I'm already a fan of Kerry Wilkinson from his Jessica Daniels series. This book was very different. No mystery or suspense, just a really sweet story about a young woman as she becomes an adult. I really enjoyed it. It was very honest and heartwarming. I burned through it in two sittings. The only bad thing about this one... I want more.

It's Poppy's sixteenth birthday, but she doesn't feel like celebrating. It's also the day her mother died a year before. She still has her father and her two best friends, but it's heartbreaking to think she'll never be able to talk to her mother again. While that's true, her mother isn't done talking to her: she's left ten letters to her daughter, intending one to to opened every year for the next ten on her birthday. Full of stories, experience, and advice, they're moving and even funny a lot of the time. We follow Poppy as she reads the letters and her life changes as years pass, friendships change, and the carefree innocence of childhood is left behind. In a way, Poppy's mother is still there, guiding her way.

I received an ARC of this book from Net Galley and Bookouture, thank you! My review is honest and unbiased.

I remember reading Cecilia Ahern’s PS: I Love You last year. It was quite an emotional read but I liked it. Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkson sort of reminded me of that book and that is why I decided to read it. That and the fact that I really liked the cover.

The story begins with Poppy’s 16th birthday.Poppy is still mourning her mother and is even more distraught due to the fact that her mother died on her birthday. The day brings her more sadness than reasons for celebration. However, on this birthday, her dad presents her with ten letters that her mother had written for her to open through the next ten birthdays.

I liked the story-line in this book. The MC, Poppy, is likeable and relatable. She reminded me of myself in my teens and early twenties. The things that I used to worry about then that now seem like a distant, somewhat ridiculous memory. I also liked her two friends Freya and Mark and enjoyed reading about how their friendships changed through the years.

The letters were my favorite part of the narration. It felt like the kind of letters that I would write to my younger self. Her mother was able to pre-empt her life changes through each year and hence tackle different concerns that she had. Each letter also contained stories of her mother’s life. One of my favorite stories was about how the name Poppy was selected by her parents. It reminded me of what my parents told me about my own name. I was to be named Rahab after my grandmother. However, my dad actually saw something on TV about Princess Diana’s wedding anniversary which was in July which happened to be my birth month and yeah, that is how I ended up with the name Diana. The stories that Poppy’s mother shared made me smile while others made me thoughtful. They made me feel like I should call up my mom and ask her questions about her teenage years and early twenties.

Ten Birthdays by Kerry Wilkinson is a short but heavy book. The stories are narrated through each birthday. Each chapter begins on the next birthday. Although they only cover a day, there is so much information shared about the past year so it was easy to catch up on what happened and how the characters changed through each year. I really liked the themes and the main characters. I recommend this one to everyone but especially to those who enjoy issue-based YAs.

A book of ten chapters , ten birthdays and ten letters . This book is about Poppy and the loss of her mum and in general just her ordinary life . Sounds mundane ? It's isn't . The author manages to stream every chapter from one year to the next and draws you into Poppy's life with her two best friends and her loved dad . A nice change from my usual genre. My thanks to netgalley and the author for my arc

I have read quite a few of Kerry Wilkinson's books in the crime and police procedural genre so I was interested to see if he could make the switch to another genre.  I started the book with an open mind and I have to honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed it!  I loved the concept of the letters that Poppy received and I also enjoyed that each chapter of the book was a new chapter in the years of her life.  It was written really well and I found myself really looking forward to reading the next chapter and hoping that she got the happy ending that she deserved.  Its a lovely book and I highly recommend it - 5 stars from me.  Definitely one I'd recommend and the book is released today so you can grab your copy now!

I really enjoyed this book. There was a while there where I wasn’t sure if I was gonna like it, but after I got past that I couldn’t put it down.

This book was more of a character and theme book more than it was a plot book. I felt like I could relate to the characters so much, they felt so real to me. They had the type of problems I have had.

I was really annoyed with Freya for most of the book. She was just so obnoxious for the most part, but she calmed down with age. She definitely got better as the story progressed.

I couldn’t even really hate any of the characters, even the ones who were antagonistic, because they were portrayed as real people with real problems. Like Iris, she was being a bit awful, but that’s because she was miserable with her life, she wasn’t happy. I can understand why she wasn’t the greatest, I wouldn’t have been either if put in her shoes.

I felt a bond with the story itself, a lot may not have happened, nothing overly dramatic, but it still spoke to me on some level. Even if things aren't going the way you planned, that doesn't mean they're bad, things will get better in the long run.

I'm also a sucker for stories where someone dies and they leave notes for people they love. It's something I will always enjoy reading about, or watching. I'm probably gonna be the sap who does this in the future.

