This is one of those books where I wished half stars worked. 4 stars seems like too much but 3 seems like too little. I didn’t dislike “I Kissed Shara Wheeler” but I can’t say I loved it, or even enjoyed it greatly.

I really liked “One Last Stop” by Casey McQuiston so I kept hoping it’d get better. Unfortunately, it just never got there for me. This has a slow start and took way too long for me to get invested in the characters. I think my major problem was that I didn’t like Chloe or Shara so I didn’t really care about the small mystery and got bored with it pretty quickly. It’s very rare for me to like the side characters more but I was more interested in Smith and Rory’s story than Chloe and Shara.

While I didn’t care for the main storyline, there were things I did enjoy. McQuiston is an excellent writer and I loved their humor and how everything just flows together. There’s so much queerness here and I loved it all so much. I loved Chloe’s friend group and found myself frustrated with Chloe when it came to Georgie, who stole my heart. All the teens go to a private Christian school that still believes in and lives by the #nohomo rule and I enjoyed watching them deal with that successfully in different ways.

While I don’t want to discourage anyone from reading this, I think there are better books out there. I know that others seemed to like this a lot more than me based on the ratings I’ve seen. I’d take a look at other reviews to get a better feel for the book.

I received an ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

There is a lot I really liked about this book! Casey McQuiston's writing is, as always, near perfect. Her dialogue, characters and plot pacing were great. I don't know if she writes teens quite as well as new adult, but certainly no glaring issues. The one this I will say that wasn't my fav with this one was the plot from about 50 percent on. I do admire that I usually don't know where her books are going, and that definitely keeps me engaged. But I just would have picked a different route for the end of this book. But I am sure others will like it. Overall glad I read it, and I will definitely keep picking up her work. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely one of my favorite books of the year. Casey McQuiston continues to impress me by writing stories that are engaging but cover important topic. I’ve been describing this to everyone as a YA Search Party meets 13 Reasons Why with the lesbian romance from Teenage Bounty Hunters. It was so much fun and I loved every minute reading it.

It's sometimes hard to read great YA books because I can relate to hard to the flaws of the characters. That's exactly what happened with I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Freshman year, Chloe Green moves with her moms from LA to rural Alabama where she attends a private Christian high school, and competes against the principal's perfect daughter, Shara Wheeler, to be the top of the class. For four years Chloe has imagined herself and her friends as the only people who matter in this town, and she can't wait to put everyone else behind her after graduation, until Shara goes missing and leaves clues behind for Chloe, a bad boy musician named Rory, and Shara's quarterback boyfriend Smith to find her. It's a great book about realizing that people can be more complex than you've imagined them to be.

DNF'd kind of early but I'm still rating it high! Objectively speaking, I think this is probably a great book! I see a lot of friends loving it and I'd probably recommend it to a lot of other readers. It just, personally, isn't for me. That sort of "bad friend trope" can just really kill a story for me... so it's my bad for not realizing it was so prevalent before requesting a copy to review!

Let me start this review off by saying, I absolutely loved the representation in this book. The queer rep was on point, and I will always be here for that.

However, that might be the only thing I enjoyed of this book. It isn't that I thought this book was bad by any means. I think my problem is that this book seemed way too juvenile for me.

I found that I could not relate to any of the angst and drama that was going on. And I was never truly sold on the romance. I think I would recommend this book to someone middle or high school aged that may enjoy it more than me.

With that being said, I do enjoy Casey McQuistion's writing and am looking forward to what comes next!

Thank you so much to @netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely fantastic.

I was worried when I first started it that this would turn out to be another Looking For Alaska type YA novel, but how I underestimated Casey McQuiston is beyond me! McQuiston managed to gay-ify (I'm allowed to say this, I am gay) this trope and thus add a depth of meaning rarely seen in YA novels.

AND they made a character I was so determine to hate hate hate (Shara Wheeler) that I ended up understanding and identifying with. This was a truly wonderful read.

This was so much fun! I have loved all of Casey's books thus far and "Shara" was no exception. While it did feel a little clunky and all-over-the-place in the last quarter of the book, it wasn't enough for me not to overall adore this book and these characters and I need a Smith & Rory book liiiiike, yesterday.

