The Boy and His Ribbon

4.5 “Little Ribbon” KissesWow. Wowowowowowowowow. Just wow. I mean…I do have other things to say but like seriously…WOW! Honestly had a really good feeling about The Boy and His Ribbon - I mean, for one it’s Pepper Winters and seriously – she has never failed me…but on top of that, I had heard such amazing things, so I knew I had to experience TBaHR for myself. I didn’t really have any expectations and I think that was the best thing for this book because there is no way to prepare for it…it’s like nothing I’ve ever read or experienced before and I loved that so much. You don’t just get attached to these characters, they grow roots! They’re in my heart, my brain, my soul – it’s an all encompassing experience and journey with Ren and Della and I dove head first and never looked back. It has all the elements that I would expect from a Pepper Winters book and yet it’s unlike anything I’ve ever read from her…I loved that it was so unique but it still had her signature gorgeous writing. Gah…see, told you had other things to say…Ren Wild…oh boy – well, I maybe shouldn’t say that because Ren actually hates the word boy. There are many things that come to mind when I think of Ren…there is no easy way to describe him. I was instantly pulled to him…he’s magnetic like that. He doesn’t have any particular charm or charisma – I mean the guy hates people so it’s not like he’s winning any popularity contests, but there is so much more to who he is. The main thing that comes to mind is his strength…he was strong in every sense of the word. Physical, mental, emotional…the dude is a freaking rock. Granted, the s$!% life threw at him, he was forced to be strong, the choices were limited – adapt or face the consequences and Ren could adapt better than anyone. I loved his strength…it’s what held him together and given everything he had been through, there are very few people I think that could withstand half of Ren’s struggles. The strongest part of Ren was his heart…he loves two things – the wilderness and his Ribbon…‘I ducked on my haunches and waited for her to scramble into my arms.And when she did, I knew I would never let her down again. I would die for her. I would live for her. I would kill for her.In my ten measly years on this unforgiving, cruel, terrible earth, right there I found home, and no matter where we ended up, I’d always be home because I would never let her go again.’Della Mclary…Della Wild…Della Ribbon – call her whatever you wanna call her, this girl stole the show and I can’t even be mad at her for it. It was really easy to see how quickly Ren lost his heart to Della because she is so easy to love. I can’t say it’s one thing in particular…but just the combination of everything that is Della…that makes her unique and undeniably sucks you into her orbit. Similar to Ren, she’s very magnetic. I loved her personality…she’s sweet and genuine, so incredibly smart it blew my mind and beyond loyal. I think the thing I loved most about Della is the fact that there are very few characters that I can think of where I’ve been able to fully see them grow and develop as much as I have with Della. I don’t mean that I saw every moment of her entire life, but I got to see the major pieces that shaped her into the person that she is from the very beginning…and that was honestly pretty awesome. She’s a fascinating character, truly one of a kind and I think I fell in love with her because of that process but getting some of the story from her POV from the present fully cemented that love.