I adored McQuiston's other two books so much (SO MUCH!), so I was thrilled when I was able to download an ARC!!

McQuiston is compulsively readable as ever in this book. Their wit is still razor-sharp, and their amazing ability to capture and imbue her stories with the zeitgeist (I hate that word so much, I'n sorry) of a generation is present and keen. I enjoyed this book, but it didn't blow me out of the water or enchant me as much as OLS or RWARB.

I spent the first fifty percent of the book pissed off at how manipulative Shara Wheeler seemed, and then I spent the next thirty percent exasperated at Chloe when I realized what was going on, but by the end, McQuiston guides the reader to a resolution that makes you re-think what is going with both characters, like shifting a piece of art into a different light. I saw both Chloe and Shara as different characters than their initial first impressions by the end, and I think that shift in itself is a work of an incredible feat of craft. Their writing is poetic and lucid as it always is. I think this book will be incredibly iconic for many people, much like other American coming of age narratives like The Breakfast Club, Mean Girl, or Sixteen Candles, but with from a queer, contemporary perspective that many will relate to.

The cast of characters is brilliant in this book, my favorite individuals being Ace, Chloe's moms, and Smith. <3 I appreciated that both Shara and Chloe were messy, fierce characters, and they do make sense how much they fit each other.

This book is ultimately a coming-of-age novel about grappling with queer identity growing up in the Bible Belt. Please regard the content warning the author provides at the beginning.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4415132555?book_show_action=false&from_review_page=1

Great read, interesting storyline. Although I didn’t develop a connection with the main character, it didn’t mar my reading experience in the least.
I’m always interested in an author’s move into a different audience, in this case to YA. Pretty seamless, and I’m intrigued to keep reading more. In particular, more about the moms, please!! I adored their characters, relationship, and hope to get to know them better (I can’t possibly be the only one!)
Highly readable and recommended.
Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

This is like a better, gayer, more fulfilling Paper Towns and I was not mad about it. I think it's important to go into this without trying to classify it as a romance though. Casey wrote one of my favourite romances of all time (RWARB) and I think this book is more about self-discovery and learning how to not let high school consume you than it is about romance. Does it have romance? Absolutely. Is it the primary focus? It is not. HOWEVER, it is a rivals to lovers so we can't help but love it.

Did I like it? I did. Did it beat out RWARB? It did not. Is it an excellent debut into the YA world? Absolutely.

Chloe's entire time in Willowgrove Christian Academy has been spent competing with the only person who could give her a run for her money. Chloe is smart and works hard, but so is the adored Shara Wheeler. The world loves her, and she soaks it all up... so why is it that the day after her surprise kiss with Chloe she takes off, leaving a scavenger hunt in her wake.

Shara has effectively shaken up Chloe's world, throwing her into a detective mission with Rory, Shara's best friend, and Smith, Shara's boyfriend. Three people whose most recent commonality is the fact that all three have shared a kiss with Shara before she up and left.

It's a month before graduation, a month before Chloe were to get valedictorian, and Chloe can't believe that this infuriating girl has chosen now as the time to make a scene. No one seems to be alarmed, including the Wheeler's, so Chloe's curiosity gets the best of her (and Rory and Smith) and the three follow the clues to try and find her.

The more letters they receive, the more is revealed about perfect Shara and as it turns out, she's not quite so perfect. Suddenly the illusion is shattered and Chloe feels validated in her initial impression of the girl who has both pushed her to do better in school and also been the reason she's wanted to pull her hair out. It's not enough and Chloe's fixation on good grades shifts to finding Shara and dragging her back to the Academy so she can beat her the right way and not because Shara's given up.

Shara's disappearance and game of hide-and-seek bring Chloe to the doorsteps of many classmates she'd otherwise not have spoken to. The more she's out hunting down Wheeler, the more experiences she becomes a part of that she'd managed to avoid since she got there.

