A review by abireadthat
A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Ohhh my goodness did this book have me CRYING. I was seriously so blown away about how much I loved this book. The entire time my heart was so warm and my soul was crying because not only is this book about friendship, love, and cherishing life for what it is; its about this beautiful young lady whose soul is as old as the hills and just cares so deeply at ensuring every single last bit of life is precious. 
 
We follow Poppy and Rune - they meet when they're 5 years old, and grow up together, and fall in love. One cannot be without the other. When Poppy is young, her mamaw gives her a jar to fill with 1,000 boy kisses. These are to be written down on little bits of paper as those kisses happen, but the catch is that they have to be so special to go into the jar. 
Being as young as they are, Rune is determined to make sure that he gives each and every single one of those kisses to Poppy - no one else. 
 
Rune and Poppy's story changes slightly when Rune has to go back to Norway - and being a child he has to go with his parents rather than staying in America with Poppy. 
From here on in the story, a few things happen which I won't go into detail about to avoid spoiling anything. 
 
Moving on a few years, things don't go as expected and unfortunately we are met with heartbreak - and again, I won't go into detail but my goodness my heart. Poppy is the most beautiful heroine character who has nothing but a heart of gold behind her. 
 
I cannot rate this highly enough. Tilly Cole has created a story that truly values all aspects of life to ensure we realise just how precious and short it is. 
 
This was an easy 5 star. However, I think this book could be tricky to read if you are perhaps going through grief, or know anyone who has had a terminal illness. Please read the trigger warnings for this book and understand that although it is a YA, it may still be a tricky read for some. 
 
Trigger Warnings: 
  • Cancer
  • Child death
  • Death
  • Terminal illness
  • Alcohol (teenage party)

 

"This jar is for you to record your boy-kisses, Poppy. All the kisses that make your heart almost burst, the ones that are the most special, the ones you want to remember when you're old and grey like me. The ones that will make you smile and you remember them in your mind"
 
 

"Like she promised, Mamaw was there in my dreams. So I told her all about the five boy-kisses from my Rune. My mamaw smiled big and kissed me on the cheek"
 
 

"There are no do-overs; whatever happens in a moment defines life - perhaps it is life"
 
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