‘I might have been raised differently from so many kids. I might have missed out on things and probably lived through events that others would baulk at, but I was luckier than anyone because I had Ren.I was never lacking for love.I never felt unwanted or hurt or scared.He was my entire universe, and he treated me like I was his in return.’Della and Ren…the bond they share is absolutely one of the strongest I’ve ever read or experienced. They are the only constant thing they have in their lives…Della knows no other life other than one with Ren and through her, Ren learned so much. They’ve both made unending sacrifices for each other…because of their love, because they care for each other so much. It’s so hard because I don’t want to spoil any details about their relationship but there is no real way to completely describe it and do it justice. You have to experience it for yourself because it’s something that took 17 years to establish, cultivate, bloom and thrive and part of the joy of this book is living that with them. Nothing about what they had to go through was easy…they faced so many battles, could have given up a million times, had so many difficult decisions and yet all of it was made easier because they had each other…and in the end, that’s all they needed.‘How many times do you think a person can survive a broken heart?Any ideas?I would like to know because Ren has successfully broken mine, repaired it, shattered mine, fixed it, crushed mine, and somehow glued it back together again and again.Then again, I don’t need an answer to that question.I’m living proof that a heart can be broken a thousand times and still function, still keep you alive — desperately hoping that it won’t happen again, all the while knowing it will.’Pepper Winters…good gravy, this woman never ceases to astound me. It’s been a while since I’ve read a book by Pepper and the second I started reading The Boy and His Ribbon all of the reasons why I love her books came flooding back to me. I loved just about every decision she made with this book…the level of detail was out of this world, brilliantly executed, I’m just in awe of all that was put into TBaHR. Pepper has such a grace and an elegance with the way she weaves her stories…it doesn’t matter what she is writing about, the words she uses and the way she composes everything is just captivating and beautiful and pulls you in almost effortlessly. I love the way she describes things…even the most mundane things, she can put a unique description on it, something I’ve never even experienced before, that just makes it sound so much better and more interesting. Her characters slay me…so complex…so deep and she builds them layer by layer until you’re completely surrounded by all of their magnificence and you never want to escape this world that you now live in, with them. And the emotions…it doesn’t matter if she is sending me to the pinnacle of happiness and bliss or gutting me with angst or torturing me with some on-the-edge-of-my-seat suspense…every moment is captured with such clarity, it’s the literal best thing ever. Everything she writes is interlaced with emotion, there is no way to extract the two and being the emotional reader that I am, I love experiencing that with her books. Reading a Pepper Winters book is an all encompassing, breathtaking experience and I forgot how much I crave it.‘I looked at her, wanting to burn her with the truth. “I’ve never had anyone. I had no love until you taught me what it was, and even as I slowly learned the opposite of hate, I’ve known all along that love would end up hurting me the most.” I laughed sadly. “I was right.”’So…The Boy and His Ribbon is the first book in The Ribbon Duet. I knew going in that that probably meant a cliffhanger ending. I am the rare breed of reader that loooooves cliffhangers – I know that sounds weird and I feel like I have to disclaimer it by saying I love good cliffhangers – they need to be well timed, not just thrown in for the sake of drawing out or extending the drama. A good cliffhanger can serve great purpose and The Boy and His Ribbon might be going down as one of my favorite cliffy’s that I’ve ever read – definitely in the top five. It was extremely well orchestrated with the line of the story and it serves a clear purpose. I both hate and love what it’s doing to the characters, the angst that it’s putting me through (yes…I’m an angst lover too – Bring on the pain!) and it definitely achieved the goal – I am D-Y-I-N-G for The Girl and Her Ren. I need to know the rest of their story, I’m beyond invested and I’m so flippin’ excited to see what Pepper has in store for the rest of this story. #ILoveAWildBoy

