I grew up a queer teen going to a private catholic school in the bible belt. I grew up ashamed and scared into staying closeted, which is my biggest regret. I wish more than anything teenaged me raised my voice and came out despite their threats of expulsion. So this book, thats everything I wish 17 year old me could have done, felt so healing and empowering. I am a huge casey mcquinston fan, all of their books have left me emotionally drained and filled with love for their characters. But this book, dug into my trauma and my heart and has impacted me so deeply. Like I’m a mess currently after having just finished. I wish more than anything that I had a Chloe green in my school. Just one out queer with a supportive family who used her privilege to empower the closeted queer kids in her school. Reading her just felt so healing to my high school self still healing from years of religious trauma.
I also love all the talk of complicated relationships with their town. I moved away for college because I felt trapped and like I couldn’t be out there. But I miss it desperately . I miss the culture of my town even though it often didn’t love me back. And I like how all the characters in this book had different views on their town and all made different choices for different reasons to stay or leave.
I also need to talk about all the parts of this book that isn’t religious trauma based. Casey Mcquinston has the absolute best talent for making flawed characters lovable. They make their characters so real and flawed, and even with all their qualities that make them unlikable you still have to root for them. And all the romances in this book were SO GOOD. God the enemies to lovers? Figuring out your hatred is just internalized homophobia? *chefs kiss*. Also the side of “oh I don’t want the unattainable manic pixie dream girl I’m just gay” also fantastic. And I love the way this book handled topics of gender identity and questioning identity, I’m so obssessed with Smith and want a whole book just about them. God its just all so good and I’m filled with so much love for this book, brb ordering my copy right now. You should also go get yours, comes out May 3!!

Rep: lesbian, bisexual, wlw, mlm, gay, nonbinary, POC, black
Own Voices
CW: manipulation, homophobia, underage drinking

5/5

Four years after her moms uprooted her from their life in Southern California to attend school in Alabama, high school senior Chloe Green is closer to victory than ever before. Attending a conservative high school hasn't been easy, but competition with Willowgrove Academys it-girl, and her fiercest rival Shara Wheeler, has propelled her to success and all but tied them out for high school valedictorian. Chloe is so close to beating Shara, but on the weekend of the senior prom, Shara kisses Chloe and then vanishes. All that's left behind are a series of letters left for Chloe and the two other people she kissed, Rory, the boy next door, and Smith, her quarterback boyfriend. Drawn together by their ties to Shara, an unlikely alliance forms that will have them crashing parties, breaking and entering, and uncovering clues to Shara’s whereabouts in the most unexpected places. Holding out for the next pink envelope and Shara’s elusive clues, Chloe begins to realize that there's more to Shara than she initially thought and that maybe, just maybe, she can carve out a place for herself in this town after all.

In a self-fulfilling prophecy kind of way, I Kissed Shara Wheeler sat in my inbox for four months before I even dared to pick it up, simply because I knew it would consume my every waking thought for weeks after reading. If only I knew just how right I would be. A contemporary equally saccharine and explorative, Casey McQuiston’s debut into young adult has again proved their ability to craft compelling and heartwarming queer narratives, regardless of the genre. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a renewing coming-of-age story surrounding the growth of queer communities in adversity and the friendships that develop during the critical points of our lives. Characteristic to its author, this novel had a cast of characters that made my heart swoon, and the witty repartee that has embodied all of Casey McQuiston’s past writing that I so adore. What stood out to me this time around, were the friendships that evolved between the three main characters Rory, Chloe, and Smith as they become entangled in the search for Shara Wheeler. Every character felt distinct, with their own determinations, flaws, and biases that were completely out in the open by the time the story concluded. There were so many sweet moments with our main trio, and it was such a joy to see each of them creating a space for themselves, in and outside of their queer identities. Chloe's journey, in particular, was fierce and messy in all the right ways. I loved seeing where everyone ended up by graduation, with happy endings, bittersweet ones, and everything in between. Casey McQuitson’s strength certainly lies in their ability to commit to the unexpected, while continuing to create the uplifting queer stories I have been longing for. The high school story I didn't know I needed, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is the unapologetic queer coming of age story we've been waiting for – elevating the complexity of youth and what it means to find yourself in unexpected places.

