A Thousand Broken Pieces by Tillie Cole

 Emotional/Absorbing/Intriguing

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance/Themes of Grief, Death & Terminal Illness

A Thousand Broken Pieces

With the fourth anniversary of Poppy’s death approaching, Savannah was still struggling to deal with and accept the passing of her elder sibling. Having been in therapy all that time, the pain she felt on that fateful day was still as strong as ever, and she wished she could make it stop. The realisation that she wasn’t being the big sister to Ida that she should have been only served to bring her further distress, and her parents were at a loss as to how to help their daughter. She would sit by Poppy’s grave in the Grove talking to her elder sister. It had been her favourite place, surrounded by the Cherry Blossom trees when they were in bloom. Her last wish was to live to see the petals fall from the trees. When Savannah’s therapist Rob presents her with a last ditch attempt to rid her of the burden she has carried for so long, Savannah is sceptical, but agrees to his idea. By doing so, she not only allows herself the chance to heal, but also to meet some very special people, and experience some extraordinary places, allowing others to help her on a journey to a more healthier and happier existence, reconnect with her loved ones, but also, this time also shows her, her place in the world and her gift for helping others, presenting her with not only the future she wanted, but so much more.

I read ‘A Thousand Boy Kisses’ approximately a year ago and immediately wanted to read this sequel and was disappointed when I realised it hadn’t yet been written. ‘A Thousand Boy Kisses’ is easily one of my favourite books. Tillie’s writing transforms the characters, their dialogue and actions, plus the settings of each scene, into something extremely real and tangible in both books. From the first page of ‘A Thousand Broken Pieces’, it was like revisiting old friends, as what had taken place in its predecessor came rushing back to me, re-living Poppy’s last moments, but this time from Savannah, her younger sister’s point of view, and then going on to explore how the Litchfield’s have coped since.

It also tells the story of Cael. He is also suffering, but the circumstances differ slightly from that of Savannah’s. From the moment that he was introduced, it did become apparent in which direction Tillie was taking her lead characters, but the way in which she did it was intelligently, sensitively and accurately constructed, but as life has handed her, her own experience to draw from, this is hardly surprising. Cael’s anger and frustration at what has happened in his life is palpable. You really get a sense of how lost he is and how he is using anger to channel his emotions to avoid letting his guard down and showing anyone his real emotions. He sees the way in which he has experienced loss only as a selfish act and requires the perspective of others who have been through the same, albeit in different ways to show him that it is much more than that.

I enjoyed reading the progression of particularly Savannah and Cael, as they travel from country to country, but seeing how the whole group grew and learned to take joy from life again was a wonderful thing. Dylan especially, not only lets go of his sadness, but learned to accept himself. I adored the way that the group bonded from quite early on. The plate smashing therapy was something I felt I had read in the first book, or somewhere else? It is definitely a concept that I have heard of. It upset me in places, prompting me to reflect on my biggest loss. The scene in India where the group watch a family carrying their loved one to be cremated, and the reactions from the teenagers, particularly Savannah and Cael came across extremely powerfully, and it made me feel that it had been cruel, subjecting them to such a sight. However, I also understood why they had to go through it. The gift that Savannah gives Cael when they are reunited at Harvard was also something that I had foreseen, but arranging it back together using the Kintsugi kit each of them had been gifted in Japan, was beautiful.

The inclusion of Rune in Savannah and Cael’s story was emotional and made me smile. It was lovely to be able to catch up with him through Savannah. His loyalty to ‘Poppymin’ still remaining as strong as ever, and his bond to the Litchfield family, unbroken. The continuation of Rune’s journey revealed in the Epilogue, I had read somewhere else, but it still hit like I hadn’t, and the mention of Poppy and Rune being reunited, both at the end of ‘A Thousand Boy Kisses’, and in ‘A Thousand Broken Pieces’, helps to diminish the impact.

The way in which Tillie updates the reader on all six of the participants of the life changing trip, made for a wonderful inclusion and Savannah and Cael returning to where they originally fell in love as a final conclusion.

I would love to see a third book, as we have yet to hear about Ida and how her life evolved whilst Savannah was away. She is, as are her two sisters, a beautiful soul with an optimistic, empathic and practical outlook on life. Perhaps because of the young age she was when her eldest sibling departed, helped her grow from the experience rather than set her back. It has been suggested that Alton could be ‘her Rune’. I look forward to finding out if Tillie continues this much loved (by myself and a lot of other people) series.