romances such as this, you tend to question your standards because you read about these fictional characters and how much they show love to one another. How can they love so much at that young age? That’s what I was thinking this whole read. Is it really possible for a couple to be in love this much during their teens? To feel so lost if one has moved to a different country? Apparently, it is possible. This book showed me that. Although I have not been in this situation, it makes me wonder if I would be such if this happened to me and my partner.

It’s such an enlightening story as well as we think about life and death. Poppy herself question why people rush to do things they could have done when they had the time. You really don’t know what would happen in the future. You really just have to say yes to new adventures.

The only downside for me is the epilogue because I wanted Rune to move on. Not move one to the next life. Although it was really such a sweet fantasy to see them both together once again.

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ktbeth143's review against another edition

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sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I didn’t like this. It did not live up to my expectations.

(and before you ask, I knew it was a sad-cancer-romance-story-where-she-dies-in-the-end before I started)

Giving it a 1.5 because I know part of the problem for me comes from listening to the audiobook version instead of reading it (meaning I can only critique the story, the not the grammar, etc). But the narrators in this story made it hard to keep myself in it. Normally I appreciate when narrators use different voices, and I wouldn’t even say these narrators did a bad job on the accents they used, but their accents were distracting. This made serious moments in the story lose the weight they were supposed to have on me.

And it certainly didn’t help that the chapters were so long. Everything was so drawn out. And then, with a couple of exceptions), the next chapter would do a time skip. And because it was in first-person (even though it was duel POV), it felt like listening to two unreliable narrators ramble on and on and on. I was bored for a lot of this book.

And the teenage rage Rune displays? Don’t get me wrong, it’s justified, and I can totally see how a young adult who hasn’t learned to process things yet would channel it all like that, but something about it was just annoying. Maybe it’s because it was the only catalyst of change. And even by the end, when he decides to forgive his dad, it felt like a random decision and not something he grew into. Which is fine, sometimes forgiveness happens like that, but it doesn’t make for a great story arch in my opinion.

And the ending wasn’t sad—it was sappy. Very cheesy (and not in a cute romcom way)

Overall, this felt like some very immature writing. I don’t know anything about the author, so this could’ve been her first published work and her other novels have gotten better. But this particular story felt too naive in tone and pace for a book that was all over my BookTok FYP and my Goodreads suggestions. Maybe I just wasn’t in the mood for a young adult romantic drama? 🤷‍♀️

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moamos1's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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shaleen64's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The writing style definitely falls within the young adult genre and lacks depth in this regard. However, the plot itself is beautiful, the characters lovable and if you need a good cry (without wading through major trauma) this is the book to pick up.

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heatherbrt's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Have a large box of tissues ready. This book may break you. I don’t think I’ve ever cried this much or so hard over a book in my life. A beautiful, but heart wrenching story that I’ll never forget.

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