One thing I adore about Casey's writing style is the way she writes character interactions. My favourites in her past two books have been the banter with the main character and the secondary characters because it's so playful and witty. I'm always thoroughly entertained by the way they all bounce off of each other and it makes me love the book so much more. I think I've been looking for Alex and Henry-esque characters in our leads but I'm finding them more in the background now and I think the shift being unexpected resulted in it taking longer for me to adjust.

Basically, TLDR; I like the friendships Casey writes A LOT.

I loved the overall story but I think what made me truly love this book was all the little side stories that ended up being huge journies of self-discovery for our supporting characters. I'd argue that they would, in some way, be the main characters of the same book. Smith and Rory were WONDERFUL. Ace too and I genuinely did not see him coming. High school is such a suffocating environment and to go to a hardcover Christian, Bible-thumping school is basically waterboarding yourself. Our characters find their own opportunities to express themselves in the best ways that they could. This book had so much love and appreciation for being queer that it's hard not to admire. No one was ashamed. So many characters were just being smothered by the world around them but when they learned about what was going on inside them, the acceptance was beautiful.

I'd love to get into the end and the illusions of Shara Wheeler but I think that's best left to the reader on their own accord. Read the book and we can circle back and talk about it.

I think this will be a book to hold onto. I think that high schools should take notes and try their best to do exactly the opposite of what this school does.

There were a lot of things that I liked about this book. I thought the mystery of Chloe trying to find out what happened to Shara was exciting. The way Shara left all of those notes and how she planned her disappearance was really intriguing. I also liked the way the characters came together in the end, all getting a version of their own HEAs. Casey McQuiston does an amazing job of writing found families and is inclusive in her representation. I was rooting for all of them to find their happiness and I was glad Chloe and her friends found happiness.

There is a reason why I don't normally gravitate towards young adult books. The characters in this book were self-absorbed and immature. They could have avoided all that conflict if they just communicated with one another. I acknowledge that this is how teens act in real life but I get annoyed with these kinds of stories sometimes. I thought maybe because I like McQuiston's writing so much that I could enjoy this one more, but I didn't. I also thought the big reveal of what happened to Shara anticlimactic.

This could very well be a case of "it's not you, it's me." I think young adult novel fans could really like this one!

⚠️: homophobia/queerphobia, sexual harassment

Imagine a CW version of Nancy Drew, make everyone queer, and you'll have an approximation of the experience of reading I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Casey McQuiston is queen of my heart, and I was excited to see how she would translate her adult-oriented horny escapism to a YA audience. The good news is that the best parts of McQuiston's earlier works show up here as well, including the queer community, pop culture references, and precisely balanced angst. The bad news: I read the entire book in a day and now I don't know what to do with myself.

Chloe Green has spent her entire high school career competing against inexplicably brilliant blond prom queen Shara Wheeler for the title of valedictorian. When Shara kisses her in an elevator and disappears, leaving nothing but an intricately plotted trail of clues left on pink stationary, Chloe gets drawn further and further into the mystery of Shara's true identity. Along the way, she befriends a gentle football player and sensitive stoner, learns that she's not the only one who has felt out of place at her conservative Christian school, and inadvertently stages a school-wide protest. Also, everyone is gay, and that's very fun. My favorite part of I Kissed Shara Wheeler is the way the teen characters are figuring themselves out at the same time the reader is. I think a lot of young readers will see themselves in at least one of McQuiston's characters, and the novel as a whole feels inclusive and supportive without being preachy. I will admit that for much of the story I was less excited about the central mystery: Shara Wheeler doesn't become a real person until the end of the book, and while I eventually came to appreciate Chloe's fascination with her, I imagine some readers might not. Know that there's plenty of sweet queer romance and friendship in here even if you don't end up loving the Mean Girls vibe of the mystery notes.

Finally, even if this book was garbage (it's not, it's great), I would still recommend it based solely on its incredible portrayal of queer parenthood. Chloe's moms are funny, fierce, and perfect, and more than I want a sequel of I Kissed Shara Wheeler I want a prequel where they meet and fall in love. (But also, a I want a sequel of I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Why not both?)

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

All the classic YA hallmarks with a new cast of characters.