I love both the Jessica Daniel and Andrew Hunter series from this author and I have also read and enjoyed several of his stand alones so, even though this really isn't my genre of choice, I thought I'd give it a go. Pretty glad I did really as it does contain many of the trademark things that I love about this author's writing. I find his style very comfortable to read and I also love his characterisation, especially their interaction and, the best bit of all, their banter. All these elements were present and correct in this book.
So, Poppy is 16. Her mother died a year ago on her 15th birthday so to say that she isn't really looking forward to it would be an understatement. After a bit of a stuttered start featuring of all things a surprise party, things calm down and then her father gives her a letter. From her mother. Her dead mother. Apparently, there's one for each of her next 10 birthdays (can you see where the title comes from?!) and they contain all the things that Poppy's mum wishes she could have said to her but didn't have time, also things she wanted to be able to say to Poppy as she grows up.
Each chapter of this book is a birthday, starting at the 16th, and we see a glimpse into Poppy's current life as she opens the letter. As well as her father, Poppy's two best friends Mark and Freya, feature throughout. As it is not a traditional story in the telling, it is quite hard to think of anything else I can say that wouldn't spoil things. As you can imagine, from the age of 16, for the next 10 years, a lot changes in life. Work, relationships, location, etc etc. It's different though as much of what happens in Poppy's life happens outside the book. At the start of each chapter, we a given a catch up and we then go on to what happens on that particular birthday.
What I can say more about I think are the letters. Oh they are wonderful! I wish I'd had something like that growing up, not necessarily letters from someone gone, but just someone to have said some of the things in the letters to me, support me like Poppy's mum supported her. Oh gosh, some of this made me cry (in a good way).
I have already mentioned characterisation, one of the things this author excels at, and here we have just the four main characters in what is a very character driven book so they need to be strong. I found them all to be brilliantly described and totally credible. I especially loved the way the three younger characters changed through the years. How they grew up, where they went, who they met, what happened next... I guess, you could have Poppy's mother as a fifth character as she definitely had a voice. And what a voice! The warmth and humour in her letters really complemented the contents; the love and support.
By page count, this is not a very long read, but oh my, it contains such a lot. It's a book I would have loved to read at 16 (many many years ago) but I also think it works for the more mature reader as a lot of the things described are ageless. Be prepared to go on an emotional journey though, albeit a very uplifting one.

My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Ten birthdays was a great book I was hooked from the first page.
It's Poppy's birthday and she finds out her mother who died a year ago left her letters for the next 10 years to open on her birthday, full of advice and guidance. A fab book that kept me wanting more I'm only sorry it's finished now. My first book by Kerry but it won't be my last I loved it.

I was really looking forward to reading this, I loved the idea of it, and I really enjoyed it.....it was an emotional read, but I couldn't quite bring myself to give it 5* as I felt it was just a little short. Each chapter starts on Poppy's birthday and whilst the author does a good job of summing up the year before, sometimes I felt as if you didn't get a real chance to connect with the characters.....that been said though, by the end I was welling up and after reading the last line was satisfied by the ending. Definitely recommend it

Imagine your mother dies and leaves you 10 letters, one for each birthday for the next 10 years. Would you read them?

That's how this story starts, young Poppy is turning 16 years old and she's presented with a special gift, letters to her from her mother.

What ensues is a brief glimpse into her life: each chapter marks a different birthday and only that one day; along with her friends Freya, Mark and her father, we see a snippet of Poppy's life. Incorporated into each chapter is a letter, written by her mother, always with a little story about her own life. Allowing Poppy to get to know her mother a little better - as an adult rather than as a child. Each letter seems to somehow be quite pertinent to what is happening to Poppy at that moment, each piece of advice slowly propels Poppy forward.

Although this book is all about life, and relationships and trying to figure things out, it's also about nothing. You won't be wowed by any twist, you probably won't feel overly connected to Poppy right off the bat, but you will be happy to go along for the ride. I can honestly say I didn't really like 16-year old Poppy, but I did like 25 year old Poppy. It was nice to see how her she changed, evolved, became a young adult.

This isn't an overly sappy or sentimental book - I actually thought it would be a bit more emotionally charged. That said, it was a lovely little story; a fast and feel-good read. Recommended if you just want to escape from all those thrillers and historical dramas!

"My dearest Poppy, I've wondered for a long time whether I should do this. That this might be a selfish act because I want to somehow live on in your life. I honestly don't know any longer."

* * *
3 / 5

Ten Birthdays is a poignant story about grief and growing older. Poppy Kinsey's mother died on her fifteenth birthday, leaving Poppy and her dad behind to live in a little village just outside Bristol. Poppy's mother left behind ten letters, one for each of Poppy's birthdays. The book follows Poppy through each of these birthdays as she and the people around her grow older and change from year to year.

