Like all of McQuiston’s books, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a quick, addicting read that I had a hard time putting down. Unlike her other books, this debut YA has protagonists I found deeply unlikeable. That could be because they are teenagers making naive, selfish, teenage choices, or it could be because they are kids trying to be themselves in a place that has been historically unwelcoming to kids that don’t fit the norm.

The first half of this book is a mystery, and was my favorite half. One thing I found difficult about this book is that it’s a “contemporary YA” but it’s contemporary in the way that Schitt’s Creek is. It exists in a better version of our world (or Arkansas, specifically), where homophobia doesn’t exist. Except it does, sometimes. The previous adult books have this too, except they feel set in a different version of our world (a variant of the multiverse?) with a more loving political system (Red White and Royal Blue) or a science fictiony train space continuum (One Last Stop). There were some criticisms of this with OLS too — in that characters want other characters to be out and to feel safe, but there is a dissonance with what we see in the real world.

This book was the most difficult for me to suspend reality for, but I’m going to blame that on my own ongoing pandemic pessimism. I loved a lot of the side characters and loved a lot of the relationships developed in the story. I like the idea of envisioning (and reading) about a better version of our own lives, and if that’s your vibe, pick this one up! Thanks to NetGalley for an early review copy, all opinions are my own.

“She’s not a good person”

Thanks to NetGalley for an early copy to review. If I just review the final 20%, I really enjoyed it. But for the first 80%, Chloe was just so unlikable. She speaks about how Shara isn’t a good person without self reflecting, which is very typical of teenagers but it’s still rather frustrating to read. I don’t enjoy reading book with unlikable protagonists. Luckily the rest of the characters were very likable. By the last fifth I wasn’t sure if I even wanted Chloe and Shara to end up together, despite knowing it would end that way. Chloe was so self centered in her actions throughout most of the book she couldn’t see how she was ditching her friends and changing her priorities away from what she’d always strived for, which was sad to see. Yes, I understand that was Shara’s goal, which is another reason I didn’t like them. It’s frustrating to read about people being manipulative but ultimately getting a happy ending (at least in the relationship department).

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Wednesday Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest opinions.

I am a huge Casey McQuiston fan and loved Red, White, and Royal Blue as well as One Last Stop, so I Kissed Shara Wheeler was highly anticipated and I was excited to read it. My overall review is that I’m not disappointed by the book (it grew on me and the characters came into their own with time), but I also don’t think it is anything exceptional. It’s a great addition to the canon of romantic young adult literature and has the benefit of representing a number of queer and nontraditional characters, which is particularly striking in a very traditional / conservative religious setting.

I had a hard time getting into the book for the first 65% - while I understand the need to build the mystery / scavenger hunt component of the book, I just wasn’t compelled by the hunt for missing Shara until we *met* Shara herself. Then, the chemistry between Shara and Chloe flew off of the page and the rest of the book was much more enjoyable. I wish this action had come sooner, or maybe that the flashbacks had occurred in a more juicy way than through passed notes, to build some of this crackling energy between the two female protagonists earlier. I ended up enjoying the last 35% of the book much more, perhaps because the many characters were finally all familiar and I was able to distinguish between them / figure out the intricate differences in their very similar personalities. So many of the characters felt like young adult versions of other adult characters McQuiston has written, without distinct personalities other than being queer (or questioning) and a little quirky. I truly appreciate seeing so many queer high school students represented in young adult literature, but maybe they could have distinct voices and ways of interacting from one another rather than all talking like they just read the same Twitter accounts, from the football jock to the outdoorsy book nerd?! This is a small complaint but I saw another review mention it too so I’ll say it here - Ash and Ace, while they are completely different characters, took me way too long to separate in the early book. The names are just too similar, despite the characters being extremely different! I wonder how Gen Z readers will feel about the pop culture references / very internet way of talking that every character had, because as a millennial it fell a little flat.

