Clever, fresh, engrossing—every character was interesting and entertaining and surprising. Lots to love, thrilled but unsurprised to read another wonderful, dimensional book from this author!

When Casey McQuiston's debut YA novel, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, was announced I was obviously excited. Like queer academic rivals to lovers PLUS a mystery!? Sign me up! But I think I underestimated my own excitement for this book because as soon as I started reading it, I just couldn't put it down. This book was (and still is) all I could think about.

This queer YA contemporary set at a Christian school in Alabama packs a huge punch. Despite writing for a new age group McQuiston keeps their classic writing style that is funny, witty & full of feeling, all while creating a cast of characters who are just perfectly human. It was the characters that really made this book special for me. While the mystery of where Shara went was compelling, it was watching Chloe, Smith & Rory try to solve it, and seeing how they all grow along the way that really hooked me.

The characters in this book are flawed — I mean, they're high school seniors so what do you expect? Nobody's perfect and especially not at that age. McQuiston captured the kindness, jealousy, love, ruthlessness & fear of the unknown that we all felt as teens just perfectly in my opinion. While I felt frustration when characters made certain decisions, I continued to root for them because I just felt such a connection with them.

While this was a really character driven story, it also examined the impact the community we grow up in has on us. Like being from a place like Alabama and attending a Christian school, and how that environment can encourage certain people and stifle others. I thought it was written with such care and was a really important depiction of the young queer experience.

All in all I just really loved this book and I'm already itching to read it again.

Thank you Wednesday Books for sending me an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Rep: bi MC, queer & nonbinary SCs, Black & Black mixed race SCs
TWs: homophobia (including internal & institutional), religious trauma, manipulative/controlling parents, some drinking & marijuana use

I got this arc off of NetGalley and these opinions are my own. This book was so good! Chloe Green was kissed by Shara Wheeler, the girl everyone loves, everyone except Chloe Green. So when Shara disappears not long after Chloe decides she’ll find her, if for no other reason then to win Valedictorian fair and square. But along the way, with the clues Shara left, Chloe learns that she wasn’t the only one Shara kissed. Now with the help of Rory, Shara’s next door neighbor, and Smith, Shara’s boyfriend, Chloe will set out to prove she’s better once and for all. She’ll prove Shara’s not the girl everyone thinks she is. Along the way they learn things about Shara no one knew. Will Chloe find Shara and how does this new information impact how she sees her? I loved that both Chloe and Shara were so driven that in and of itself was enough to make them very interesting! I also really enjoyed reading from the perspective of an openly bisexual student at a very conservative/religious school and how that shaped a lot of Chloe’s views. The character growth and exploration in this book was fantastic. I’m a big fan of Casey McQuiston’s work and have been so excited for this one! As always Casey doesn’t disappoint! This book also touched on a personal note for me when Ash is relating why being non-binary fits for them and they talk about how they don’t like it when people automatically shove them in the girl category, this is something that I’ve been dealing with myself. When I realized I was non-binary I wanted to use all pronouns because that is what felt right for me but it’s been a struggle because I think people are so quick to put me in the boy category because that’s what is easiest for them… and I don’t want to be identified by what is easiest for other people. I love when your reading a book and the experience of the characters is so relatable to what’s happening to you or how you feel. It’s also why representation is so important in literature! This book was amazing and I can’t what to read it again when it comes out, 10 out of 10 recommendation!

Listen: expectations were HIGH for this one, as Casey McQuiston's first two novels (both considered New Adult romances) are stellar. I'll admit, I was nervous to see if writing in a YA register affected their tone or softened their bite, but I shouldn't have worried -- McQuiston has done it again, folks. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is not to be missed -- a funny, surprising, thoughtful examination of rural queer life with unforgettable characters and a voice that'll have you at turns in stitches and in tears. The opening gambit of the novel (Christian teen princess Shara Wheeler kissed three people--her boyfriend Smith, her next-door neighbor Rory, and her academic rival Chloe--before disappearing on prom night, leaving behind some confused teenagers and a mysterious trail of pink envelopes) is exciting, if a bit familiar (McQuiston almost definitely read John Green & Maureen Johnson as a teen), but the novel makes several swerves into more-uncharted territory, developing into a truly tender love letter to queer teens, to the South, and to anyone who has ever felt excluded from their own home. There are multiple plot points where a lesser novel would've ended, but McQuiston uses these as opportunities for the narrative to unfold in new and exciting ways. I can already tell that we'll have a hard time keeping this one on the shelf!