Trigger warnings: racism, homophobia, bullying, outing of a past character (mentioned)

Casey McQuiston is charming as ever! Like their previous books, I Kissed Shara Wheeler beautifully captures modern day queer culture and friendships, and will put a smile on your face. McQuiston's coming-of-age YA debut pays tribute to its predecessors (even giving John Green a nod for the runaway scavenger hunt similarities), and its wit shines with vibes like Book Smart. The romance runs a bit secondary until the second half of the book, but all culminating in a good build up. Do not go into this book expecting pure romance, but be prepared to swoon.

Casey McQuiston did it again! But this time, it hit right in the core of all of my high school self fears and trauma. This book is incredibly impactful, as an almost 30 year old, but I would recommend that teenagers thoroughly read the content warnings and note from McQuiston at the beginning of the book. I think McQuiston did a very fastidious job of handling the sensitive subjects.

I saw myself in this book. I saw my friends in this book. It is incredibly inclusive and I felt it to the bone, but at the same time it was lighthearted enough and involved just enough romance and teenage revenge. I think it is one of the most balanced books I've ever read, and I will be adding it to my curriculum.

Another perfect book by Casey McQuiston! I loved every second of it. This is going to be another bestseller for McQuiston for sure!

I listened to this book while I cleaned a very dirty teenager's room. As I uncovered layers of dust and grime and aired out the smell, the mystery of a missing Shara Wheeler was revealed, keeping me engaged. It was as if I was reading a cross between Paper Towns and Gone Girl. I think the point where I wasn't enamored with the story was the romance between Chloe and Shara wasn't much of a romance. Sure, it dared to be different than traditional romances, but I needed the wooing and connection between the two main characters. Shara didn't want to be attracted to Chloe, and Chloe definitely didn't want Shara so much—but they couldn't help their compatibility. And while I liked reading about all the side characters and their journey of coming into their own personalities and desires and bucking their ultra Christian private school's rules, I don't think I was as invested in the quest to find Shara as Chloe was because all they had in common was a healthy dose of lust to make for a Happy For Now instead of a Happily Ever After. Certainly, at that age, that's enough. But the competitive-hate-love thing just wasn't for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Ack I love Casey McQuiston so much! She writes so well and her characters come alive on the page- flaws and everything. I don't often enjoy high school romance type books because honestly, it's pretty cringy. Thankfully this book only had a little cringe scenes between best friends.

If you're looking for a great book with diverse representation look no further!

Every book Casey McQuiston has written is the perfect balance of hilarious and poignant, and she certainly didn't miss with "I Kissed Shara Wheeler."

The novel follows Chloe Green, a queer high-school senior, who only attends her private Catholic school because it's the best academic option in False Beach, Alabama. Her goal is to graduate as valedictorian and then escape small-town life by going to college in New York City. However, that goal is put on hold when Shara Wheeler, the most popular girl in school and Chloe's only competition for valedictorian, kisses her and then disappears completely. That kiss, and subsequent disappearance, prompts Chloe to follow a trail of clues, along which she makes unlikely friends and discovers things about herself—and Shara—that she never in a million years thought could be true.

As an avid reader of YA and Casey McQuiston books, I was both excited and nervous to read "I Kissed Shara Wheeler." I trusted Casey, of course, but I wasn't sure how well her writing style would translate to a book meant for a different audience. I never should've doubted her for a second, though! This book has everything a good YA book should have: an engaging plot, well-rounded and lovable characters, and an abundance of cute queer relationships. On top of that, it also discusses tougher topics, like the pressures of living in a small town and the preconceived notions we have about those who are different from us. In true McQuiston form, though, it doesn't bring you down with those discussions, but rather gives you a place to escape to and feel hopeful for a moment.