While every fiction book asks you to suspend a sense of disbelief, this book did so for a number of things that happened in an otherwise-realistic world. There were some small factual errors that I’m sure actual high school students would find annoying (ex: if Shara got into Harvard early, she wouldn’t have been able to apply to “17 other colleges”) and some details that seemed thrown into the tale for the sake of creating a character who was a bit of a cliche without making it part of their personality or backstory (for instance: why did Chloe choose to go to NYU when she’s supposedly one of the two smartest students in the school and the other two smartest students [Brooklyn and Shara] are going to Yale and Harvard [or so everyone thinks], respectively? No shade to NYU but unless Chloe was pursuing drama at Tisch, it seems unlikely it would be her first choice - and in that case, say it and make it part of her character arc and motivation!). I appreciated the discussion of the different ways that religion can fit into the characters’ lives, but it felt like that point was brushed by and dropped - could we maybe have heard more of Shara’s views of religion, and how the nuance might open Chloe’s very judgmental mind as they get closer? I also thought that Shara’s parents could have had a bit more description - her dad was oppressive and domineering (and homophobic) but what about her mom? Presumably the same, but why didn’t she get any description, no matter how short? How was Shara able to start a relationship with Chloe at the end of the book when there would have been so much gossip / potential backlash in her family and community? I’m glad they did, but realistically, shouldn’t there have been a couple of obstacles to that HEA? Why did Shara’s parents *let* her go hang out on the boat for a few weeks when she was otherwise under their thumb in every way? I guess just another part of her dad’s crooked double standards? Anyway, obviously some things have to happen for the sake of the story, but I found myself rolling my eyes when some strictures of the real world (French homework, drivers licenses) got in the way and then other apparent barriers were ignored.

Ultimately, this book was 3.5 stars for me. I enjoyed the central love story and rooted for the peripheral characters. I particularly liked Smith and Rory’s subplot/evolution. I yelled at Chloe for her spoiled and shortsighted behavior but wanted her to get her sh*t together and succeed. And I was grateful to see Shara go from a one-dimensional, mythical good-girl to an intriguing love interest / villain. I think this book is worth the read, but I won’t recommend it as enthusiastically as I’ve recommended other Casey McQuistons.

My fav Casey McQuiston yet! I absolutely loved getting to know these characters! They are so beautifully complicated. No teenager cliches here. As someone who spends all day with teenagers, it was so refreshing for an author not to put their teenager characters in a box. Wow I loved this book so much. The ending was perfect and filled with so much wisdom! Just preordered a copy now so I can force it upon all my friends

4 stars! I really enjoyed this one and more below !

Definitely for you if you enjoy
Gone Girl-esqe mystery but YA
LGBT/gender identity
Fun, supportive community, family and friends

Chloe Green is determined to win valedictorian at the Christian private school in this small Alabama town and the only thing in her way is Shara Wheeler, the principal’s daughter and prom queen dating the star quarterback. What a cliché. When Shara kisses her and disappears a month before graduation, Chloe is set to find out where she is to drag her back to school so she can win fair and square.

While looking for leads, Chloe finds clues for a scavenger hunt via monogrammed stationery that Shara has set up. Chloe also finds that she’s not the only one she’s kissed. There’s her boyfriend, Smith, and Shara’s bad boy next door neighbor, Rory.

As they set off trying to translate Shara’s cryptic clues, they find their way across parties, break-ins and all sorts of puzzles. As the frustration to finding Shara builds, they come to realize they didn’t really know her or themselves as well as they thought.

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I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought! I thought it’d be plain ~power of friendship and living life~ but it was funny and more complex than other YA books I’ve read. The discussions of sexual and gender identity was refreshing especially through young eyes and understanding with how some know and some learn and some begin to understand themselves and others.

Though there was the power of friendship, it was a beautiful community McQuiston built, which I wasn’t suprised about. The way they write about found family and support of community in their previous books has been an ongoing theme I appreciate reading in their books.

The young adult twist on Gone Girl was intriguing to me and the twists in the storyline were fun and it kept me interested and reading. There’s a lot to consider and I think as wild as it was, I enjoyed it. It wasn’t predictable but it also was too. It was one where I couldn’t exactly see where it was going but once explained, it did fall in to place. I don’t know, I just liked it lots. It was a great happy medium for me to know but not know if that makes sense?

I liked this one lots and I’m so so excited for it to be published and for what other people think about it! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for sending this to me in exchange for an honest review.

First of all, thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc of this title! I was really excited to dig into this one.

Here are my spoiler-free thoughts and feelings.