Chloe is a transplant to Alabama, having moved to False Beach with her mothers when her grandmother needed help, and then stayed to finish high school. Having grown up in Los Angeles, Willowgrove Christian Academy is quite the culture shock; the high academic standards she expected, but uniforms, the moral behavior code, and mandatory Bible class were outside her experience, and caused her to spend all four years pushing the envelope. The dress code is her primary target, but as the bisexual daughter of lesbian mothers, the moral code is a serious problem for her. Surrounded by closeted members of the LGTBQ+ community who dare not come out while attending Willowgrove, lest they be expelled, as others have been, for violating the moral code, Chloe is trying to make it through high school, fighting for valedictorian with the principal’s seemingly perfect daughter. But near the end of senior year, everything unravels - but the outcome is seriously in doubt.

This novel is topical and current, and deals with issues that face teens today. The shifting friendships and relationships among the characters are typical among high school students, as is the quest for personal identity, and for those who enjoy social drama, there’s plenty to be had. Of more interest, at least to me, is the level of awareness and activism demonstrated by the characters, showing how a small spark can be fanned into a significant flame - as long as those doing the fanning are aware of the direction they’re going, and do their best to steer the flames in the proper direction.

This was such as fun romp through young adult romance tropes; Casey McQuiston somehow managed to take all the conventions of the genre and make them feel fresh. I am more impressed with her every time she releases something new. I Kissed Shara (Sh-air-ah? Sh-are-ah?) Wheeler is an instant teen drama classic with a heart. One of the best books I’ve read this year so far.

Let me start by saying this: I had high expectations for this book. Casey McQuiston wrote one of my favorite books of all time, 'Red, White & Royal Blue,' and their other book, 'One Last Stop' was also incredible. This was their first foray into YA (a genre I read a lot of), and I knew it was going to be good. But ... I have to say, I was a little let down.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book and am glad I read it - competitive teens, a treasure hunt of sorts, emerging queer identities, a bookstore, hand-written letters, drama club and McQuiston's signature sass - but I guess I didn't really GET it. I was never a person who had the crazy drive to succeed above all else in high school, and I didn't grow up in a small town (quite the opposite, in fact, although the Christian school setting as a queer person was familiar to me), so those aspects, while well-written, didn't really move me in the way I think they will move a lot of other people. And frankly, I didn't LIKE Shara Wheeler, even at the end when everything is tied up nicely - I felt like she didn't deserve someone like Chloe, who I had a lot more sympathy for.

There's a book for every reader, of course, and just because this one didn't quite work for me, doesn't mean I won't recommend it. It just wasn't my favorite of McQuiston's books (as if anything could top RW&RB, let's be honest).

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Published May 3, 2022.

4.5/5 Stars: LGBTQ+ Romance following two archenemies, one of whom disappears and leaves cards and clues for the other. TW: homophobia, transphobia, biphobia, internal homophobia, large amounts of Taco Bell consuming (this one is a joke for serious reasons).

Casey McQuiston has done it again!! I loved this SO much! Shara was so complex, the bisexuality rep was stunning, the look into small town Christian themes whilst being gay and weird was so relatable, this book had everything to love and more. I am so impressed with the deep dive thoughts of how a young person comes into their identity and being non-binary; this was definitely a very interesting perspective to read and I really enjoy it! The friendships in this were spectacular and the mystery of Shara and her legacy as the popular girl was so fun to explore and will give everyone the closure they need about the popular kids from their high school lol.

The plot was very Paper Towns-esque but Casey really made it her own and the relationship between Chloe and Shara was hilarious. They are enemies to lovers and the trip in between is so fun, quirky, weird, and intense. Casey never fails to catch you with those amazingly timed pop culture references throughout the entire novel, especially with Chloe, who, in my opinion, I hope there is one of her in every high school across the world. I also really want more of a backstory, and preferably a whole book dedicated to Chloe's moms' love story!! They are so cute and witty and are solely responsible for the amazingness that is Chloe.