This book was so much fun! It felt like an 80s movie like the Breakfast Club but better because it’s queer. The characters were great and I loved learning more about them throughout the story. The wholesome and accepting nature of the book is still very much needed and I’m excited that i am seeing more queer books being published.

I wasn’t sure how much I would like this book because it seemed a little close to paper towns, which I wasn’t really a fan of. I should’ve known never to doubt Casey McQuiston though because “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” was amazing!!! The mystery kept me wanting to read more, but what I really stayed for was the cast of characters. Casey knows how to write side characters that are just as interesting and developed as the main characters. I love how there are so many people in this book who are complex and flawed, but also still so easy to love. This book was superb and I’m so excited for its release.

I had a lot of (unwarranted) fears about Casey McQuiston's young adult debut. Would this book be as good as her others? Would their writing still work for teen protagonists, when I'd only heard the voices of confused twenty-somethings finding themselves? And, more personally, could a book inspired by one of my favorites from my childhood, Paper Towns, live up to the hype that instantly placed on the book for me?

I'm happy to report that my fears were entirely unfounded. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is everything you love about Casey McQuiston, but in a setting and story that will reassure teens and comfort the wounded teen in adults that's been longing to hear the messages Casey writes here. Knowing a little about Casey's background from articles over the years, I suspect this book is also deeply personal to them, and it shows. There is love and passion folded into the pages that evoke a bittersweet nostalgia in readers. This book is a reminder that your home is what you make it, that there is community hidden even in the most oppressive environment. It is a reminder that all is never what it seems on the surface, and it is a promise that there is so much more in the world after high school that young teens can't even begin to fathom.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a whirlwind story, and is heavily inspired by John Green's Paper Towns. Shara Wheeler disappears during prom, before ever being crowned prom queen. No one knows where she is, but her disappearance brings three students - Smith, Shara's boyfriend; Rory, Smith's ex-best friend, and Chloe Green, Shara's academic rival - together with one common denominator. The day before she left, she kissed all three of them. Quickly, the trio discover Shara (unlike Paper Town's Margo) has orchestrated her disappearance, leaving behind pink envelopes with calculated riddles for them to solve. As they work together and through their differences to find out where Shara went, they discover they had more in common than they dreamed despite the boxes their religious school demands they fit themselves into.

There was a lot I enjoyed about this book. Casey's writing is, as always, phenomenal. You can tell why their work continues to sit atop so many bestsellers lists. I was really relieved to find myself sucked into her specific, narrative tone and it carried me through at least half of the book when I wasn't sure if I fully loved what I was reading. For me, this book was a bit of a struggle. I'm a character reader, and while the plot is fun and interesting, I found it difficult to enjoy the story due to the way Chloe and Shara's characters reveal themselves to readers. They are both two girls with parts of themselves under lock and key, and it made it difficult for me to care about either of them fully until they begin to open up to each other - which is over halfway through the book.

But among the things I loved were the background cast of characters, who I found more interesting than Chloe or Shara (more on that below); the clue-filled journey, with wacky mysteries and our first look into the complexities of Shara Wheeler, and the overall character arc that works so well against the backdrop of senior year. Especially given the conservative, oppressive town and school settings, Casey does a really fantastic job quietly revealing the intricacies of kids boxed in by the roles they play. I most deeply adored Smith, and I would read an entire book about him even though I don't think he needs one. I loved seeing these friendships form through the barriers of their roles, despite the tenuous nature of them forming at the end of all they've ever known. It's a bittersweet nostalgia!