It's no secret that I have been a megafan of McQuiston since reading an ARC of Red, White, & Royal Blue. This is their first attempt at YA, and while it's my least favorite of their catalog, it's still very solid.

The biggest difference here is I didn't feel IKSW was nearly as original as the author's previous works. It's a very tropey last month of high school romcom.filled with characters that are misfits of all kinds. But I think that's actually the point of the book: to show that queer kids have and deserve all the John Hughes moments straight kids have gotten forever.

Given that it's McQuiston's first attempt at YA, I can tell they are still figuring out how to calibrate from adult novels. I felt the humor wasn't quite as sharp and fast as I've come to love, but overall, if you know a kid graduating from high school this spring you would do well to gift them this book.

Someday, Casey McQuiston is going to write a book that doesn’t immediately pull me in with the main characters, but then make me fall in love with all the side characters just as much.

I can happily report that this isn’t that day.

Folks, McQuiston has done it again, this time with a YA mystery. It follows Chloe Green, a Los Angeles transplant living in the very conservative and very religious town of Willowgrove.

Her goal? To win valedictorian, to really show all those Willowgrove students that she’s above them.

Her rival? The principal’s daughter Shara Wheeler.

The problem? Shara goes missing after prom.

But Shara chooses to go missing. And she left clues for the three people she last kissed before vanishing. One kiss to her football playing boyfriend, one kiss to the Bad Boy next door, and one, much to the chagrin of our main character, to Chloe Green. Now, these three have to follow the trail of clues to find out where Shara went and why Shara left.

Like I said earlier, the cast of characters in this is delightful in the way that McQuiston is a master of creating. Smith and Rory, the football player and neighbor (respectively), help to make up the trio seeking out Shara’s location. The queer characters in here learn about themselves and how they fit into the mostly aggressively homophobic world they’ve been in their whole lives.

And then there’s Chloe and Shara. Tomes could be written on Chloe and Shara, and I imagine they will be.

This is a really strong YA debut for McQuiston and it was fun seeing them play in the space. They’re currently at 3/3 with hits.

5/5 stars.

I really enjoyed this book and I found it to be a good, diverse YA novel. I did not connect well to the main character, she was almost annoying in some examples, but her arc was well developed, and by the end of it I was rooting for her! the antagonist (if you can call her that) was really interesting and super compelling but also almost annoying. I would recommend it and I think the author did a really good job with their entrance into YA.

This book was so, so good! McQuiston shifts into YA seamlessly with Shara Wheeler. On its surface, this book is about a popular girl who disappears, and her admirers and friends have to follow a series of clues in order to find her. Beyond that, however, is a story that considers gender with more thoughtfulness than I've maybe ever seen; a story that shows how competition and lust can intertwine in the best ways; and a story about the twisting of religion that stifles identity. It's a true gem, a delight to read, and I can't wait to everyone else to get their hands on it!

Casey McQuiston is such a great writer. In her first foray into YA, you’re immediately drawn into protagonist Chloe’s mystery: the disappearance of arch nemesis Shara. I loved McQuiston’s queering of the Southern conservative religious school romance. The mystery also kept me guessing, and I was surprised more than once. I’d have given this one five stars but the ending tied things up a bit too quickly and cleanly and people forgave each other’s transgressions a bit too easily, in my opinion. The students in my GSA will love this one.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the eARC in exchange for a review. I was happy to read this!

Casey McQuiston keeps writing books I wish I'd been able to read as a teenager! "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" is a cute queer romcom that fits right in the canon of teen capers like "Booksmart" and "The Breakfast Club." I realize those comparisons are both movies, not books, but they're appropriate, because someone needs to turn "Shara Wheeler" into a film, stat.
Like the characters themselves, this book had more facets than I expected. Like "One Last Stop," I immediately had a clear picture of all of the cast of characters, each of them real and holding their own secrets. And I appreciated the out-of-the-way location of small-town Alabama. I am always on board for more queer fiction inside of the coasts.

