Thank you to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC!

I went into this book knowing nothing about it other than I love Casey Mcquiston and it was going to be sapphic. I was not disappointed!

Once again Mcquiston has delivered a unique LGBTQ romance that touches on something a little more. The writing is beautiful, the pacing is artful, and the plot keeps you hooked.

Shara is the perfect it girl of the local Christian high school. When she goes missing after prom, everyone can’t stop wondering where she is. In true dramatic flare, Shara has left hints and clues for three of her classmates to piece together where she is. Chloe, Shara’s academic nemesis, is determined to solve her riddles and win valedictorian fair and square, but maybe this scavenger hunt will lead to much more.

The characters, in true Mcquiston fashion, are fascinating and thrilling and you want a book on each individual character. In this book we get an exploration into religious trauma and homophobia woven throughout the story, so be aware of this for trigger warning. I do think it is handled well. I loved the element of a mystery novel in this book that ultimately lead to romance.

I absolutely recommend adding this to your summer reading list!

4 stars
ty st. martin's press and netgalley for the early copy :) <3

this book was like a warm hug. it adds a fresh twist to a plot we've already seen in YA and at its core, it's a story about identity and how one fits into the environment atound them. but it also has themes of seeing things in a new perspective and friendship. i think everyone fill find something that resonates with them in this book.

we follow chloe green (our MC) after the disappearance of shara wheeler, the golden girl of their small town. the plot is very similar to <i>paper towns</i> by john green in where chloe and co. find clues to find out where shara wheeler has gone. throughout the book, our characters bond over shara's disappearance and find that there may be more than meets the eye to each other and the world around them.

the best part of this book was absolutely the characters. if you're someone that loves character-driven books, this is the story for you. we see our characters, both main and side, grow. i especially loved the development in chloe. she grew on me as the book went on and she was a breath of fresh air in the YA-world. chloe is unapologetically herself. she's rude, judgemental, ambitious, and everything people would hate in a character. yet you can't help but root for her as the story goes on. mcquiston described chloe as their "love letter to Annoying Girls" and i think this is the perfect way to sum chloe up. she definitely won't be for everyone but the way she developed throughout the book is worth the annoyance you may have with her at the start.

besides the characters, i liked the relationships and bonds we see form. we see chloe become friends with people she never thought she would like. we see relationships between the most unlikely characters. we see the many ways teenagers can bond. it was so fun to see the characters become friends with people they never expected and get over their preconceived notions.

i knocked down a star for pacing and (SPOILER) the relationship between shara and chloe. i felt like the two had such a toxic background that didn't work as a base for a healthy relationship. the development of their feelings felt very sudden and while their chemistry certainly was there, i just couldn't get past their history. while i raved about how the characters got over their prejudices of the people around them, shara and chloe had so much history of toxic competition that i just couldn't look past when it came to seeing them as a couple. i wouldn't have minded if the ending alluded to them ending up together, they definitely have a good base for that, but with the time frame they're in, i just couldn't see how their individual characters would have ended up in a relationship so quickly.

i think the book would have been better if it focused a little more on how our set of characters got over their prejudices and not on the half-baked romance between shara and chloe. not every happily ever after has to include riding into the sunset with someone and i think this book would have done well without that relationship.

that aside, this book is one i would whole-heartedly recommend to fans of mcquiston and those that need a story that makes them fuzzy inside. also for fans of john green's <i>paper towns</i>. this comes out may 3 2022 so keep an eye out!

I absolutely adored "I Kissed Shara Wheeler," by Casey McQuiston. It was savory and sweet. McQuiston wrote a page turning book with endearing characters. I loved the way the plot seamlessly flowed throughout the whole book. I highly recommend that everyone reads this book. I wish that there were more stories like this one when I was growing up.

I am happy to report that McQuinston’s first foray into Young Adult is just as delightful as I had hoped! With hilarious banter, lovely representation, and an entertaining storyline there’s nothing not too love! (Well to be honest I do have one criticism: my one and only quibble is the reference to getting a burger at Bojangles). That aside, this is a must buy for any YA library collection! McQuinston is officially on my “will read anything by that author” list!