I will say that I didn't feel able to really process this book until I reached the end. The message comes through loud and clear, but only in the last quarter of the novel. It takes time to really see what this journey unlocks for our characters, and especially our main characters. To be frank, Chloe and Shara are why I am giving this book four stars. I don't fully love Chloe or Shara's characters. By societal standards, I'm not supposed to love them. Casey does a good job of enforcing that while these characters have traits often negatively viewed in female characters, they're still just two kids doing their best. Chloe and Shara are both driven and lost, repressing their identities under the weight of their conservative town, and both deeply afraid. This causes both to lash out (in different ways) and makes them angry and sharp. They are self-proclaimed "monster" girls, and they're hard to relate to at times. I like reading about "difficult" female characters; I always do! But I felt that Chloe and Shara both lost the aspects of their character I deeply enjoyed when they switched from rivals to lovers. It doesn't help that we get access into their perspectives so late in the novel. By the time I begin to understand them, I'm already attached to side characters and the ideas we get about both Chloe and Shara earlier on. Honestly, I found their friends - Smith and Rory, for sure, but also Georgia and Summer and Ace and Ash - more captivating than Shara and Chloe. I am loving that Casey is sinking more energy into side characters I remember, but this is the first time I've felt that they were better than the protagonists, so I'm feeling very conflicted.

I also just... don't fully believe the relationship storyline for Chloe and Shara. There's a moment where you think Shara isn't lying about not feeling things for Chloe, that she really just wanted to fuck with her academic standing, and that moment made her the most interesting she'd been for the entire book. And when that is revealed to be a lie, I was... disappointed? I can't quite articulate why. I think it made it too easy, and it made it unrealistic for me at that moment. For example, later in the novel, when Chloe is still looking for reasons to hate Shara (and ignoring her feelings), all of Shara's friends point out the only problem they had with her was that she wouldn't open up. Not that she was terrible, or calculated, or evil. That moment weakened the entire point of the plot for me. By uncomplicating Shara Wheeler, the intrigue dropped tenfold.

It just doesn't make sense that this relationship ended romantically. They were obsessed with each other, but that doesn't always translate to a healthy romance or make them good partners (spoiler alert: I don't think, long-term, they have a chance in hell of working out). I would have enjoyed seeing their relationship play out into an unsteady truce, some kind of understanding where they went their separate ways but maybe would have found each other later in life, if romance was still the goal. I really like the idea of them learning from each other rather than becoming a couple. Ironically, an ambiguous ending would have been more logical for these two characters who are both trying to figure themselves and their lives out. Ultimately, ChloeandShara were less interesting than Chloe and Shara, which is pretty much the only reason this was a four-star read for me.

That being said, I understand that this novel is for teens and Casey wanted to give hope to young readers. I'm finding it a bit difficult to review the first YA title from an author who's written some of my favorite adult books, especially books that really give a platform to twenty-somethings figuring themselves and shit out. This story overlaps in tone and theme a lot with those older stories, which I really enjoy, but which also lends itself to comparison to her other titles much easier as a result.

I do really appreciate, as always, that these are not just messy teens but teens who are given on-page room to grow and open up! It's becoming more and more common, but it's still new enough that I get overjoyed seeing "real" teens in these pages who are exploring and questioning and learning more about themselves, especially like these teens on the cusp of going out into the big wide world outside of high school. I also appreciate that Casey continues to write a multitude of side characters who are diverse and reflect many different identities, with so much depth in them to be loved as much as I loved them by the end of this novel.

While I do have some mixed feelings for this story personally, overall I am deeply impressed by Casey's young adult debut. Once again, readers will find themselves largely rewarded by characters who are complicated and messy and interesting, and they will see themselves in their journeys. While I couldn't personally relate to the religious trauma explored in this book, I can still see that Casey handles it like a pro, and I know this book is going to hit home for so many readers who need this book. And I'm very grateful that it will be in the hands of those readers next year, helping heal the teens inside adults who needed these words, and emboldening today's teens who only need to be reminded that there is an entire world waiting for them outside of the places that oppress them and their identities.

