11/21/2022
Thanks to their mothers’ decades-long friendship, 17-year-olds Tate and Penny have known each other their whole lives. Despite the teens’ myriad similarities, including the fact that they both like girls, they’ve always been at odds with one another. When Tate’s mother is diagnosed with Alpha-1 liver disease and Penny’s mother agrees to be an organ donor, the four move into the same house following the procedure to facilitate a smooth recovery. Their proximity forcibly intertwines Penny and Tate’s lives even further and, together, the girls face financial precarity, worries surrounding their academic futures, and their mothers’ health complications. As they grow closer, the pair reckon with their previously obstinate relationship and their mutual and unignorable attraction. Via Penny and Tate’s alternating, distinctly rendered perspectives, which oscillate between six moments in their past and the present, Sharpe (The Girls I’ve Been) smartly navigates familiar romance tropes, such as friends-to-lovers, to craft a refreshing and gratifying dynamic. The girls’ individual challenges and their shared conflicts are believably woven together, and their intense chemistry conjures a savvy, slow-burn romance. Major characters read as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jim McCarthy, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Jan.)
* “Tess Sharpe's latest endeavor has all the trappings of a quintessential romance. [It dissects] Penny and Tate's thorny romance…their relationships with themselves, and…the very nature of love.” —Booklist, starred review
“In this character-driven, slow-burn romance, both Penny and Tate are engaging voices, enriching the narrative with their strong and very different personalities. It’s impossible to choose a favorite…Well characterized and wholly entertaining.”—Kirkus
"Sharpe smartly navigates familiar romance tropes, such as friends-to-lovers, to craft a refreshing and gratifying dynamic…a savvy, slow-burn romance."—Publishers Weekly
Praise for Tess SharpeThe Girls I've Been: * "A captivating, explosive, and satisfyingly queer thriller." —Kirkus, starred review * "An arrestingly incisive narrative . . . fiercely captivating and impressively characterized, this tightly plotted thriller is engrossing from start to finish." —Booklist, starred review * "Not since Veronica Mars have hardscrabble swagger, enormous grief and teenage noir been combined into such a satisfying piece of storytelling. The Girls I've Been is a heart-wrenching, perfectly paced, cinematic thriller . . . a romance, a tragedy and a story about reclaiming agency and power. It is a triumph." —Bookpage, starred reviewBarbed Wire Heart: "Harley is one of the most complex, fascinating, dangerous characters I've encountered in years." —Lisa Gardner "Terrific. " —David Baldacci "Pulls off something rare." —Chicago Tribune "Possibly the most powerful, original female character we've had in decades." —New York Journal of Books * "Highly satisfying." —Publishers Weekly, starred review * "Sharpe is definitely a name to watch." —Booklist, starred reviewFar From Here * "This beautifully realized debut delves into the emotions of a girl recovering from drug addiction and grief, all wrapped up in a solid mystery." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review * "Sharpe creat[es] a lacerating picture of grief and regret. ...The murder mystery is compelling, and its resolution serves as a reminder that love is irrevocably tied to loss and that few people get out of it unscathed." —Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, starred review "This romance is full of struggle and strong emotions, likely to find an appreciable YA audience." —School Library Journal
01/01/2023
Gr 9 Up—Penny and Tate don't get along, but their mothers are best friends, so they've always been stuck together. Was it proximity and convenience that led them to supporting each other in their worst moments? Or are they both just in obvious denial of their feelings for each other? They'll be forced to confront this question head on now that their mothers have decided to move the families in together to combine expenses. They'll need the money for medical bills after Penny's mom, Lottie, donates part of her liver to Tate's mom, Anna. Penny and Tate's story is organized into the recountings of their several near misses. Readers witness them always having each other's backs as they navigate the fallout of their mothers' decisions, Anna's sequential illnesses, and Penny's physical and emotional recovery from a tragic accident that killed her dad and severely complicates her relationship with her mother. For two people who supposedly don't like each other, their supportive non-friendship is heartwarming, and their journey is one to savor. Helpful content warnings are available on the author's blog. Penny deals with PTSD, OCD, and anxiety. Race is not discussed. Don't let the cutesy title and cover fool you; this deeply emotional, dual perspective, time-warping contemporary fiction will hit readers right in the feelings. Tate and Penny are bisexual. VERDICT A satisfying read, recommended for purchase, this may need handselling so the right readers make it past the deceptive branding.—Kayla Fontaine
2022-09-28
Two girls navigate life in a small town, orbiting their mothers and each other.
Penny and Tate have been stuck with each other through their moms’ best friendship. Although they don’t always see eye to eye, they do have a lot in common: They’re both 17, they both care deeply about their mothers—and they both like girls. The latter has made them come close to kissing on several occasions—six, to be exact. Not that they’ve talked about it; after all, they have far more pressing matters to discuss, like Tate’s mom’s frail health or the money issues both families face. Whether it’s Penny’s dad’s death or Tate’s swimming (she’s hoping for a college scholarship), every issue involves both of them, and their families often merge into one. As a new development in Tate’s mom’s health comes up, the girls are forced to be in each other’s lives in an even more present way, and their feelings for each other can’t stay bottled up. In this character-driven, slow-burn romance, both Penny and Tate are engaging voices, enriching the narrative with their strong and very different personalities. It’s impossible to choose a favorite: Each one moves through life in her own way, informed by individual traumas and hopes, colliding with each other in an angst-y and ultimately satisfying way. Main characters read White by default.
Well characterized and wholly entertaining. (Romance. 13-18)
Lifelong friends become reluctant lovers in this sweet performance by Tess Sharpe. Penny and Tate are opposites: Tate is a coolheaded swimmer who wants to get out of her hometown, while Penny is an upstanding yet wild overachiever who wants to stay. When their mothers agree to bring their families to Sacramento for a medical procedure, Penny needs to learn to let go of her overbearing nature, and Tate needs to be grateful for what she has. Sharpe delivers a flexible performance. She narrates both perspectives and adapts different voices for both characters, including their impressions of each other. The relationship between Penny and Tate feels natural, and the story expresses a varied palette of emotions. G.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
Lifelong friends become reluctant lovers in this sweet performance by Tess Sharpe. Penny and Tate are opposites: Tate is a coolheaded swimmer who wants to get out of her hometown, while Penny is an upstanding yet wild overachiever who wants to stay. When their mothers agree to bring their families to Sacramento for a medical procedure, Penny needs to learn to let go of her overbearing nature, and Tate needs to be grateful for what she has. Sharpe delivers a flexible performance. She narrates both perspectives and adapts different voices for both characters, including their impressions of each other. The relationship between Penny and Tate feels natural, and the story expresses a varied palette of emotions. G.M. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