4.5/5 Stars and I am so mad about it

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is Casey's first official foray into the world of YA and, as I said before, I cannot decide if they're a jackass or a genius for this.

Chloe Green is our MC. The feral gremlin bisexual I immediately loathed and could relate to on a deep and uncomfortable level. She has been competing against Shara for Valedictorian and anything else she could possibly think of since she first strutted through the halls of Willowsgrove Christian school. When Shara kisses Chloe and disappears—like, actually disappears—Chloe's obsession takes flight hardcore. She will NOT win Valedictorian by default. It's all or nothing.

Teamed up with Shara's quarterback boyfriend, Smith, and the boy next door turned stoner degenerate, Rory, Chloe follows a trail of perfectly pink, lilac scented clues and confessions to try to find out just where Shara Wheeler ran off to and why. She uncovers a lot more than she expected along the way, which only fuels, even more, all the burning rage in her tiny little body.

Listen, I cannot imagine the sheer sense of pride/narcissism it would take for me to blow off my friends, my schoolwork, and my entire life just to chase down some *other* narcissists' clues in her absolutely ridiculous game of hide and go seek. The premise of this alone made ZERO sense to me. Chloe cannot stand not knowing something, everything has to fall at her feet or it's worth nothing to her, she is insufferable 99% of the goddamn time, her emotions are so out of wack she can hardly get through an interaction without losing her mind, and she so wrapped up in her own bullshit that it literally blinds her to anything that isn't tied to her goal of finding Shara—

And isn't that just exactly what it feels like to be a teenager?

Chloe's brain is an utterly familiar and terrifying place and that's part of what makes this book a page-turner. Not just falling into the desire to find out what the hell Shara is doing—but that deep sense of fight-or-flight we all lived in once upon a time. It's infuriating to look back and see what we could have done differently, but at the time? It made perfect sense.

All of these characters are messy. We all know I adore messy people. They're real. They're flawed. They make you feel like you're not alone. I loved that we got sweet, lesbian moms who adore each other more than anything. Non-binary characters that help others figure out just what that could mean for them. All flavors of queer. All flavors of love.

I would, quite literally, fight anyone for Smith, by the way. But all of the secondary characters were beautifully fleshed out in typical CM fashion. The key here is that Chloe and Shara believe they are the Main Characters and forget that while they're off doing that, everyone around them is also living their own stories. Figuring out identities, making mistakes, shadowing love with bitterness or outright hatred, avoiding looking at themselves too closely in the mirror for fear they'll see what's really hiding behind their carefully crafted veneer.

This book wasn't a roller-coaster of a plot more than it was an emotional trainwreck. Left, right, and center we see everyone trying so hard to be just what their parents and their harmfully strict Christian community wants them to be. And just how that makes one lose themselves in the process. But looking outside yourself and understanding that you are not actually alone, that there are people next to you every day who are also questioning, also fighting—that's when something starts to click.

The finale didn't tie itself up in a neat little bow. Reality poked its ugly head through more than once, but again, that's what made this irritatingly good. I believed it. I believed in them, and even now after I've finished I hope for their bright futures.

And I believe, of course, that there could be no one else for Chloe Green but Shara Wheeler because they are both completely and utterly insane.

*My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for gifting me with this ARC in exchange for my honest review.*

Funny, well-written, a great YA from a great author. I know a lot of teens and new adult readers who are excited for this title and they will not be disappointed! My library had a long holds waitlist on her previous titles and I expect the same for this one.

I loved it! I read it in a day. It's like a queer Paper Towns. It has a large cast who are all well-developed. A fun mystery. I enjoy the way Casey McQuiston uses dramatic irony, letting the audience figure out characters' true feelings well before the characters themselves do.

