The two girls we get to know are Tate and Penny. They have never been friends but with them sharing living quarters, they decide to make a pact. They will get along. They won’t fight. And they’ll keep each other’s secrets to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible. For the moms. As complicated as Penny and Tate’s relationship is, Penny’s with her mom, Lottie, is even more so. For me it was the most painful part of the novel to read, even while Sharpe is careful to not make Lottie a simple villain. I mean, she’s giving her best friend half of her liver! But particularly as a new parent, reading about a parent who emotionally and physically abandons her kid in her grief for her husband was agonizing. On the one hand, I can’t imagine losing my partner suddenly in a tragic accident, and of course I have no idea how I would cope. On the other hand, I can’t imagine not putting my kid’s well being first and not openly communicating with and going through the process of grief with them instead of shutting them out. Sharpe smartly doesn’t wrap up Penny and Lottie’s story arc; there’s no moment where Lottie does a grand apology or where Penny forgives her. The focus is on Penny as her own person; she makes her own steps forward in healing journey apart from her mom, which is so affirming to witness. Content warnings: find them here on Tess’ blog. Ones that aren't mentioned: underage drinking, reference to cheating (past, happened to an MC but it wasn't too heavy - an ex cheats on her). With a title like that, there was no way I was passing up the opportunity to read. 6 Times We Almost Kissed is a heartfelt story about family and love. It’s a YA contemporary about bravery, facing our fears, and confronting the past. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts. Summary

They don’t, of course. The slow, slow burn of the story is Penny and Tate finally opening up to each other and being honest, mostly with themselves, about what it is that they actually want and what they actually mean to each other. It’s them finally seeing what everyone watching them from the outside sees, looking at these two and thinking, wow those are some soulmates right there. It’s so beautiful! After reading about the hardships each girl has gone through and how courageously they have fought for their own well-being, I can’t think of two other fictional queer girls who deserve a happy ending more. It’s difficult not to chant “kiss, kiss, kiss!” in your head while reading about all their almost kisses, even though Sharpe has already told you this isn’t the time their lips actually meet! And on more than one occasion, there is even only one bed that they have to share!! Sharpe’s prose throughout the novel is thoughtful and evocative. She writes alternating chapters from Penny and Tate’s point of views, and their voices are clearly differentiated. Tate’s distracted mind often inserts parenthetical asides. Penny’s voice oozes with her practicality and tendency to organize. Simple metaphors and similes are incredibly effective at revealing the girls’ emotions, especially about each other. Tate tells us: “I’m sitting here, hanging on her words like she’s a cliff I’ve slipped from.” Penny thinks, after Tate says “Penny”:

Summary

The central romance is just one of the many compelling aspects of 6 Times We Almost Kissed. As someone who grew up in a rural place, I really appreciated how authentically rural this novel felt. Penny and Tate and their families live in the mountains in California; even though it’s a very different environment from where I’m from, I recognized a lot of details about Penny and Tate’s home and how they lived. They are the kinds of girls who know how to chop their own firewood to heat their house. They live in a place where you casually wait hours to carpool with someone because there is literally no other way to get around. Even when they’re mad at each other, they go for runs together because Tate has to keep up her training and it’s not good bear safety for her to run alone. But let me start with the good things. 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). In this, you have it twofold: a mother-daughter relationship ruined by grief after the death of a husband/father, and a mother-daughter relationship dealing with a recurrence of cancer and a necessary operation. Personally, these aspects were when the book was at its best for me. They were written in such a way that you still felt for Penny’s mother, despite how she had failed her daughter. Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did) by Tess Sharpe is a beautiful young adult novel that follows the lives of Penny and Tate, two girls who have always clashed but whose paths constantly cross because of their mothers' epic friendship. When a long-awaited surgery forces both families to live together, the girls can't ignore their reluctantly shared past… including all those times they've almost kissed.

But when Tate's mother needs a liver transplant, Penny's mom is all too ready to step in as a living donor. The second part of this plan, however, requires the two to move in together...which means Penny and Tate will now be living under one roof. Penny and Tate scramble to put together a pact based on their complicated history...and to try to prevent one more of 'those' moments...where they SOMEHOW almost kiss. Has fate shoved these two together, against their will and against all odds? Or will yet another tragedy drive these two apart...forever? Tate was there when Penny’s mom came to live with them and she knows just how bad it was. She knows how badly Penny’s mom still treats Penny. And she’s not afraid to call it out to Penny if for no other reason than to let Penny know that what going on isn’t okay.I fell in love with Tess Sharpe’s writing when I read The Girls I’ve Been in 2021. The book blew my mind. I had high hopes for this new book and it did not disappoint.

The two central characters in 6 Times We Almost Kissed are 17-year-old teen girls, Penny and Tate. Both are such full, real young women it’s a bit hard for me to remember that they are fictional! Tate has a reputation for being cold and aloof, which stems from her trying to keep herself together while her single mom has gone through not one but two major health crises. She cares very deeply for the few people she’s let get close to her and is incredibly loyal. She is a hardworking star on her swim team whose goal is to score a sports scholarship so she can go to college and earn enough so that her mom doesn’t have to worry about money anymore. My heart goes out to Penny and her bullet journal (the bujo is its own character for real). She is such a strong girl, and she went through so much in such a short time. Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)

Customer reviews

I love a book that is character-driven and emotional and this was everything I could have wanted and more. Tate and Penny could not be more perfect together. As reluctant allies at first, then as friends, and then as something more. Their strengths and flaws complement each other brilliantly. 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. PDF / EPUB File Name: Times_We_Almost_Kissed_-_Tess_Sharpe.pdf, Times_We_Almost_Kissed_-_Tess_Sharpe.epub Now, Penny and Tate. I loved the slow burn, almost kissing but not thing initially, but it became TOO slow burn. I know, I know. 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? It got a little bit tedious tbh. They both knew they had feelings for each other. I get they had the stress of their mum's operation and all the unresolved grief and loss, but them continuing to tip toe around each other didn't make sense to me after a point. I'm glad they eventually got together, even if it was at the end.

Also, be careful when reading about how Penny’s father died. It’s very tough to read, but it helps us understand Penny’s fears and her connection to Tate.

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These girls were wonderfully messy, so great to read about and are very much now resting in a corner of my heart forevermore. The way the story shows this type of abuse is so important because it’s often not seen as a legitimate type of abuse. Penny’s story will show just how harmful emotional abuse is and how dark it can be. Penny and Tate were destined to be around one another constantly...but they haven't always enjoyed each other's company. After all, their mothers have been best friends for ages, so they HAD to grit their teeth through many a movie marathon or playdate they would have rather avoided. Penny tragically lost her father, leaving her and her mother Lottie with a strained relationship, and it seems like this tragedy alone An utterly compelling will-they-won't-they slow-burn queer romance from the author of THE GIRLS I'VE BEEN. Now Marion, Penny's gran and her dad's mum, was incredible. She was everything Penny needed despite losing her son. I can't really put into words how amazing she was. I hope everyone going through loss and grief has a Marion to help them through it.