The “Boys of Tommen” (“BOT”) series by Chloe Walsh contains several topics that may be triggering to people.
I want to preface this by saying:
Although the series does deal with a lot of intense topics, ultimately these books are about survival, found family and self-discovery.
Think of this article as a miniature, spoiler-free guide to the hardships, heartbreak, hope and happiness that is the “Boys of Tommen.”
xxo,
Emma
Trigger warnings
Child abuse
bullying
Domestic violence
Drug and alcohol abuse
Mental health disorders
Grooming
Sexual Assault
Miscarriage
Self-harm
Suicide
—————–
Reader’s Tip:
At the beginning of the U.S. editions of each book, there is a glossary of the Irish terms that are used throughout the series. There is also a name pronunciation guide that tells you how some of the traditional Irish names are pronounced. These are both helpful reference guides when reading.
——————————————————————-
Reading Order:
Now, the series is ongoing as it is still being written, but this is the current reading order of all of the “Boys of Tommen” books thus far.
The order is:
- “Binding 13”
- “Keeping 13”
- “Saving 6”
- “Redeeming 6”
- “Taming 7”
- “Releasing 10”
—————
Locations:
There are three main settings or locations in BOT.
They are:
-County Cork, Ireland (real area of the Republic of Ireland)
-Ballylaggin (fictional town in County Cork, Ireland)
-Tommen College (fictional private secondary/high school in County Cork, Ireland)
———————————————————————————————–
Plot summary and info for “Binding 13” (“Boys of Tommen” Book 1):
“Binding 13” is a young-adult contemporary romance novel. The book is focused on the main character, Shannon Lynch. Shannon is a 15-year-old girl from Cork, Ireland.
She has a troubled home life with a physically abusive father and a neglectful mother. She is the only daughter of her family, with two older brothers and three younger brothers. After being relentlessly bullied at her old school, Shannon transfers to Tommen College, the town’s expensive private school.
On her first day at Tommen, Shannon meets Johnny Kavanagh, the star player and captain of the school rugby team. Throughout the book, a strong connection develops between these characters as they navigate issues such as Shannon’s family and Johnny’s dream of professionally playing for the Irish National Rugby team.
Throughout the series, Johnny and Shannon seem to find a sort of peace within each other that they hadn’t known existed before in their own lives.
———————————————————
Characters:
The main characters in the “Boys of Tommen” series are a large friend group who are often referred to as the Core 10.
The characters in the group are:
Johnny Kavanagh
Shannon Lynch
Joey Lynch
Aoife Molloy
Gerard “Gibsie” Gibson
Claire Biggs
Hugh Biggs
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Young
Patrick Feely
Kathryn “Katie” Wilmot
————————–
Jersey numbers:
The sport of rugby is an important part of Tommen; it is the basis of storylines and aesthetics of the series, as well as the title of each book. All of the male main characters play rugby and other sports, and the numbers in each book title correspond to their jersey numbers.
#13-Johnny Kavanagh
#6-Joey Lynch
#7-Gerard Gibson
#10 Hugh Biggs
#12 Patrick Feely
—————————
The couples, their books and their vibes:
Released Books-
“Binding and Keeping 13”-Johnny and Shannon’s story
“Saving and Redeeming 6”-Joey and Aoife’s story
“Taming 7”-Gerard “Gibsie” and Claire’s story
“Releasing 10”-Hugh and Lizzie’s story
“Feeling 12”-Patrick and Katie’s story
The vibes of the couples (in my opinion)
Johnny and Shannon-Sweethearts
Joey and Aoife-Protecters
Gibsie and Claire-Sunshine
Hugh and Lizzie-Fighters
Patrick and Katie-Rockstars
———————————-
Siblings:
In the series, Joey and Shannon Lynch are siblings, along with Hugh and Claire Biggs, but there are other siblings in the world of “BOT” who also play crucial roles in the plot.
The Lynch siblings (in order from oldest to youngest):
Darren Lynch
Joey Lynch
Shannon Lynch
Tadgh Lynch
Ollie Lynch
Sean Lynch
The Malloy siblings:
Aoife Molloy
Kevin Molloy
(twins)
The Biggs siblings:
Hugh Biggs
Claire Biggs
The Gibson siblings:
Gerard Gibson
Bethany Gibson
Mark Allen (older step-brother)
The Young Siblings:
Caoimhe Young
Elizabeth Young
Nicknames:
Because “Boys of Tommen” is an interconnected series with a large friend group and many couples, all of the main characters have a lot of nicknames for each other. Here is a list of some of those nicknames.
Nicknames for Johnny:
Kav
Cap
Bulldozer
Captain Fantastic
Nicknames for Shannon:
Shan
Shannon like the river (by Johnny)
Little Shannon
Little fighter
Baby (by Johnny)
Nicknames for Joey
Joe
Lynchy
Joey the hurler
O-ee (by Sean)
Stud (by Aoife)
Nicknames for Aoife
Aoif
Molloy (by Joey)
Baby (by Joey)
Sexy Legs
Queen (by Joey)
Nicknames for Gerard
Gibsie
Gibs
King Clit (by himself)
Thor (by Lizzie)
Gussie (by Joey)
Fatty (by Tadgh)
Nicknames for Claire
Claire-bear (by Gibsie)
The Quintessential Sunshine Girl
Baby Biggs
Blondie (by Tadgh)
Nicknames for Hugh
Hughie
Baby (by Lizze)
Brave Knight (by Lizzie)
Nicknames for Elizabeth
Lizzie
Liz
Viper (by Gibsie)
Milady (by Hugh)
Nicknames for Patrick
Feely
Pa
Freaky Farmer
Nicknames for Kathryn
Katie
Princess
Kitty Kat (by Patrick)
Playlists
Walsh doesn’t use social media often; she mainly communicates with fans via the Spotify playlists that she creates about the series. Her Spotify account is @authorchloewalsh.
————————————————————————————————–
Notes for the editor-the numbers six and seven are not written out in this article because they are not written out in the official book titles and I wanted to keep that consistent.
-Keep the sign off in the preface, it is a reference to the author’s acknowledgments in the books.
Emma Joyce is a sophomore majoring in English Writing and Communications