Takes the high school rival's "why are you so obsessed with me" to its logical queer conclusion by way of obscenely complicated puzzles and lots of denial and excuses from all. Mix in coming of age, finding yourself and your people in a town that doesn't want you, and friendships that might be tested, but come out stronger for it, and you've got this perfect cataclysm of a book.

3.5 stars - it would probably be higher if my expectations weren't so high, but still, it's got quite a bit of what made Casey McQuiston's first two novels great, this time in a true YA story. As I've come to expect, it's got a well developed protagonist and love interest, and side characters that while not quite as well developed, fill out the story's universe well. The mystery element is intriguing and fun, though it wraps up a little too early in the book to be completely satisfying.

I think many readers will love the romance here, but I found the chemistry to be lacking. It leans so far into enemies-to-lovers (which worked really well in RWRB) that when the couple finally gets together, they still seem ill-suited.

As far as sapphic YA goes, I would consider this fantastic if it were written by any author. But coming from McQuiston, I expected just a little more.

i kissed shara wheeler follows chloe green, a bisexual senior who has attended willowgrove christian academy after moving from california four years ago. she teams up with two unlikely forces to figure out where shara went after she disappeared from prom.

this book is so much more than that, though. i saw so much of myself in chloe and she has so much character development, it’s impossible not to be rooting for her. the chemistry and chaos between all of the friends made this story incredible.

mcquiston’s side characters always include the most lovable misfits. the side stories of finding and accepting yourself, dealing with emotional baggage from the past, and dealing with southern small-town homophobia made this book so hard to put down.

this book had queer characters at almost every stage of self discovery which was so beyond important. the rep was amazing and this novel definitely lived up to my most anticipated read of 2022.

This was great. I wasn't so sure how academic rivals to lovers would go down with that premise, but it really did work. This book felt very fresh, and I had a great time reading it.

I wish I had this book when I was in high school. Casey McQuiston writes in such a way you feel like the characters are speaking right in front of you. You relate to all of them, feel all of their feelings, and root for them in all ways. This book grabs you immediately and holds on to you so tight even when you’re not reading the book, you’re thinking about the book at all moments of the day. I think what I love most about this book is that there’s representation of different coming out experiences that made me think if I had this book earlier in my life, I would’ve realized who I was a lot sooner.

The best friends you make are the ones who surprise you the most. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about, love, friendship, discovery, and scavenger hunts. The best combination out there.

Another fantastic entry from Casey McQuiston! While it skews more YA, it doesn't read YA, if that makes sense. The characters feel very real, and all of the side/supporting characters are fleshed out and have full sense of selves separate from the main character. Another great thing about this book is how it evolves and tackles so much more than the summary suggests - when I thought it was close to being over, it kept going and made me love it even more. If you've read McQuiston's other books, don't be scared off of this one by the YA marketing - it's so worth it!

This is the queer high school romp I wish existed when I was a teen. McQuiston creates a high school world in Alabama that is part caper, part academic-rival-to-love-interest story, and part an exploration of identity in adolescence. The protagonist is flawed but lovable, competitive to the point of alienating her friends, but open to the growth she experiences throughout the book. The supporting characters are well crafted and endowed with their own individuality, journeys, and conflicts, and they serve to bolden the tapestry of this town.

The world in this book is just aspirational enough that it's an escape. It's a little less harsh than real life, and with some of those edges sanded down it makes these characters' journeys feel turbulent-without-being-cruel in a way that is captivating without being saccharine.

Overall, McQuiston has done it again! Anyone who likes a high school story, rich queer characters/love, coming-of-age stories, and character development will enjoy this sweet and absorbing book.

Thank you to the publishers and Netgalley for the ARC for this book!

Once again Casey McQuiston knocks it out of the park. I read this in one sitting because I could not put it down, it was so much fun. A wonderful queer YA story that's filled with humor, heartache, and characters that are relatable - all the core qualities of McQuiston's writing. As an ex-religious kid who didn't come out until adulthood this really hit me in the feels and made me reflect on just how important it is to be true to who you are. I cannot wait for young adult readers to get their hands on this, it's a really important story that I think teens need.