Okay, positives first: This is a fun plot. Albeit, a little "Looking for Alaska", or maybe "Paper Towns", but it's more queer and less angsty (which lends itself a huge favor in my mind -- teen angst is extremely hit or miss, imo). There are some really nice conversations about gender and sexual identity. It opens with content warnings, which is something I feel every book should open with. And it's a quick read, too, which is always nice.

The writing in this book is shaky. Some transitions are clonky. The dialogue, at times, is a little awkward. The pacing is wonky, and at times, it feels like the author isn't fully in on what's happening. It's never confusing or unclear, it's just... It doesn't flow, for me?

Typically, for me, one of the things I enjoy most about McQuiston's works are the cast of characters. Specifically, the side characters. In this novel, I enjoy the protagonist, Chloe (even though some of her dialogue sometimes is a little cringe -- but hey, I was precocious and a touch pretentious as a teenager, too). However, I don't think the side characters in this book do it for me the way August's friends and neighbors do in "One Last Stop." Other than maybe Smith, at times, I didn't find myself wanting to know more about any of them. Don't get me wrong, they get more interesting as the book goes on, but they don't pop off the page in the way that I'm used to in McQuiston's work.

It's weird -- "One Last Stop" has a way more ~fantastical~ plot (and even, to an extent, "RWRB"), but I found myself reminding myself to suspend belief much more often while reading "I Kissed Shara Wheeler."

I don't like fully negative reviews, so I'll bring it back around to a few more positives now. The middle third of this book really saves it for me. The last third is a little awkward again, BUT by then, the pace has at least become more consistent, and the tone is a lot more evident, like it's finally aware of what kind of novel it is.

And, let's be honest, the world could use more fun, sapphic ladies in literature.

I wouldn't necessarily read this book again, but I also wouldn't not recommend it. Again, I really enjoy some of the conversations about gender identity and sexuality presented here, and I do think teenagers might enjoy this.

All in all, I'd give this 3 stars, because... it just wasn't for me, despite the queerness and quirk and my interest in the author.

I wanted to love this. Red, White, and Royal Blue is one of my favorite books, but this was fine. I really didn't like Chloe and Shara and honestly couldn't bring myself to care where Shara went. I did love all the side characters and their stories though. 3.5 stars

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Mini Synopsis: Shara Wheeler. Golden girl. Principal's daughter. Valedictorian and early acceptance to Harvard. And then she goes missing. Shara leaves behind little pink envelopes with clues for 3 certain people.... the same 3 she happened to kiss before she left.
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This book started off so strong! I was hooked on the mystery of finding Shara's clues. I also loved all of the characters (Chloe was iffy at times). The only thing I didn't like is the ending seemed a little too fake. A little "too good to be true" for my liking.
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Be sure to pick this one up when it hits the shelves! You'll laugh out loud with McQuiston's dialogue. Thanks @netgalley for the ARC!

I have to say, I LOVE Casey McQuiston. Her wit and satire is genuinely and sincerely the best there is out there. The jokes and analogies at the beginning of this novel were just hilarious. I kept sending one-liners to my friends. My favorite was one of the first ones about Phantom being the perfect guy.

That being said. I did not personally find this book as interesting as I would have liked. I wouldn’t say it is an overnight read. The pace at the beginning is just too slow, and I seriously struggled with Shara. I just couldn't bring myself to like her enough to be found. By the end of the novel, everything is wrapped up in such an unrealistic happy bow that it just felt off to me. Plus, I feel like it has a pretty niche audience. I wouldn’t suggest this to someone who hasn’t already read a LOT of lgbtq+ romances. The first 60% of this novel was just difficult to get through because it went on for a LONG time. It did get better by the end, but Shara never became more likable. I think maybe the white privileged Christian was still too difficult to like. There wasn't enough of a sad story to make up for Shara being horrible to people.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press for this most longed for ARC!

I adored this one from the minute it acknowledged the John Green-ness of the plot and then went off in a thousand unexpected tangents on identity and home and love. The viciousness! The imperfection! The blind spots and questions asked and the way it all came together. One Last Stop did not really do it for me but this made me feel exactly as Red White and Royal Blue did - hopeful for a world populated with McQuinston readers.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler would fit right in alongside any WB type high school drama. Chloe is on her way to becoming valedictorian with the only competition in the form of the golden girl that everyone loves and Chloe loves to hate. When Shara disappears, leaving behind clues in the form of a scavenger hunt, Chloe teams up with some unlikely partners to solve the mystery. Along the way, she becomes enmeshed with people she'd only known superficially. And they all discover things about themselves that surface due to the shake up of the social circles. Though we only have Chloe's POV throughout, the additions of notes and other external texts/recordings allows for insight into the other characters. I found the scavenger hunt aspect of this book to be quite original, though I had to suspend disbelief quite a bit at how pat it played out. The open and respectful treatment of a range of identities is something Casey's quite good at, and I think this would be a great book for high school kids, struggling against whatever social or power constructs limit them from figuring out who they are.

[Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for letting me read this ARC]

This coming-of-age romp was as refreshing as a baja blast to the face!

When Chloe's arch nemesis at her conservative Alabama school mysteriously disappears immediately after kissing her, Chloe and the other two recently-kissed-by-Shara team up to solve a series of clues and discover the location of False Beach's missing golden girl.

I have loved all of Casey McQuiston's novels, and this funny and heartfelt YA addition did not disappoint. I grew up in Arkansas at a conservative private school, and I found this story hugely relatable. It is really interesting to watch this author come to terms with their own roots, and the novel paints such a vibrant picture of this Alabama town.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler has easy, cross over appeal for McQuiston's adult fan base, while extending their reach into the YA sphere: it is a story of those last days of high school, parting ways with a town you're desperate to leave, but also sort of love; the people you keep and the ones you leave behind; the part of yourself you take--and the parts you remake--after high school.

Wow. What can I say? I adored this book. I thought it was funny, irreverent, full of heart, and, at times, brutally honest.

Chloe Green is desperate to become Valedictorian of her conservative Christian high school in Alabama, but there's one thing in her way--Shara Wheeler, her arch-nemesis. Then Shara kisses Chloe in an elevator and disappears after prom, leaving behind a series of enigmatic cards with clues for Chloe to decipher, alongside Shara's quarterback boyfriend Smith and her next-door neighbor Rory. What ensues is a lot of hilarity and a lot of anguish. There is so much here to love. I appreciated the care the author took to present a rural Southern community with nuance and grace. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves romantic comedies, teen hijinks, and follow-the-clues mysteries.

Thank you, NetGalley for the arc of this book.

I am obsessed with this book. I could not get this story and these characters out of my head for days. I was not expecting for these themes to hit me so deeply. From the first few chapters of the book, I was hooked into the mystery element of the book and I kept telling myself that the reveal better be good. I won't comment on that, but just know that this book is about so much more. This story really has a little something for everyone. I laughed, I cried, I reflected, I reread, I plan on rereading once I get a physical copy. I think this book will stay with me for a while longer. Also, Casey McQuiston if you're reading this, please make a "Which character are you?" Buzzfeed quiz. I just know I'd be Mr. Truman.

Casey McQuiston's new YA novel is a sharp, funny story of a missing person, high school rivalries, friendship, and maybe love. Narrator Chloe is a fish out of water in Alabama, where her moms moved the family from southern California. Her private high school is religious and conservative, but also the only school in the district rich enough to have a good drama program. Chloe's friends are the other misfit toys at school, and her rival is the gorgeous and untouchable principal's daughter, Shara Wheeler. When Shara disappears prom night, leaving behind a set of mysterious notes, Chloe goes on a quest to find her and get some answers, including why she kissed Chloe just before she vanished. Along the way, Chloe encounters another classmate Shara kissed, as well as Shara's boyfriend. The three work together to find out what happened.

At first I was worried that this was a John Green knockoff, but the book is self-aware about its teen tropes. McQuiston has written a twisty and surprising story with redemption and HEAs for its main characters. Some things wrapped up a little too neatly, I thought, but it was a satisfying conclusion.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC to review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you Netgalley and Wednesday Books for giving me an advanced copy for my honest review.

This was one of my most anticipated reads for 2022 so I'm really happy to have gotten a chance to read this before it released. I enjoyed this as much as I expected and MORE. Because I had no idea what I was getting myself into when picking this up. I havent been the biggest fan of YA recently, and if I pick one up it needs to have strong LGBTQ representation for me to be interested. This gave me all the happy feelings of love and friendship that I saw in One Last Stop. I loved the fun mystery element that was in this and it kept me turning the pages.

