This one was just okay for me, not my favorite by this author. I liked the mystery aspect though and watching that come together throughout the book.

I enjoyed the book and the hunt for clues. What I enjoyed more was the growing friendships between Smith, Rory, and Chloe. The characters are quirky, snarky, fun, and interesting. We learn more about each as the book progresses.

There seemed to be a lot going on with the plot and difficult to get through it without having to stop every so often.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

2 STARS

This book didn’t captivate me as I had hoped; the plot felt a bit forced and lacked the depth I was expecting. The characters seemed one-dimensional at times, making it hard to connect with their struggles or growth. While it might resonate with some readers, it ultimately wasn’t for me.

Casey Mcqiston does it again. i'm continually impressed by the authors ability to draw me into a story and plant it in my mind in a way that i just know will linger for years to come. kudos.

I finally read the only Casey McQuiston book I hadn't gotten around to yet! I Kissed Shara Wheeler is SO different from all of Casey's other work. It's obviously YA instead of adult, but the themes and subject matter and even the mystery elements were just not what I usually expect from them. Their writing voice still shines through, especially in their characters' trademark offhand witty observations about the world and people around them. I love that all of their characters, even minor side characters, always feel real and human and fully-formed.

I have to admit I wasn't very invested in the mystery of it all, and I didn't quite understand why our main character Chloe was, either (homoerotic high school rivalries are one hell of a drug!). That being said, I think this story wrapped up in a really sweet and heartwarming way, and I loved all the side characters we met along the way. The Willowgrove friend group was so charming. I also think this book tackled issues like identity and religion in such a sensitive way. Loved the nuanced commentary on the rural South, and specifically experiencing the rural South as someone who doesn't quite fit in there.

Overall, this was a solid sapphic YA contemporary from one of my all-time favorite authors, and I'm glad I finally picked it up!

I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinions on the book or the contents of my review.

This was so cute! Casey McQuiston does so well at creating a well rounded cast of endearing characters. In a lot of ways, this reminded me of the John Green books I grew up with but with a more modern setting. I highly recommend, it was a really comforting read as all of McQuiston's books are.

Chloe Green is competing with Shara Wheeler to be valedictorian at her conservative Christian school. After prom night, Shara vanishes without a trace. Everyone in school is obsessed with her and wondering where she is, and Chloe can’t help but be curious too. Shara randomly kissed Chloe in school one day, and Chloe thinks that has something to do with her disappearance. While she’s searching for answers, Chloe discovers that Shara left cryptic notes for her boyfriend Smith and her next door neighbour Rory. Though they don’t have anything else in common, Chloe, Smith, and Rory follow the clues that Shara left behind to figure out the secrets Shara has been keeping.

This was a great YA novel. Chloe had two moms and she was bisexual, so she was constantly fighting against the homophobic rules that were in place at her school. Shara seemed like a Regina George-type character at the beginning. She was the most popular girl in school and everyone seemed to be obsessed with her. However, there was more to her, and to most of the students at their school, than there appeared to be on the surface. I really liked the twist that happened once they solved all of Shara’s clues!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a great queer YA romance!

Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a digital copy of this book.

Content warnings: homophobia

I couldn't get through this novel. There was something about it - between the writing that didn't flow, the pacing and the character development - that really didn't work for me.

Casey McQuiston is a must read for me, and this is one of my favorites by her yet. Perfectly queer, great for young adult and adult readers alike, the romance is both realistic and relatable while being hard to guess.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

I really was hoping to love this book. But it just had too many similarities to paper towns for me. It even called itself out for being “like a John green book”. I did enjoy that there was lots of different character representation.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston is a perfect fit for readers who crave a lighthearted, emotional, and humorous young adult romance that explores themes of self-discovery, mystery, and the thrill of finding love in unexpected places, especially those who enjoy rival-to-lovers stories and are looking for a fresh take on the classic high school setting.

Thank you for the opportunity to review - I'll eagerly await more offerings from McQuiston, though this didn't strike me as much as her earlier work. Unique dialogue and good banter - but it didn't echo as much as I'd hoped.

Casey McQuiston can do no wrong. This is not my favorite of her books but I think this would be a great read for teens, especially those who identify as LGBTQIA. I can see how it would be hard for students to put down.

This quite honestly may be one of the best. Why a books I’ve read. It reminds me of the books that I used to read in high school when the genre itself was just starting to become popular with bucks written by John Green.

I wanted to love this, as I love RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE and ONE LAST STOP, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me. I got major manic pixie dream girl vibes and it just didn't feel real. I can have a lot of suspension of disbelief in books, but this one required almost too much (looking at the climbing through the ceiling). Good for fans of PAPER TOWNS or LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green.

Chloe Green has one goal: beat Shara Wheeler in academics and become valedictorian of their class in small-town Alabama. But when Shara disappears after prom - only a few weeks before graduation, Chloe becomes obsessed with finding out what happened to the girl she believes she hates.

I liked this book! Not my favorite by Casey McQuiston, but it was fun and kept me engaged throughout its entirety while grappling religious and LGBTQ+ themes. I think the biggest things that bothered me were Chloe's immediate obsession with finding Shara and the complete lack of police involvement throughout Shara's disappearance. I personally love the "hate" to love trope, but I found it frustrating that Chloe never once asked her core group of friends for help and instead just pulled away from them in her quest to find her enemy. Additionally, I understand that her parents were not worried about Shara's location because they tended to ignore the issues she tried to make, but surely someone in the town would have at least brought up involving the police? Instead, people just gossiped about where she could've gone. I just found it interesting that everyone simply assumed that she was totally fine and not in any danger at all. This small town couldn't have been that small if there were almost 100 people in her graduating class . . . so probably 400ish total in the highschool? My high school had about 120 total kids in it, and someone would've been concerned if a student had disappeared right before graduation. Anyway, rant aside, I did enjoy reading this book. I thought most of the characters were simply wonderful, and I loved watching them explore who they were and what they wanted in life.

CW for homophobia, religious bigotry, racism, lesbophobia.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston.

Super cute and well done book that need to be in every school for the students who want to see themselves in the pages they read.

There's mystery, there's romance, there's kissing! A little adventure to find Shara Wheeler after her disappearance leads to self-discovery, new friendships, etc etc. A good time.

This was such a fun new YA book, I really liked the themes and how the author tackled them. I would recommend for a high school class trying to tackle some more modern themes