~I Kissed Shara Wheeler Review~
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5/5
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You know i love Casey Mcquiston books and I was lucky enough to receive early access on Netgalley! I have really high expectations for Mcquiston’s YA debut and i’m so excited to dive right in
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Pros:
+we love a bit of a mystery missing girl trope in this house
+hahaha gay panic everywhere
+two iconic moms as parents
+queer diverse well rounded characters!! literally a majority queer cast i LIVE
+love the addition of “burn pile” which gives you a deeper look into the characters in a unique way
+it’s nice when a character who thinks she knows everything about everyone spends time with said people and learns they’re different than the stereotypes they look like they would fit. it’s a great reminder.
+I LOVE NON TOXIC MEN WHO EXPLORE THEMSELVES AND THEIR GENDERS AND SEXUALITIES
+chloe is relatable i feel like i was a lot like her in high school before i chilled out
+THE TENSION. academic rivals to lovers is unmatched especially when they’re both completely unhinged queers
+the level of petty is out of this world im living. she’s like ahaha you messed with my head i’ll mess with yours even worse
+i’m giggling out loud i’m having too much fun
+brawl
+FRIENDSHIP ILL CRY!!! i actually love all the characters in this
+mutual obsession with each other wow
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Cons:
-surprisingly slow start
-friendly reminder to not burn old tests or papers it’s not environmentally friendly
-i don’t want this to end (,:
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Okay, Casey Mcquiston has done it again. i seriously LOVE this book and could read about these characters forever. I went in with high expectations and wasn’t disappointed. the book was a wild ride but i was having so much fun and giggling and smiling irl. can’t recommend this one enough

This was really great. The characters were entertaining and parts of the story were so engaging I didn’t want to put it down. Casey McQuiston is definitely becoming one of my favorites.

I have a LOT OF FEELINGS.

You don’t understand. I have an entire END OF A BOOKCASE dedicated to Casey. Multiple copies of both RWRB and OLS. Pictures, stickers, pencils (shoutout to Kasee, @longhandpencils, you da best ❤️), candles… hell, I have an Alex and Henry towel that came with a McQuiston-themed book box.

… I Kissed Shara Wheeler takes the cake. An actual masterpiece. There’s not a single thing wrong with this novel. I could write an entire essay on each character and how much I love them. It was funny, it was shocking, it was quirky, it had twists, it had sappy, tear-jerker moments…

I have a feeling I’ll be re-reading this ARC before it comes out, because I won’t be able to wait this long.

Thank you, NetGalley and Wednesday books, for the best Christmas/birthday/end of the year gift you could have ever given me.

3.5 STARS

Oh, it pains me to have to write this review for an author I love. I just want to preface it by saying that I am not the biggest fan of young adult mysteries or contemporaries, so that could very well be a reason why I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. I have only heard amazing things from everyone else who has read this, so it is likely a case of this book just wasn't the right fit for me. However, I feel obligated to write a review with my honest opinions.

If I were to describe this book with one word, it would be surface-level (or is that 2 words?). Everything in this book just felt very superficial and not well developed. The characters seemed to only receive a little bit of development every couple of chapters, and none of it was compelling enough for me to really connect with them. The setting was a very key factor in the book, yet it did not feel like it was given enough attention. Normally, this wouldn't be such a huge issue, but this book largely played off the setting and how it related to characters and their motives. Now, I could have been able to ignore this if I enjoyed the plot, but even then, I only found myself enjoying it 60% of the time. I was hooked for the first 60% of the book, but after it just felt like a chore to pick it up. I found myself not caring about the characters or even how the book ended. I usually fly through McQuiston's books, so this was definitely surprising. By the last couple of chapters, I was just ready to be done with this book. This is a petty thing, but the pop culture references became too much. When McQuiston writes books with millenial main characters, it doesn't bother me as much, but it was just impossible to read when the characters were all teenagers.

However, despite all this, there were a couple of things that I really enjoyed. Smith was by far one of my favorite characters. I also really enjoyed many dynamics between characters in this book (though I won't mention them as it can be a tad spoiler-y). I liked the premise behind the book, even if it felt done before, and the first half of the book absolutely gripped me.

