A Thousand Boy Kisses

  Breath-taking, Emotional Heart-Breaking

Genres: Young Adult Fiction/Contemporary Fiction/Romantic Fiction

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole

Life is short.....Forgive Quickly.....Kiss Slowly......

Since that first meeting, in what seemed a very large area to two five year olds, combining their two gardens, Rune had been besotted with the girl who confidentally strode over to him, introduced herself, shook his hand (because that was what her Mamaw had taught her to do when she met new people), and announced that they were to be best friends for infinity! Rune, having just moved with his parents to Georgia, USA from Oslo, had not been happy about relocating, but somehow, this girl made it all better.

He'd spent every day with her for the last decade.....how then, could he conceive of such a vast amount of time without her. The Girl next door....his girl....and her jar of hearts.

I'd made the decision to read some, if not all of Tillie Cole's books, sometime last year, but for some reason got distracted, and being that she isn't an Author that I regularly see on Social Media (don't you just love an algorithm!), I must admit, it slipped my mind. However, when I was debating what to read after I finished my last book, I suddenly remembered this Author. I realise, that I am appallingly late to the party in terms of reading this novel, but then I only started my page last year and 'A Thousand Boy Kisses' was written sometime before that. That's my excuse anyway.

Another Author had read this book within the last year and had given it a good review, so I thought it was a good place to start, plus....it's pink! From the opening paragraph, I knew that I had hit the absolute jackpot in terms of finding a read that I was going to love. In the first few chapters, as the Author describes the adoration between her two main protaganists through their eyes, I did wonder if this was going to be just another schmaltzy, nauseating read about a couple together from a young age who proceed to have a perfect life. This is the type of Romantic Fiction that I more often than not, get bored with. I hadn't read the synopsis, so hadn't a clue what lay ahead.

As the reader, because Rune and Poppy are introduced at a very young age, you do feel that you are on a journey with them and get to know them deeply. This made it difficult to comprehend the differences that were presented to me when Rune returns from Oslo. I also felt a slight irritation with the way that Poppy handled it, although, I understood why, and the fact that she seemed to take so long to catch on to who and what had prompted that drastic change. That was baffling to me. How could she not realise that her treatment of the boy who loved her with all of his heart, and never wanted to be parted from her in the first place, would not cause a seismic shift in his outlook on the world? The power and the profoundness in this cataclysmic sudden transformation, of the bond between the soul mates, was communicated so well within the writing, so much so, that I could genuinely feel their pain and confusion. The image I had of Rune changed at this point from James Van Der Beek (Dawson's Creek .....any one who has seen it and reads this book, will appreciate the reference. I rarely picture characters as they're described), to almost a mythical monster, so extreme was the depth of his torture. The image did change again, but wasn't quite the same. The intensity of the anger that Rune felt towards his Father was understandable and I felt every bit of it, but at the same time, how was his Pappa to know what had been happening with the Litchfields during their absence, and the consequences that were to follow? Rune's relationship with his baby brother was so touching, and the way in Poppy is able to guide 'her Rune' back to being something of the boy he once was, without him really realising it, is both heart-warming and heart-breaking. The Chinese lamps were inspired, that's all I'm saying.

I must have cried half a dozen times throughout this story, parts of it are truly heart wrenching. The narrative is so absorbing and the characters so tangible. I finished this book with one question, which thankfully was answered in a video that Tillie made in 2020, that I viewed this morning. There is apparently a sequel, but it is not due out until July this year. I honestly cannot wait and have noted it in my calendar. I have also ordered the paperback of 'A Thousand Boy Kisses'. Tillie is a spectacularly emotive writer, and I will be looking to see what else she has written that will float my boat. Quite a lot I imagine. This book made 'my heart burst'.