"We were all sixteen once. You should never underestimate the power of simply having fun - especially at your age, before the boring adult stuff catches you up"

The idea behind Ten Birthdays is pretty good. Each year Poppy opens a letter on her birthday, full of messages of love from her mother, a story about how her name was chosen, or how her parents met. They also have some reflections of life and thoughtful contemplations. Wrapped around these letters is Poppy's relationship with her father, her best friend Mark, and his girlfriend Freya. Watching the three diverging paths these three young people take is really interesting - they all end up reasonably happy and successful in their own ways, which is absolutely an important message.

Poppy drops out of school at seventeen and whilst Mark and Freya get ready to head off to university she's working as a barista. Mark goes down the conventional route - good degree, gets married to a nice girl and gets a good job. Freya and Poppy have more winding routes to happiness, but all three characters are a joy to follow. They felt like real people even if, and particularly because, they were at times quite dislikeable.

"If you love her you should find a way to fix it. That might mean going home. There are always other jobs. There aren't always other people who love you."

The format of Ten Birthdays does come with a few downsides. Because we only ever see one day out of three hundred and sixty five of each year, it's a bit hard to connect with Poppy as a character. The format does make it really nice to watch Poppy as she gets older and you can see the natural changes her personality goes through, so it's great as a sort of character study. But it does make it hard to actually relate to her. The format does also get a bit repetitive by the end - we're always cycling through the "hey, Poppy, happy birthday" and "here's a gift" shindig.

Ten Birthdays is a short read with strong characters. It's a coming-of-age story that's about family, loss, love, and friendship.

This was a truly beautiful well thought out written story, I found it to be heartfelt and touching.

It was a real page turner, and I loved how the story was written, how each chapter was the next birthday.

I loved the characters which were really well written and truly life like.

An absolute pleasure of a read and I look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

Poppy Kinsey’s mother died on her birthday and when it came to her sixteenth birthday thoughts of that fateful day were not those that she particularly wanted to celebrate, filled as the day was sure to be with painful memories of the day her mother died. But when her much loved father hands her a letter from her mother, she is surprised to hear that this is the first letter of ten that her mother wrote to be given to her on successive birthdays. At first she doesn’t know whether she wants to read the first letter, but eventually she decides that she must. The letter is filled with memories, her mother’s thoughts, love and suggestions that may help Poppy to live her life to the full, with her mother there for her for the next decade with loving advice and wise words for her should she need them.
This story is really lovely, beautifully written and sensitively developed, yet not cloyingly over emotional. As Poppy grows up and starts her own independent life, her three friends are there for her, even as their own lives take new directions and lead them on different paths. I loved the concept of the loving mother guiding her daughter and sharing her secrets; secrets that had helped make her mother the fine lady she was. Each chapter revisits and catches up with Poppy on successive birthdays, opening the next letter and reflecting on the new message conveyed by her mother’s stylish writing. As Poppy grows older year by year, there are her two best friends Mark and Freya, still by her side and keen to catch up with their friendship and newsflashes of their past year. I loved the last letter Poppy received and although I should have felt sad knowing that the story was very near to the end, I felt uplifted by the wonderfully fulfilling ending of the novel. It made me think and take time to ponder over the novel as a whole. It was exactly the right time for Poppy to receive this very last letter. What a very talented author Kerry Wilkinson is, evoking such a desire to ruminate over the whole novel, reflecting and caching the enjoyment of the reader. I loved Poppy’s and Mark’s character most of all; true friendship, knowledge and support of each other and finally a full-circle appreciation of what their friendship actually had become.
I would like to thank NetGalley and publisher Bookouture for my copy of this novel, sent to me in return for an honest review. It was such a pleasurable read but with lots to learn from it. I’m sure this will be another hit for both Kerry and Bookouture, and I am happy to recommend 'Ten Birthdays' as a very good read within this genre. It’s a 4.5* review from me.

What a beautiful book about life. Every year on her birthday poppy receives a letter from her deceased mother. The letters are things perhaps that would not have been spoken in day to day life. Alongside this it's a story of true friendship which you get a glimpse at on Poppy's birthday each year. I could not get enough totally brilliant

If I'm really honest I didn't know what to expect from this book. I am a huge Kerry Wilkinson fan, and absolutely love his Jessica Daniel series of books.
Knowing this was something a little different I started reading it with an open mind.
Sometimes I can't help but think when an author changes writing style for a book, that I'd be better off not knowing who the author is. As you can't help but compare them to their other works.