With all this being said, I would still recommend checking this book out when it comes out. It may not have been my favorite, but everyone has different opinions :)

Casey McQuiston does it again! This time McQuiston's literary ambitions are expanded to the world of YA with a cat-and-mouse game between Shara Wheeler and the people she kissed before she disappeared, leaving the whole school wondering, "Where did she go?"

It harkens back to some '80s brat pack films mixed with edgy Gen Z teen dramas. The book brings together savage California-transplant Chloe, QB1 Smith, and outsider/boy next door Rory. They are all in Shara's orbit, and she kisses them all before disappearing the semester before graduation.

It's a book about exploring sexuality and friendships and finding out where you belong. The biting commentary on how the church and religious institutions can oppress takes this one to the next level.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

Casey McQuiston did it again. They gave us a mindblowing story. I had no idea where it was going until the last part of the book. They gave us complex characters that I couldn't help but love. I love how it celebrated queer people, queer love, queer stories.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston is quite possibly the best YA Fiction book I've ever read. I needed several days just to think about how I could possibly put into words how much I loved this book, and honestly nothing I say will do it justice.

If you're a fan of Casey McQuiston, you should know that this is her best book yet (which was surprising to me because I generally prefer adult over YA). Picture the TV show Glee meets the novel Paper Towns, except I actually like all of these characters.

When Shara, the principal's daughter/golden girl of Willowgrove Christian Academy, kisses Chloe in an elevator, Chloe is more than a little confused. But when Shara up and disappears soon thereafter, Chloe is livid. The two have been in a silent battle over the coveted valedictorian spot for years, and Chloe isn't cool with winning by default. As Chloe searches for answers, she realizes that Shara has left notes for the three people she kissed before disappearing: her boyfriend (Smith), her neighbor (Rory), and her nemesis (Chloe). The unlikely trio find themselves working together to track down Shara before graduation, because what even is high school without Shara Wheeler?

I highly recommend this book to basically any person ever. There's mystery, there's romance, and there's more than a little discourse on what it is to not be a cisgender heterosexual in high school.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thanks to Wednesday Books/St. Martin’s Press (via NetGalley) for the ARC!

Content warnings: homophobia/homomisia; religious trauma; light drinking and marijuana use

I had to sit with this book for a while longer than usual before I could write the review because I sure had some Complicated Feelings about our main girl Chloe.

This book had everything I have come to love about Casey McQuiston books: a snarky, too-smart-for-their-own-good protagonist; well-developed, fun side characters; and amazingly queer found family. The writing style was distinctly McQuiston. It was fun, sharp, witty and fast-paced. I was sucked into the story immediately; by the end of the first chapter, I was hooked. And the pace kept up throughout the whole book.

All the supporting cast were so much fun! They were the messiest bunch of disaster queer teenagers ever and I want to adopt them all. I loved Rory and Smith’s story arc. Georgia deserves the world. Ash is cooler than I could ever hope to be. And Benjy is pure chaos in human form.

I just…did not like Chloe very much. Or Shara for that matter. I enjoyed the mystery of Shara’s disappearance at the beginning, and the silly scavenger hunt she sent Rory, Smith and Chloe on, but once Chloe became consumed by it, it was less fun. Chloe became single-mindedly obsessed with the mystery of Shara while at the same time hating her. She neglected her actual friends for the mythology of this girl she’d hated since they met, all the while taking no responsibility for her own actions and blaming Shara for everything that went wrong. I get that this was part of Chloe’s character arc and that she had to realize she was being an idiot (and honestly a HORRIBLE friend to Georgia) before she and Shara could end up together, but I was not really a fan of Chloe’s.

I mean, clearly this was intentional. Rory even straight up told Chloe that she’s mean sometimes. And Shara was fully aware of what she was doing and how it was perceived, by Chloe and by other people. But I swear to god it felt like these girls were going to manipulate each other to death before they ever figured out they liked each other! Which was really frustrating! I honestly yelled at my iPad more than a few times while reading this. Maybe it’s just because I am not at all a competitive person, but good grief were these two exhausting. I imagine a relationship between the two of them is just going to be constant one-upping each other and arguing and the thought of that just makes me want to lay down on the floor.