Once you pick it up, you'll never want to put it down. It's everything I could've expected from Casey, and like "One Last Stop" and "Red, White, and Royal Blue," I'll be recommending it to everyone I know.

This book was stunning and delightful. CMQ is a genius. I absolutely loved Chloe, Smith, Rory, and all of their friends. It reminded me of reading John Green (particularly Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska) as a teenager and it hilariously had a John Green reference. I do not even have words to explain how wonderful I found this book. Thank you so much to Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press for the copy!

Chloe Green has always had a rivalry with Shara Wheeler. But what will Chole do when a few days before prom Shara kisses her, and then disappears a few days later and only a month before high school graduation? Cryptic notes are left for her and two others that Shara has kissed; Smith, her quarterback boyfriend, and Rory, her next door neighbor. As they join forces to solve the puzzles that Shara leaves behind, Chloe starts to realize that maybe Shara isn't exactly the girl she says she is...

Let me preface this by saying I am a Casey McQuiston stan and in my opinion, everything they write is bound to be good. I rounded up to 5 stars, but my actual rating is 4.5.

While this book is YA, and technically not directed at me as a 27-year old, it still was very touching, fun, fierce, and true to McQuiston's writing from their NA novels. The characters were all very relatable, either to my own experiences or those that friends have, or even just my friends themselves as people. While I did cringe at some memories brought up from this book, it was still very nostalgic. That phase of 'not quite an adult, but not quite a kid anymore' can be a hard one to navigate and it translated so well in this book. The uncertainty of leaving home and the repercussions/changes that entails are definitely evident here.
I also have to say, McQuiston is a pro at writing loveable, interesting, and totally fleshed out secondary characters. I enjoyed almost everyone in this book! That being said, I did find Chloe to be quite self-absorbed and verging on obsessive in some cases. In the end she definitely finds herself a bit more, but the majority of the book I was groaning and saying 'Chloe....why?'.

The rep in McQuiston's books continues to be top tier! Bisexual MC is always great in my books as a bisexual woman myself! Tons of representation in this lovely story! It was also a fast-paced story with shorter chapters, also a major plus in my books.

If this review isn't enough, let me just say: PICK UP THIS BOOK WHEN IT COMES OUT

A tremendous thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for giving me an e-ARC of Casey McQuiston's I KISSED SHARA WHEELER in exchange for a honest review!!

I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is an entertaining story of the Girl-Gone-Missing, Shara Wheeler, and the people she left behind: up-and-coming football star and boyfriend Smith Parker, moody and artistic boy-next-door Rory Heron, and our rebel-with-a-cause narrator, Chloe Green. If you are craving something, this book will give it to you. In the mood for a scavenger hunt along the style of LOOKING FOR ALASKA, minus the self-righteous cis-het white male POV? Crack open IKSW. You want a moody artist type pining for the girl-next-door? Casey's gotchu. Do you want super casual and yet relevant queer representation on literally every page you turn? Oh maannn, have I got good news for you!

It is not a secret to anyone who even so much as looks at me that Casey McQuiston is an automatic put-every-book-of-theirs-in-my cart buy. However, as much as I do adore McQuiston's writing style, I will say that IKSW is my least favorite out of their released works so far. That is to be taken with a grain of salt, because I adore their writing and IKSW is still a 4.5/5 amongst the average book published. It is just that compared to their other books, IKSW would rank below Red, White and Royal Blue, then One Last Stop. This is entirely my personal opinion, as I feel there is so much stress placed on finding Shara Wheeler, and yet the actual plot of the book is surprisingly not about that. However, the characterization of everyone is so perfect and I love how Chloe is such a dynamic character.

TLDR: 4.5/5 stars when compared to non-Casey McQuiston titles, 4/5 when compared to RWRB/OLS. GO PREORER IT NOW!!!

A fun coming of age story. It liked all the twists and turns it took. I liked that it ended up having a fair amount of nuance in how it handled things like religion, as well as identity. It tackled some tough topics in a very readable way. It also reminded me how glad I am not to be in high school any more.