Casey McQuiston has yet to disappoint me; I have loved every book she’s written and every time I think the new book cannot top her old books, they do! I am consistently surprised by her books, in the best way possible and this was no exception. While reading this, I just kept thinking this would make such a great movie; and so as I read, I could see everything playing out in my head. I loved the very inclusive cast, the fact that she went opposite most athlete stereotypes, and the happy but slightly ambiguous ending.

I’m obsessed with Casey McQuiston’s “Red, White & Royal Blue” and “One Last Stop,” and both were in my top favorite 2021 reads that we actively passed out to our Little Free Libraries to share with the community. Unfortunately Shara Wheeler fell flat.

We were supposed to hate Shara, and Shara made her disappearance a game that messed with everyone, and then half way through the book we are supposed to love and understand, while there is a much bigger scandal going on. The progression of the story didn’t make sense, and neither did Shara’s hiding space for the length of time she was gone. Chloe, the main character, wasn’t particularly likable either.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC.

I love Casey McQuiston novels - the royal rom-com RED, WHITE, + ROYAL BLUE; the magical NYC romance of ONE LAST STOP and now the coming-of-age and self-discovery in I KISSED SHARA WHEELER. These novels are nothing like each other at first glance, except that they are all compulsively page-turning novels of friendship, romance, and witty characters centering LGBTQIAP+ experiences.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a young adult novel with a bit of mystery, a lot of friendship and family, and the acceptance that comes when you realize the world and the people in it are not the binaries you have mentally categorized - it’s full of nuance, brightness, and individuality.

It’s hard to write a review fir a book that has affected me so deeply. It is beautifully written and I couldn’t put it down. The characters are perfect in their imperfections. I never knew what was coming next, and it just kept being better than I could have expected. Very grateful a young generation of queer teens will have this book..

3.5 ⭐️

My main problem with Casey McQuiston’s latest books is this: I keep comparing them to her absolutely brilliant debut <i>Red, White, and Royal Blue</i>, and they will simply never live up to it in my mind. It’s not remotely fair, but I can’t help it.

<i>I Kissed Shara Wheeler</i> is a coming-of-age story about finding home and community in unexpected places, and grapples with the often-heartbreaking nature of growing up queer, or simply different, in the Bible Belt. Chloe Green finds herself chasing after her academic nemesis and local golden girl, Shara Wheeler, who disappears without a trace after prom night—with the exception of a few clues in the forms of letters she leaves for an unlikely trio: her ex-boyfriend, her next-door neighbor, and Chloe. Basically, <i>Paper Towns</i>, but make it a little bit ✨<i>Gone Girl</i>✨. Some serious John Green vibes here, but with LOTS of representation.

The true love story here for me was definitely <i>not</i>Chloe’s. The mystery of Shara, and the love story at the core of this book, just didn’t keep my interest. I essentially kept reading this book—and upped my final book rating—for Smith’s story, which honestly was WELL worth it. In fact, I fell in love with most of the side characters in this story, with the glaring exceptions of Chloe and their gross, homophobic principal.

I’ve had a string of bad luck lately with books in which I enjoyed the overall premise, but just did not like the main characters. This one definitely fell under that category. I never connected with Chloe or Shara and often felt frustrated with their self-centeredness and immaturity. While this is less of a priority, I also don’t feel like I ever got a clear description of Chloe, which made it hard for me to even picture her. By the end, I really wished I’d just read a book from Smith’s perspective instead of Chloe’s.

As a small aside, this may be an ARC issue, but the author’s note was… weird? I’m always here for an author’s note, but this one is short and vague; I don’t really understand its purpose or message.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I most loved how much Chloe grew over the course of this book--while sometimes her development felt a little tell-y rather than show-y, you could really feel her fondness for her community by the end of the book. I also loved how the author took a very nuanced and loving approach to the south at the end of the book. This outlook is pretty rare in books about queerness in the south, and as a queer person with a deep love for my upbringing in the south, it felt really validating and refreshing to read about a queer character finding love and beauty in her conservative town.