Overall, it was a really fun read. I think this time I was more invested in the world McQuiston created than the main character (and her happy ending), but because the side characters were so fleshed out and had such vibrant personalities, I still really enjoyed it.

Low-stakes 13 Reasons Why that limps to a bland ending. 3 stars for the first half, 2 for the second.

~Disordered rambling~

A lot of hissing. Reminds me of the alien from Alien.

Chapter titles are light spoilers

For some reason the name "Shara" had a hard time sticking with me. I kept reading it as "Sara". Kind of wish someone had a double name.

"...but if she’s high strung, Brooklyn Bennett is a $20,000 viola." - violas are tuned a fifth lower than violins. I think they chose "viola" because it isn't as popular as a violin comparison. And $20,000 for a viola is a bit much, even for a professional. It would be in the $2,000-$10,000 range. This is such a dumb point, but it's one of those wrong-sounding things that took me out of the narrative.

Continuity error - We are told Shara and Smith got together during their junior year. Later, we are told they started dating when they were sophomores. I am paying way too much attention to this book.

I don't get a sense of Alabama. We are told this is in Alabama, but we aren't shown what that actually means. What's the weather like? What kind of plants are there? Does anyone have an Alabama accent, or do they all talk like the people on TV? Surely the older people must have a trace of an accent. A "y'all" once in a while isn't good enough for me. Where's the wildlife? We don't see so much as a mosquito. Does Chloe's mama turn her accent on and off? Did it make a triumphant return once they left California? This could have taken place anywhere, a small town in any state. Not even the fast food restaurants distinguish it.

Shara has 25k Instagram followers. How? Why is she on Instagram instead of TikTok? IG is more of a millennial thing now, it's been hemorrhaging teen users for a while. Does their town even have 25k people?

"...somebody switches the playlist from SoundCloud rap to The Killers," - sounds like another millennial thing, and about three years out of date. Would these kids even know who the Killers are? In which small town are jocks losing their shit to Mr. Brightside? At least name specific artists kids would actually know: Dua Lipa, Ariana Grande, Doja Cat, Juice WRLD. Google "popular music teens 2021", look at search trends. What about Alabama rappers? Put on some Gucci Mane ffs. How about country or metal? I'm sure some of these Southern kids who go to a private Christian school would say they "don't like rap" and demand Pantera.

Then we get: “It’s Matchbox Twenty,” Chloe confirms. - How in the world does this child know what Matchbox Twenty is? A barely remembered 90s band with like two hits? A millennial reading that would be like, "Huh, yeah, Bent or whatever." But a 17 teen year old? A 13 year old? How would they know?

The school has a surprising number of extra curriculars given it's located in a small town in central Alabama. If I Was Your Girl is such a better example of queer teen characters in a small Southern town. Like, there aren't that many queer kids, and they have legitimate existential issues that aren't handwaved.

Economic and racial disparity are almost entirely absent. A few comments are made by characters which are never explored, at all. Racism is still alive and well, even if people have the manners to cover it up. Same with homophobia. Tolerance is not the same as acceptance. There is some mention of low level bullying. One of her friends (Ash) is nb, using they/them pronouns. Does the school refer to them as such? Do they get mispronouned by teachers and other students regularly? How does this feel for Ash?

The characters all sound like the author, honestly, with the same phrasing and sense of humor. Everyone is too clever by half.

It feels so sanitized. Harmless high school parties, no serious threats of harassment or bullying, everyone's cool with your gay moms, at least to the MC's face. It's a fantasy world where you can be whoever you want to be in the deep South while solving a lame mystery. No one seems particularly bothered that a teenage girl has vanished, or bothered that people aren't bothered. (We do learn why this is the case, which I think undermines the premise by turning it into a dull farce)

Strong similarities with Pumpkin, which likewise rang hollow in multiple ways. Especially the jock with a heart of gold/jock with a secret contrasted with the vibrant queers.

