A Thousand Boy Kisses
By: Tillie Cole
Published: March 14th 2016 by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
352 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Source: Personal Kindle Library
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Goodreads description--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.
Holly recommended A Thousand Boy Kisses to me when she finished it, and then she recommended it again when I was looking for some contemporary reads after a stretch of several fantasy books. I finally decided to pick it up. And I ended up enjoying it a good bit. As a matter of fact, I cried 3 times within the first 40%. But I only teared up once after that.
Poppy and Rune meet at the age of 5 when Rune's family move from Norway into the house next door to Poppy. These two hit it off immediately and are pretty much inseparable after until Rune's father's job sends the family back to Norway when Rune and Poppy are fifteen years old. Rune and Poppy were both devastated when Rune's family had to move away. But after two months Rune stopped hearing from Poppy. Now two years later, Rune's family returns to the same house and Rune is determined to find out why Poppy stopped answering and returning his calls. But Rune's also not the same boy that Poppy once knew.
I really feel like any more description about the specific events of the story would be spoilers so I'll try to just describe how I felt reading the book. Even though I cried multiple times early on, I felt like things were going too well too quickly for Poppy and Rune. Conflict is necessary for any good story, and the few things that I thought might end up being the main conflict of this story were only minor in comparison.
While I personally enjoyed A Thousand Boy Kisses, I can see this book being an issue for some readers. First off, Poppy and Rune have an intense relationship from a very early age. I've found in my life that some people just don't believe it is possible to have this strength of relationship at this age. Then Poppy and Rune often refer to each other as soulmates which is another thing some don't believe in. Death is a component within the story which is a trigger for some. But beyond that, a positive attitude in death and suffering, faith in God and heaven...all of these things are subjects that I've found some reject. However, all of these aspects are reasons why I enjoyed A Thousand Boy Kisses.
Favorite quotes:
-He kissed me until there was no part of me that didn't know who it belonged to. He kissed me until my heart again fused with his--two halves of one whole.
-"Kiss three hundred and fifty-seven. Against the wall of my house...when Rune took possession of my heart." Rune stilled, his hands tensed, and I finished with, "And my heart almost burst."
I had a few other quotes, but they contained spoilers. A Thousand Boy Kisses was definitely an emotional read all around. I personally found the first half to be better and more emotional than the second half. The second half struggled with some cheesiness for me. The ending was a bit too Notebook-y for me. But this book was exactly what I needed. A Thousand Boy Kisses gets 4.5 Stars from me. Have you read A Thousand Boy Kisses? What did you think? Let me know!