Although Red, White & Royal Blue is one of my all-time favourite books, I didn’t love One Last Stop nearly half as much, so I was definitely nervous going into this. I’m happy to report that overall, I did really enjoy it, but there were still some aspects that I found quite lacking.

Going into this I knew I was going to love the humour, because Casey McQuiston has never let me down in that regard. I really loved the banter between the different characters and their varying personalities. Casey proved to me once again that their comedic voice is very in tune with my own, and their jokes always hit their mark. The humour felt very realistic and modern, with lots of pop culture references, but it wasn’t cringey or over the top. Rather, it was a faithful representation of what teenagers sound like today.

My favourite part of the novel was, predictably, the characters and especially, the secondary characters. This is something that I already experienced with One Last Stop, so it didn’t take me by surprise. Despite having less time on the page, you could really feel every single one of these characters’ personalities shine through. Everyone from Rory and Smith—who have the most appearances—to Chloe’s friends Georgia, Benjy, and Ash and even to Chloe’s mums. We get to see this very diverse array of characters with different interests and fears each get their moment.

This, however, didn’t apply to Shara Wheeler, which was a real shame and my main issue with the book. Shara is introduced as a bit of a mystery but I didn’t find her appealing or intriguing at all, not even after we uncover more and more of her little plot. I just found her quite bland and uninteresting, and while I loved seeing Chloe, Smith, and Rory run around trying to get more clues and uncover her plan, I enjoyed it because we got to see more of these characters interacting and forming bonds and not because I wanted to know about the plan itself. Additionally, I didn’t see any real chemistry between Chloe and Shara. Although I usually love the rivals-to-lovers trope, this one in particular lacked depth to me, and I couldn’t see any appeal in it.

As for Chloe’s character, I enjoyed having a protagonist that is far from perfect. Actually, Chloe is a pretty bad friend for most of the book, which genuinely drove me up the wall but it’s realistic. She is also not nice, and that’s a point that’s reiterated in the book quite a few times. It is refreshing to see a queer main character being unapologetically themselves, especially when that self is very far from the nonbelligerent stereotype that’s expected.

This book also explores Christianity, which is something that I personally do not have any wish to read about as it’s not my cup of tea at all. However, it was relevant in this instance because of the setting and the problems that growing up in such a community might cause in queer teenagers. It wasn’t a deep dive into the topic, but it's touched upon a few times as Chloe, an outsider in this regard since she has been brought up in LA by two mums, sees the people around her struggle with their queer identities because of their upbringing.

Finally, the mystery. Like I mentioned, I liked the first part of it where Chloe, Smith, and Rory would go around collecting clues, but I never cared much about the actual stakes or what Shara’s entire plot was about. Additionally, I didn’t like the way it was resolved. It didn’t feel satisfactory at all, and the whole thing was simply unimportant.

All in all, I did enjoy my time reading I Kissed Shara Wheeler. The characters and their interactions was what kept me hooked from the start, but I did find the romance and the mystery lacking in their execution, which derived some enjoyment from the overall experience. I would still recommend this book to any contemporary or YA readers as I feel it has the potential to connect with lots of people, even if it wasn’t the most perfect of matches for me.

This book was much more complicated than I expected (have never read the author before). If you want sweet cinnamon roll girls falling in love, this is not the book for you. If you want a book that travels from YA cliché to an insightful look at queer teens in small-town Southern United States...that's closer to what's on the page here.

I don't know exactly why I didn't like this. I also do.

This kind of feels like Gone Girl meets, uh, Thirteen Reasons Why, but in a cute(ish) romance I guess? I'm not the biggest fan of a missing person trope and that immediately turned me off. I didn't think I'd have such a reaction to it, but here we are.

I also felt like this book had multiple plots. Like, a thing started, it ended, but it just kept... continuing. One major thing happened and I was like "oh hey nice it's almost over" only to open the audiobook and notice that, no, I'm only 46% in. A plot that kept on giving when I didn't want to continue.

Maybe Casey McQuiston's next one will be a fit for me, but so far, each book I've read by this author has gotten one star less than the last.