I absolutely adored this book! It was such a cute coming-of-age YA story. I Kissed Shara Wheeler was reminiscent of John Green’s Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska, but queer. This is exactly the kind of novel I needed in high school. The characters and relationships were realistic, and the setting of Bible Belt Alabama gave a very intense juxtaposition for the content of the book. Casey McQuiston is a genius!

I was ecstatic when I received an email asking if I wanted to read and review the latest McQuiston novel. I loved Red, White, and Royal Blue, just like everyone else, and even really enjoyed One Last Stop, even if less people loved that one. Also, I was curious what McQuiston's YA debut would read like, and how it would compare to the other two.

Admittedly, it did take me longer to get into this book at first, even though I did end up enjoying it a lot later. It felt quite derivative at first, like the John Green novels that the MC sometimes joked about, and it reminded me a lot of other books I had read before. Another big difference is that for most of the book, the main character and love interest don't really interact, since this book is about finding that love interest after she's disappeared. It makes for a much different dynamic and romantic set-up than the other two, and you learn a lot about the characters from past events, rather than new ones.

There's also a large cast when all the friends are accounted for, and it took a while to figure out who everyone was, and what they were like, because the MC mainly spends time with new characters, or by herself solving the mystery. So while the cast is as large as McQuiston's other books, the main character feels more isolated, and I didn't enjoy the story as much because of it. I also found myself frustrated by Chloe every once in a while, but I also get she's a teenager who's suddenly wrapped up in a mystery (and is slowly getting more and more obsessed with it), so some of her reactions and choices were logical from that frame.

However, as this book continued on, I found myself enjoying it more and more. Chloe became less isolated and the side characters started playing a larger role, and I found I enjoyed them a lot. I also feel like there were some important discussions going on about queerness and religion, and how it isn't as black and white as it's made to seem. There's plenty of bigotry and homophobia due to the religion present in the book, which is tough to read about at points, but I think the book handled it well in the end, and was able to isolate extremism from religion as a whole. I also like the angle the book took on the hometown, and how the characters learned that it wasn't all bad, just because a few parts of it were really messed up. It became about finding love and joy in where you are, where you can, and seeing how that can change your perspective.

I definitely feel like I would have been more obsessed with this had I been 15-17, so in that sense, I feel like this is a great book for the group it targets. I overall did still really enjoy it, and can't wait to see what the rest of the world thinks when it officially releases!

I received an eArc of this book from NetGalley.

Casey McQuiston does it again! I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a laugh out loud funny, quirky sapphic romance that happens to take place at a Christian day school in Alabama. In some ways the setting felt like the weakest part of the novel, in what universe does a protestant school let in a girl with two mothers?

It feels simultaneously a fresh and wonderfully comfortable take on the romantic comedy. Despite being outlandish, the characters actions feel realistic to being a teenager especially one waiting for end of senior year. Overall a fun romp that I hope gets adapted into a movie.

✨ BOOK REVIEW: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston ✨
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Thank you to Casey McQuiston, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for this E-ARC!
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My final read of 2021!! I had high hopes for this one, as I thoroughly enjoyed RWRB and OLS, and it didn't disappoint! This was a charming, sweet, funny, and even mysterious novel in which I totally got invested.
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While the pacing was somewhat slow in the beginning (either that or I was just bogged down by the end of my calendar year, which is definitely a 'me' problem), I really enjoyed all the problem solving. Those close to me know how obsessed I am with Escape Rooms, and the clues in this book practically gave me my fix! You know how you talk to your characters trying to tell them what to do and what not to do, as if you're going to change what happens next? Yeah, that was me with this book 😅
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All in all, this was another hit by Casey McQuiston and absolutely something to look out for when it hits the shelves on May 3rd of this year!
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Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

I knew since Casey McQuiston wrote this book I would probably enjoy it - and I was correct. This was a fun read that is part mystery, part high school drama, part coming into one’s own identity. I really appreciated the different gender and sexual identities accounted for, and I know my students will, also. I live in the Deep South and so much of the culture of the private Christian school portrayed in the book rang true to me. The feelings surrounding identity and small town, more conservative places were spot on. I think lots of students will feel seen after reading this book. The mystery was fun. I was surprised when I came to the end of that part of the book and there was still about 30% left to read! The resolution went in a slightly different way than I expected but it was well planned and well executed. I recommend the book!