I have no idea what ethnicities any of the characters are. Rory's dad is apparently black, so is he black? Mixed? A Korean adoptee? Smith says someone has been racist to him. Ok, was a racist joke made amongst white kids, or was Smith's mysterious race the subject of the joke? Summer has braids, but are they box braids? A French braid? What's her hair texture? I want to know what these people look like. (Halfway in we finally get confirmation that Rory and Summer are black. Hooray)


Religion doesn't have much of a presence in this book. It's largely incidental. When it is discussed, it's in a way that makes it seem your parents believing you are going to hell is trivial.

“Why did I raise you to be so responsible? I was supposed to raise you to be an anarchist.” - Anarchism isn't abdication of responsibility, it's the dissolution of hierarchy. In which case ignoring her mothers' wishes is praxis.

“Chloe, we’re gay. We can’t do math.” - I have a masters degree in math. Fuck this stereotype, sick of seeing it. Queerness doesn't exclusively manifest in theater club.

"...so I got really into music instead, but I couldn’t read guitar tabs either" - how can you not read a guitar tab? It's not sheet music, it's the lines and numbers for which frets to put your fingers on, a simplified pictorial diagram. It is really, incredibly simple to read tablature. Even with his dyslexia, this wouldn't pose a problem.

"a copse of thorny bushes" - A copse consists of trees, often of trees which have been coppiced. It doesn't mean a grouping of any kind of plant. Use "thicket" or something.

There aren't any fat, disabled, or poor people. At least Pumpkin had that going for it.

California has Sonic. A lot of locations, in fact. I don't know why Sonic is presented as unique to the South, or Alabama. Have them go to a Chester's, or a Chick-fil-a, or some place that is actually regional. Bojangle's, Jack's, Milo's, etc. (Bojangle's does get one mention later on, but it's all Sonic and Taco Bell for the most part)

I wish I knew more about Chloe's mama's job. Like, what exactly does she do? She sings "opera," so I'm assuming she's a classical vocalist. Does she do solo performances? Vocal coaching? Masterclasses? Does she do any teaching to supplement her income? Why is she hauling "opera gowns" across the world? It feels like the author lacks insider knowledge to speak casually about this sort of thing. That applies to a lot of things, actually, but there happen to be a number of music-related examples.



~Conclusion~

It was fine. Like, I didn't hate it like I was expecting. The first 60% wasn't boring, it went along at a good clip. I found Shara's game a little tedious, the conclusion to that arc anticlimactic. The last 40% was a slog. There was nothing for any of the characters to do, so the story very slowly spluttered out. I think the issue lies in the conceit of the story, it just wasn't enough for the author to work with. The source of the tension lies in whatever happened with Shara, and once that is reveal at the midpoint, we're left with this sort of shapeless setting prodded into the likeness of a story.

The actual audience for YA (which, surprisingly, isn't a bunch of 30-somethings writing passive aggressive reviews on Goodreads) might enjoy the juvenile quirkiness of it.

Aspects of the characters and setting are lacking or outright inauthentic. There are many ways this story could have been more genuine, more believable. I get the impression that the author is an outsider looking in, observing worlds they can't quite understand. But, for a younger audience, a lot of things that didn't make sense to me might not even register with them.

I didn't like that it was written in present tense. I just didn't, no reason.

I wouldn't characterize this as their first YA book. The other books were YA, regardless of whatever marketing plans each had.


I think the theater teacher on the down low has a much more interesting story to tell. Wish we had seen more of him.

It feels so much like wish fulfillment. High school, filled with people who accept you, or at least keep their opinions to themselves. A ton of queer friends, gays coming out of the woodworks. In reality, most people in the US are white. Most are straight, most are cis. And a lot of people aren't going to accept you if you are different. More importantly, a lot of kids go through these sort of isolating differences alone, in secret, because they are afraid what will happen if that secret gets out. I appreciate that we can have light hearted stories like this, but we also need stories about the queer kids who end up homeless when their hyper religious parents kick them out. Stories about kids who don't have the luxury to be themselves.

If you're looking for a light-hearted romp, this is sufficient. But, it could have been so much more.