I received this as a e-galley from NetGalley.

This was Casey McQuiston's first YA book and I liked it a lot! The premise was interesting and the teenagers actually talked and acted like teenagers ha.

This was such a fun read. I love that about all Casey McQuiston books. They incorporate fun pop culture references is so naturally and the character interactions seem so real and genuine that I believe they are my friends the whole time. This was basically a queer Paper Towns, a reference even made in the story. I loved that story as a teenager and I still love it now. Shara Wheeler herself is probably my least favorite character in the story but everyone was so interesting that's barely an insult. I definitely recommend this story.

IKSW has everything I’ve come to love and hope for from a Casey McQuiston novel. Poignant, cutting, hilarious, overall perfect. Chloe is basically the 17-year-old version of Alex from RWRB, Shara is complex as hell, and I cannot stress how much I absolutely love the dynamic of Chloe and Rory and Smith. Characters, plot, and the balance of touching and humorous all on point.

There is something about high school in a small town that is the perfect storm of high stakes, fueling competition, absurdity, and tight bonds of both friendship and hatred for all who go through it. "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" manages to perfectly capture that, pulling readers into a story full of mysteries, kisses, unlikely alliances, and the ticking clock of graduation above its seniors' heads, all set against the backdrop of a Christian high school in Alabama. It asks its characters to look more complexly at each other, to interrogate the world around them, and to demand better of both themselves and the environment they live in. Chloe makes for a fantastic main character, pulling us alongside her through every twist and turn of the story, messing up and learning from it, and getting the reader as invested in Shara Wheeler as she is. The other characters she shares this story with are equally as interesting, and McQuiston puts in a lot of care to give them nuance and shape in this world. As always, the book is full of queer representation as well, including the majority of the main characters (Chloe herself is bi and also has two moms) and gives each of them space to define their own identities. Ultimately, this is a story about teenagers trying their best to break out of the molds they've been cast into by both others and themselves, and the beautiful chaos that can create. I think YA readers will find a lot to enjoy in this one, and I definitely recommend it.

One of the best YA contemporaries that I've read in a while!

Casey McQuiston's signature wit, humor, and lovable characters translate flawlessly into YA storytelling. This book was funny and heartfelt and an absolute page turner. I loved it!

The plot's concept is pretty similar to John Green's Paper Towns, but the characters and themes are so different that it never feels like it's trying to be anything other than itself. Where Paper Towns focuses less on personal identity and more on the importance of imagining other people complexly, I Kissed Shara Wheeler delves into identity, how places shape us, how hard it is to be authentic and recognize authenticity when stuck in a place that demands uniformity. Chloe has great development, and I love how we get to see her learn that her confidence comes across as spiky toward others who are just doing their best. She learns that her walls keep her safe, but they also stop her from seeing others clearly; she wants people to know what she's dealing with, but she doesn't want to tell them, and she doesn't want to make herself vulnerable enough to see how others feel.

The cast of characters, as expected, is utterly delightful. McQuiston is uniquely good at crafting great supporting characters, and that's on full display here. Everyone gets a chance to be funny, to be layered, to have a secret. Smith and Ace are my personal favorite side characters, they're so wonderfully himbo-esque.

A lot of YA contemporaries struggle with dialogue and slang and how the youths talk, but McQuiston nails it every time. These characters are funny and witty and occasionally stupid, all in ways that feel authentic.

As a queer person who also grew up in the south and went to a Christian school, so many of the details in how Chloe is treated really hit home. It felt honest, even in the most frustrating moment. And I also appreciated how McQuiston made Chloe face the idea that not all faith looks like that! It can be easy to paint with broad strokes when the bad guys are religious, but it's important to remember that us vs them mentality isn't accurate or fair.

Overall, a delightful step into YA. Funny and heartfelt and had me grinning the whole time.