I used to love John Green books in high school, and this reminded me so much of Paper Towns, but I will say this was done so much better. Better characters, better development, and a much more satisfying resolve. And of course it's gayer.

This comes out May 3, 2022.

Thank you to the publisher for an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
First off; I still love RW&RB more than anything McQuiston’s written since. Saying that, as their first foray into YA, this book read way more to the adult end. There isn’t anything in here resembling adult content, but it has the feel of an adult book written about teenagers and there is nothing wrong with that.

In fact, I love McQuiston’s writing. It’s fabulous. They truly have a gift for writing, and reading each page was a general pleasure. Even during some of the parts that I struggled with. And that’s just because I don’t enjoy YA contemporary that much anymore, but McQuiston’s name was on it, therefore I had to read it.

Overall, I think the book was good. It had themes that are going to resonate with each other, and as with all their books there was a bunch of diversity and pretty much the entire cast of characters were queer. I think this is really going to appeal to teens who seek to see themselves represented in places where it seems the most unlikely.

This shows how it feels to grow up in a very religious area who do not like anything different and still have racism embedded in the everyday life. But it also shows that there are people who are different from that; and that not everybody who lives there is terrible, and I think that is so important for teens who feel isolated or that they’re the only ones who feel like that.

I think this was a powerful book and is going to be very popular and become well loved. It was well written and touches on important topics in a way that meshes well with the story.

I think my only major complaints are that sometimes I felt the characters were a little flat, and that the pacing/plot of the story was a little awkward. But it was an enjoyable read.

This was an interesting mix of genres! It’s got LGBTQIAP+ rep, mystery, and revenge all set up into one. I thought it was a little bit all over the place at times, honestly. The beginning of the book is very, as the author says in the book, John Green-like. I enjoy mysteries so this was pleasant! Then, the rest of it fell off for me. I wished that it felt more genuine.

This book is a freaking delight. I may even be so bold as to say it might even be McQuisten's best yet?? Everything about this is charming as hell. The dialogue and humor are on-point and smart and the pop culture references sprinkled in come across as cute and not annoying at all. The unlikely friendship that develops between Chloe, Rory, and Smith is so heart-warming and seeing it slowly develop from annoyance to love was delightful. Their dynamic is one of my favorite things about this book. McQuisten has a talent for writing perfect side characters and Chole's group of friends rivals the gang in 6F (iykyk).

The heart of this book reflects so much of my own small town Christian school despite-not-being-religious experience (albeit I was in the Midwest and not the south), which may be why I connected with it so much. The exploration of the constraints of a conservative environment and being inundated with things you don't always agree with and the inability to publically be your authentic self was handled delicately and is something I think a lot of young people, queer or not!, will appreciate.

So much of this book gives me 2000's Disney Channel Original Movie vibes and I mean that in the best way possible. The pivotal scene at 80% the bookstore was so cheesy and so heartwarming and just so stinkin cute.

My only complaint is that Chloe's characterization didn't feel consistent throughout the book. Some things happen in the second half that I think could have been foreshadowed at a little bit better with a few subtle hints to make it more believable.

Thank you so much to Netgalley & Wednesday books/St. Martins Press for approving me for this ARC & allowing me to read this book early!

After falling in love with Red, White, and Royal Blue & One Last Stop, I knew I had to pick up another Casey McQuinston book. I was absolutely hooked from the first chapter. I, along with the characters, wanted to know what happens with Shara! While Casey's other books are more on the romance side, this book is more mystery in my opinion with a little side of romance, and I absolutely loved it. I really hope she writes more books like this! I love how running around trying to find Shara made Chloe, Smith, and Rory realize their feelings in all of this. I love the found love aspect between some of the characters. There is a lot of homophobia in this book due to the religious aspect of it, but it handled very well. The book is all about finding yourself, and realizing that there are many people by your side even when you don't feel like yourself. The book is so important to young, queer teens, and anyone who is finding it hard to come out. It covers all aspects of coming out, and not coming out. I wanted to hug every single character in this book. I almost didn't give this book five stars. I rolled my eyes so hard around the other graduation aspect of the story. (You'll figure it out once you read it.) It felt like it was just thrown in and kind of executed poorly, but I love that the characters didn't take any crap from their school. There are just so many life lessons in this book. I can't wait for you all to read it when it comes out. I'm definitely going to pick up a hard copy myself!