I'm still processing my feelings from this book and struggling with how to best write this review. I'm honestly not sure how to convey my experience in a short review, but I'll do my best.The Boy & His Ribbon is a tragic, coming-of-age story. A story that gave me the experience of pain, trepidation, panic, love, and loss. It is part of a duet called "The Ribbon Duet," and must be read first.I was enchanted with the story from the very first page. I'm no stranger to Pepper Winters' books and writing style, and while I have not read all of her books yet, I believe that this book is one of the most emotionally challenging and beautiful stories she has ever written. The writing flowed effortlessly. I was utterly addicted and needed the next page over, and over, and over again."I'd do anything for her. Just like I'd stayed here past winter for her. Just like I'd sacrifice anything of mine so she could have everything."I am immediately diving into the next book of the duet: The Girl and Her Ren. I'm incredibly nervous about how I will handle it, but I can't look away.

Ren and Della start off with a father/daughter type relationship even though they’re only 9 years apart. She’s so young when they are first together that he literally has to do everything for her. That grows to more of a brother/sister type relationship when she becomes more self-sufficient. They both go through all the stages of growing up and from that comes complications neither one of them wanted or saw coming as young innocents.I can’t explain my complete love for this book but I’m going to try. The author brought to light a type of relationship I’ve never really thought about before. When one person is literally you’re everything how do you differentiate love from being in love? How do you teach someone the different types of love when you don’t even know yourself because you’ve never had either? Ren is so sure his love is purely brotherly and I do believe it started that way. He raised her and there was never any indication that love was inappropriate when they were younger. They fought and loved like brother/sister or father/daughters do. My point is that he’s so sure it’s still brotherly love when they get older but I believe with his dreams his subconscious is trying to tell him differently he just doesn’t understand because he’s never had that type of love.Is it possible for them to have a real romantic relationship when they started off the way they did? I’m personally hoping for yes and some people may think that’s sick or taboo. It didn’t happen overnight. As they got older and changed and their hormones came into play she started to feel more than brotherly love towards him. He is literally the only thing she’s loved for so long and that’s why he wants her to go to school and find other things in life. He thinks she deserves more from life then just him. Of course he doesn’t believe he deserves the same because of his past. I loved their protectiveness of one another. They love each other deeply and are both so afraid of life without the other one. Both of them are just easy to love and I was rooting the whole time for them as a couple in the end yes but as individuals as well. They deserve happiness even if it’s living in the forest away from civilization. They’re not going to make it easy. They’ve already put each other (and us haha) through such heartbreak without even meaning too. Hurt causes her to act defiantly and confusion causes him to be cold and it just boils over from all these little incidents that add up.He goes through so much as a young boy and then there’s this little girl that he was in no position to take on and definitely didn’t want to but he does anyways and it becomes the greatest gift. I read the first half of the book with butterflies in my stomach. I could feel the heartbreak coming and there was a lot of angst when they’re growing up. Especially when he starts to become a teenager with all the normal teenage boy issues while she’s still just an innocent little girl who wants to keep him to herself. I could have gone without Cassie (haha) but I get it. She was actually a critical part of the story because she brings out unknown emotions in both Ren and Della that they need to go through for the story to feel complete. Even though what happens happens, I love how loyal Ren remains. I was worried it would totally change him and his relationship with Della. It has effects but nothing catastrophic. It wasn’t heart for him, just hormones.Anyway I cannot wait for book two and I’m sad that June is so far away! I guess I’ll get to read this book again before the second one releases so I can have a refresher ;) I’m not at all surprised by how it ended because it kind of foreshadowed it. For those who don’t like them, it does end on a cliffhanger! I normally don’t like them either but I loved this book so much I can’t say anything negative just because of that. It’s part of the risk we take as readers when we get invested in a book. It’ll be so worth it though when book two comes out. I have faith this author will give us the ending these characters deserve!

Este libro yo ya lo había leído digitalmente, pero de lo mucho que me gusto lo necesitaba en físico, todavía me faltan comprar los otros dos (que también los leí, y recomiendo). Esta trilogía se me hace tan buena por que no solo habla de un romance, si no se la vida de estas 2 personas y las demás personas que los rodean, no es una historia sencilla, más bien es compleja, y creo que tienes que tener una mente abierta para poder tomarle cariño, 10/10.

I had to seat down and read the book in one data, because the story was so touching and captivating that I neeeded It would end.Recomend those wjo like forbidden love!

奴隷のように売られそこで働かされ虐待されていた10歳の少年レンがその牧場を逃げ出すという衝撃な始まり。(しかも舞台は2000〜2018年)詰め込んだバックパックの中に思いがけずその卑劣な牧場主夫婦の赤ん坊デラが紛れ込んでいて…そこから2人の逃亡生活が始まります。デラを愛し守り育てるレンとデラの関係は唯一無二でありながら2人の成長とともに複雑に変化していきますがこのあたりの2人の心情が…もう…(語彙力) やはりこの作者さん、なんでこんな辛い思いさせてしかもグイグイ読ませるのだ！そして最後…2人…無理…もう…この感情をどうにも処理しきれないので次巻も即買いしました。こんなロマンスありますかね?!?!

This duet utterly consumed me. This is the first book I have read by this author. Why did I wait so long to read this! This story was intricate, tragically beautiful, full of love, emotional and mesmerising. I went into this blind and I would suggest for anyone else to do the same. This is not a conventional story it will push your boundaries in the best way.Ren and Della share such a special bond. I adored these two characters so much. Ren looks after Della and the love they share for each other transcends any conventional relationship. I don’t want to say to much as I don’t want to give anything away. Just read this!! It will break you, it will destroy you, you will be ruined, but it will give you peace. It’s beautiful and poignant. It’s a masterpiece and I am confident this will be the best books of 2023 for me. Just like what was stated this isn’t just a love story its a life story.

I give this book 3 stars as it’s not badly written. However if I was just rating the story line I’d give a 1 or 2.It’s a shame, as there were so many opportunities to make this an excellent book.The opening chapter was excellent and had me intrigued, and wanting to find out how the story would develop.However over 50% of the book was about lust growing up and bordering on incest. I know children go through adolescence, and need to find themselves, exploring their own body and feelings. This book in parts this was very uncomfortable reading.I just felt the story didn’t develop, even though there were opportunities for it to do so.Why wasn’t their escape all over the news, why didn’t people recognise/report them. Della wrote her story and left it behind, why wasn’t; it found. This story line wasn’t followed through. Overall this book was disappointing.I won’t be recommending this book or buying other books by this author.