!SPOILERS! 

A Thousand Boy Kisses by Tillie Cole might not be a book for everyone.  It tells a true love story and at the same time discusses serious topics such as death and grieving – but in a beautiful and heart-wrenching way. 

For those who are unfamiliar with the book, here is a brief summary: The main characters of the story are Poppy, a life-loving, adventurous person, and Rune, a boy from Norway, who is an introvert and loves to capture moments on his vintage camera. When Rune is 5, his family moves to Georgia, into the house next to Poppy’s. They get best friends almost immediately and spend every possible minute together. But when they are eight, Poppy’s mamaw (her grandmother) dies and gives her a jar full of a thousand paper hearts, where she is supposed to note all the kisses that made her heart almost burst. Soon after that day, Poppy and Rune come together and start filling up the glass. When they are fifteen, Rune’s dad gets transferred back to Norway for a few years. After a few weeks Poppy does not answer Rune’s calls or text-messages. When he returns two years later, Rune finds out why Poppy was avoiding him, and he knows the greatest heartache is yet to come. She is dying. Her cancer is progressing and there is nothing the doctors can do. So, Rune makes it his life goal to fulfill all of her wishes.

The book completely shattered my heart. It is written is such a beautiful way, perfectly combining life and death. As it is written from Poppy’s and Rune’s perspective, you get to know both sides of losing someone you love so dearly. It is as special as special can be as Poppy would say. Reading this story made my heart almost burst.  

~jo