in this case, we meet an unconventional, dysfunctional family that has become all too well acquainted with grief. The narrative bops back and forth between Penny and Tate (with some interjected text message passages from their friends along the way) and I felt both women got their due in terms of storytelling. At 17, Tate and Penny task themselves with caring for their mothers, taking care of all the arrangements for the surgery, and managing the finances of their homes by taking on extra work shifts and even selling their few prized possessions.

this book was a delicious mix of angst and tenderness and captured all the best parts of the fanfiction trope it takes it structure from. Sharpe alludes to it in her author's note, but structurally having the narrative hop around based on reliving the "6 Times" was at times difficult to follow and made the timeline feel a bit messy. there is also a really significant focus on mental health (in this case PTSD, anxiety and OCD) and managing it, through both therapy and medication, that i really appreciated. There is a lot of grief and loss to wade through, especially as it manifests so differently for so many people; and these characters are no exception.Penny’s mother, Lottie, is a parent who has shut down, so wrapped in her own grief that she can’t even see her child’s pain. you know how so many books promise to give you the same vibes as fics and then disappoint because they lack the fundamental understanding of what makes tropes appealing? The YA genre is off to a strong start in 2023, with Tess Sharpe dropping a heartfelt and adorable love story for the ages. although it would be incredibly easy to cast certain characters as either wholly good or wholly bad, this is not what six times we almost kissed does.

They’re not really friends and they don’t hate each other either, but they definitely have some type of feelings for the each other. What made this one a bit harder to get through, unfortunately, was in some ways, the premise itself. Prepare yourself for a very emotional ride with this book that will make the happy ending feel even better.With a title like Six Times We Almost Kissed (And The One Time We Did) you’d expect a cutesy, slow burn romcom. It’s all about grief and resilience, about love that should be a given and love that seems unfathomable, about PTSD and character growth, about standing up for yourself and showing up. While this book is probably framed and marketed in a way that makes you think conventional romance or romcom, it’s a little heavier than that (as you might expect if you’ve read any Tess Sharpe books before). Six moments lead us to two girls, one kiss, and three little words that were maybe always true in this gorgeous novel perfect for fans of Nina LaCour and Jenny Han.

i loved reading from both girls' perspectives but i have some really big soft feelings for penny in particular and want to give her the biggest hug! She completely neglected her child during the worst time in her life, and to me that's unforgivable. If you can handle a heartbreaking and emotional but also really lovely story, with incredibly connections and complex dynamics, you need to pick this up. An utterly compelling will-they-won’t-they slow-burn queer romance from the author of THE GIRLS I’VE BEEN.

I love slow burn as much as anyone, but it got to a point (especially after Yreka) where I was like, why aren't you together by now? In case it is not extremely clear with my review, I highly recommend Six Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) to fans of contemporary young adult fiction. Penny and Tate's (first name Gillian, both of their names are awful, haha) mums (Lottie and Anna, respectively) are best friends. Manages to be surprisingly poignant and deep on certain topics while still being super engaging and fun to read - and also full of the tropiest tropes possible.

Penny and Tate just can’t stop almost kissing, and readers will be on the edge of their seats waiting for the next vignette of past near-kisses as they piece together the romantic history between the two.

Although I loved the slow burn romance, towards the end I did start to feel a little frustrated with the wait, and I don't exactly know why Yreka was something they Did Not Mention. The Girls I've Been is a powerful gut-punch of a book that will leave you reeling long after its final pages. I think that Tess Sharpe did a good job at distinguishing their voices so I was never confused about which girl’s POV I was reading from. Suddenly, the girls are forced closer together as they bear the brunt of the responsibility in their mothers’ preparation and recovery process.