Casey McQuiston seems to have no problem destroying her readers with incredible stories. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is no exception. This book was incredible.

Shara Wheeler has kissed three people before deciding to vanish off the face of the Earth. The only trace of her left behind: little pink envelopes, the lingering kiss on their lips and a hurricane of gossip that the Willowgrove student body has created leaving everyone dying to know what really happened to the perfect prom queen that everyone loves.

This book is a scavenger hunt mystery filled with diverse queer characters. I love Casey’s ability to write characters who are not perfect, they have feelings and they do the wrong thing sometimes. I also appreciated how despite the setting being in the South, Casey didn’t sugarcoat/change the problems of homophobia and hatred. It’s part of the story.

This book is an emotional rollercoaster full of love, friendship, and complicated characters.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an e-copy of this title in exchange for an honest review!

this book wasn’t what i was expecting, but in a good way.

i kissed shara wheeler is, to sum it up best, a scavenger hunt. shara wheeler, the golden girl of this small alabama town, kisses three people: her quarterback high school sweetheart, the brooding boy next door, and chloe - her rival for valedictorian [yes, i did say academic rival]. then, shara disappears, leaving behind only a set of cryptic clues for these three people who, other than that, have nothing in common. cue wild goose chase.

i’ve read both of CMQ’s other books, and this one reads slightly different from its older siblings. of course, it’s the only young adult one in the batch, but more importantly, it takes a different approach to this theme of queerness. although all of CMQ’s books focus on queer characters, this one seems — for lack of a better word — more subdued. not in the plot or the characters, but when taking it all into context. it’s a young adult book for a reason. it’s about young people on the cusp of adulthood. it’s about being young and queer and filled with a mix of emotions, from fear to confusion to relief. forming a community in a place that may not want you there. queer joy, but a little more quietly. self-discovery. and that’s what resonated with me most.

however, the book retains a tone and quality about it that seems so distinctly CMQ’s that makes it seem, to some degree, familiar. this book is fun and twisty and intriguing. it has a wonderfully immersive writing style. it’s quite funny, considering the number of times i laughed at witty or goofy one-liners.

this book brings in a bit of mystery with this race to find shara wheeler. it’s a little bit different from a traditional mystery/thriller because shara deliberately laid down clues & we know she’s okay. it’s a bit more...tame, i guess? the story is engaging nonetheless, but i thought it was interesting how CMQ thought to incorporate a mystery into a book that i initially thought was just a contemporary romance. it certainly has romance in it (cough academic rivals to lovers cough), but it’s different in that the entire book isn’t focused on two characters falling in love. but i repeat, we do get love. and that made me happy.

the character work in this book is also quite interesting. for example — smith, rory, and shara (aka quarterback, bad-boy neighbor, and perfect prom queen) appear, at first, as characters picked straight out of a 2000’s high school movie — your classic high school stereotypes. but reading more of the book and learning more about them, you realize there’s a hidden depth to them that shapes their development and elevates them into more complex characters. all these characters are intriguing in their own ways, and it’s fascinating to uncover more about them.

i think the setting also deserves some attention. CMQ highlights the good, the bad, and the ugly of this small, southern town. they show some characters wanting nothing more than to leave, but others who gather it within themselves to stay. this town shapes the characters’ coming-out stories, their identities. CMQ brings some humorous elements to this narrative, illustrating the little things to appreciate about this town, but not without also highlighting the underlying hurt and close-mindedness the town encompasses.

casey mcquiston’s name has been shouted from the rooftops ever since i stepped foot onto bookish social media, yet i keep forgetting this is their YA debut. a job well done.

thank you to wednesday books for sending me an e-arc!

tw: religious trauma, homophobia