​Poppy lost her mother a few years back and lives with her dad. If losing your mother isn't bad enough it also happened on her birthday. So each year as well as trying to celebrate she also mourns the loss of her mum.
On her 16th Birthday her dad produces 10 envelopes. Each one for Poppy to open on each of her next ten birthdays.
It was her mothers wish that Poppy could open one each year, I guess had Poppy decided to open them all at once it would have been a pretty short story.

​Each year on her birthday Poppy get’s to hear from her mother in the form of the letter. Her mother telling her things that had she still been alive she would have probably told her over time anyway. Simple things like how her parents met, along with advice on what may or may not help her though her growing up. It was really good to read these letters with Poppy and in doing so going on a Journey with her. Her Journey of life, watching her grow and develop. But it also felt like you were getting to know Her mother also.
The book for me also felt like it was telling me ‘Don’t get stuck in a rut’ it was like a gentle kick up the backside. We take far to much for granted.
If you get a chance to do something, then do it. Don’t sit about wondering, What if?
As I said earlier I knew it was going to be a different read, and it was. It wasn’t the gruesome crime we are used to. Just a very easy and enjoyable read.

I was a bit worried about the letters because generally in books I skim over journal entries and such. But they were my favorite part of the book, especially her 21st birthday. I felt like I got to know Poppy's mom better than Poppy herself and I cared more about her stories. But I still liked Poppy's plot.

This was an odd way to tell a story, really more befitting for a movie when you never really get inside a character's head anyway. But somehow I still connected to Poppy--I laughed and I cried.

This wasn't a normal book, with an intro and a climax and all that. Honestly, nothing really happened. But at the same time, a world of things happened. And I wanted to be there for every second of it.

I had instant author respect from the first sentence and I was continually impressed throughout.

I liked how Poppy changed over time; she was still recognizable as Poppy but she had lived and grown and learned. I think, I know, it would be hard to write like that--without the exact events between each birthday.

Ten Birthdays is not one of my all time favorite novels, but I'm so glad I picked it up and I would definitely recommend giving it a read.

This was just a really cute story and told in a "Love, Rosie" kind of fashion. It was written well and it was quite short. So if you ever want a really sweet, well-written book give this one a go.

Ten birthdays m’a énormément touchée. En refermant ce livre, je n’avais qu’une seule envie, appeler ma mère. C’est ce que j’ai d’ailleurs fait. Ce roman a le don de nous faire apprécier ces petits instants qu’on partage avec ses proches et ne peut pas vous laisser insensible.

(I received a free copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

I put off reading this book for a long time because the premise of a girl's mother having died and written her ten birthday cards in advance hit too close to home - my own mother died when I was nine and I would have given anything for such letters.

When I finally read this book, it ended up being funny and charming, though not as emotionally hard-hitting as I'd dreaded. The story is definitely focused on Poppy and her personal growth, and the letters are supplementary. We "pop" in on ten birthdays, as promised, and learn how Poppy has grown and changed (or not) each year.

I gave this book four stars because I could easily put it into the hands of friends or high school students. It has a nice story, a unique structure, and a cast of diverse characters.

Having loved Kerry Wilkinson's Jessica Daniels series I was really keen to request this one.

Poppy has been left some letters to open on her birthdays by her mum. Initially she struggles to cope with the idea- but grows to look forward to getting that bit of contact with her mum.

We share in her friendships as a youngster and when her mum's death makes her future veer off in a different direction to her friend we see how various teens enjoy life - but are still there for each other.

Her dad is trying to steer his way through and you feel for him at times. Her mum wants to leave advice for Poppy to steer her own way through and allow herself to accept herself as she is- but never to be scared to take a different path .

It makes you wonder what advice you would want to leave in a similar circumstance and how precious those letters would be to receive- down to the expensive stationery her mum chose.

I enjoyed this one and would love out for more in this genre by Kerry Wilkinson

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher and the author for my ARC copy for a fair and honest review.

This lovely story is really a 3.5/5, but seeing how Goodreads doesn't allow us to give half stars, I have given it a 4.

This is the story of Poppy Kinsey and really it's her coming of age. Each chapter focuses on each of her birthdays, following the loss of her mother on her 15th birthday, and the letters she receives each year that were written by her mother before her passing.

Poppy survives her coming of age with the help of her 2 best friends Mark and Freya. They get into all sorts of mischief and drama seems to always follow them but they balance out Poppy's steady even-keeled personality.

The letters are a beautiful tribute and the author tied each letter into what was happening at that time in Poppy's life. The 10 letters dole out sage advice that I feel a strong connection to. They were beautifully crafted, offering advice, stories about how her parents had met and so much more. It was lovely to see how Poppy had applied each letter into her everyday life.

This is a lovely and quick read with lots heart on each and every page. I highly recommend taking the time to read this emotion-filled little gem.