I love Casey McQuiston - I think they're one of a very few writers who can pull off third person present, their books are always full of unique and interesting characters, and they never fail to make me full body sob like a baby. IKSW just... didn't get there for me.

McQuiston's writing usually feels really propulsive and charged, thanks to the tense. We still get the gorgeous, gorgeous prose we're accustomed to, but the book lacks the same energy as their previous work. And to be honest, I was more interested in Chloe's friend group than in Chloe or Shara or Chloe and Shara - I would have preferred to read about literally anyone else in this orbit than these two.

I really, really struggle with books where we see characters making bad decisions against all logic, and that's what happens here. I want to be clear that this is personal preference and not a failing of the book. It's so, so important to see imperfect queer people on the page, because that's how people are! Imperfect! And it's particularly important in the context of what this book is attempting to do for its YA audience. It just hurts my heart. Chloe and Shara keep picking options destined to hurt people, and in my opinion, Shara just isn't fully redeemed. Thus, the emotional payout isn't there for me, because I found it tough to root for Chloe and Shara, separately or together.

There's a lot to delight in about this book: a full cast of nuanced, diverse, queer teens discovering who and how they are, some really great points about the Phantom of the Opera (he <i>does</i> have Christine's career goals in mind, Chloe is totally right), and a really thoughtful understanding of the complexities of growing up religious in the South. I wholeheartedly recommend it.

Thank you St. Martin's and NetGalley for the ARC!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a cute and fun love story, that at times tips into the realm of ridiculous, but always comes back to draw you in.
On Prom night, a few days after kissing Chloe Green, Shara Wheeler goes missing. After finding a note with some confusing clues, Cloe teams up with Shara's hot, football star, boyfriend Smith and Shara's stoner, musician, neighbor Rory to find her. Along the way, they discover more about who Shara really is, but, more importantly, a lot more about who they are.
I liked this book quite a bit; it was funny, clever, and had one of the best discussions about nonbinary self discovery I have ever read! The only downside was that it stretched my suspension of disbelief a little to thin and I couldn't focus with how crazy it got.

This is a really lively YA mystery/romance, and I think teens will really appreciate it. I thought Shara's character was drawn with a lot of richness, and even though Chloe is the POV character, she was a little more mysterious to me. I kind of wish it had been written in 1st person rather than 3rd present for that reason. I think the audience who needs this the most are the queer kids living in rural areas who can find encouragement to be themselves even if it's hard and find their community even if it is small.

The thing I love most about Casey MqQuiston is that she writes the kinds of books that I wish I could have read in high school. She has a way of writing that makes me feel as if I can hear the characters laugh, and that would have made me feel a little less alone as a kid.
This was a great book that was about more than the romance aspect of it. And I hope that, if I put this book into my school library, there will be one student who will read it and feel a little less alone.

Speechless but mustering up the strength for a much needed gush fest.

Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my favorite books ever and I adored One Last Stop, too. . .so it shouldn't be a huge surprise that I loved this. . .but I want you to understand just how much, okay? I love this book with my whole heart. It's the YA romance book of my dreams. I give it 5 hundred million stars.

Things I must say:

Casey McQuiston is hilarious. The main character, Chloe, is hi la ri ous! The characters were so quirky, but so real.

I have serious crushes on basically all of the key players.

I also require an encore, or a sequel, additional epilogues, whatever you want to call it for the other relationships that develop in this story.

I don't want to tell you too much. . . . .but gather 'round. . .

Chloe and Shara have been academic rivals through all of high school. It's their senior year and one of them will be named valedictorian. (Hey! I was one of those once!) Chloe doesn't just want to be the valedictorian, she wants to beat Shara Wheeler. So, when Shara disappears, Chloe takes the task of finding her and bringing her back to school very seriously. And there's one more thing - Shara kissed Chloe before she vanished.

This is an unbelievably satisfying enemies to lovers. The enemy bit makes sense and the lover bit is excruciatingly (in the best way) slow burn.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books and Netgalley for this e-ARC. All raving thoughts are my own!!!