I adored this book beyond words and will never not read a Casey McQuiston book. She always makes me giggle, scream, cry, and laugh my socks off in every one of her works. I highly recommend this to every jock turned theater kid, book nerd, queer person, and overall enjoyer of books because I cannot see anyone not loving this! Utter perfection...

Casey McQuiston continues to be one of the best when it comes to balancing humor and raw emotion. Her description of Chloe as a frustrated teen that's addicted to being an outsider as a defense mechanism put me right back in high school, but came with the catharsis of Chloe figuring herself out a lot earlier than I did. The mystery at the center of the book was a page-turner -- and more satisfying than the self-referenced Paper Towns within its pages -- but it took a turn that I wasn't expecting and that made the end all the more gratifying. I loved Casey's previous books because they were adult romances with a vibrant YA energy, but with "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" she proves that she's capable of tapping into the teen mindset and brings all of her other authentic assets as an author to the younger reader space as well.

I’ve been looking forward to reading this! I’ve seen some awesome things about it! It was as fantastic as I’ve been hearing, and I’m so glad I got this early copy. I’ll be buying a copy to put on my shelf at home. Highly recommended!!

I loved this book!

The LGBTQ+ representation was done in a very thoughtful and respectful manner. The characters reminded me of the movie the Breakfast Club mixed with a mystery element.

I will recommend this book to anyone who loves the YA contemporary genre.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted eARC.

2.5 ⭐️

Let me start my review by saying I absolutely love Casey McQuiston. I will read anything they writes.

With that being said, I didn’t love this one. I’m honestly so upset with myself for not liking it. I feel like I’m betraying them 😅

I found the concept of this book super interesting. Im always up for a story with bisexual rep.

The first half of the book was boring to me. I really wanted to DNF it and had it been a different author I probably would have.

The romance between our MC Chloe and Shara came out of nowhere and was completely toxic. I did not like Shara and never understood why they were searching for her. This just didn’t feel like a romcom which it was marketed as one.

The things I did like about the book.
The writing, Casey has such a way with words.
The rep, almost every character was Queer and I love that.
Rory and Smith were my favorite characters. I wish the book had been about their story.

Overall this book was not for me sadly. I’m still looking forward to Casey’s next book.

Damn it if Casey McQuiston hasn’t done it again! I happened to get an ARC copy of I Kissed Shara Wheeler from NetGalley prior to the official release and I went into it hoping it would be as good as her other works…it certainly was! Casey is able to create a story that is easy to visualize and that’s in part, I think, because the themes of the book are so common to my experiences as part of the LGBTQ2IA+ community. It was a fast read for me because I just didn’t want to put it down once I started it. I highly recommend you put this one on your TBR list if you haven’t yet.

Many thanks to Wednesday Books, St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I had the immense pleasure of hearing Casey McQuiston speak at the beautiful Coolidge Corner Theatre the night after pub day, enjoying hearing more about the behind the scenes of crafting this book.
I had trouble putting I Kissed Shara Wheeler down once I started it - Casey wanted to take all those late 90s/early 2000s teen rom-coms and really turn them on their heads. They even re-read Twilight to bring themself back to their own high school obsession - you know, when you care about things SO much. Working with teenagers I am reminded of this often...
The book's plot brings together students who wouldn't otherwise interact to solve the disappearance of Shara. This queer YA romcom is highly enjoyable and much recommended.
One of things I loved most about the book talk was hearing about how Casey challenged themself to write these 2 very different books after their debut success. I love the mentality behind always wanting to try something new - and succeed. I can't wait for what will be coming next 🤩

Casey McQuiston’s first dive into the YA world gives hope to the future of the genre while making nods to some of the classics that shaped it.

Determined to find out what really happened to Shara Wheeler the night of the prom, Chloe Green recruits two unlikely allies in an attempt to bring back the beauty queen and finally understand why she feels so strongly about beating her in the race for valedictorian. Set in rural Alabama with criticisms on sexuality, gender, and finding one’s place in the modern world, McQuiston has penned a smart look into teenage life.

The first two thirds of this novel are engaging, witty and leave you constantly wondering what the characters are going to find whenever they spot a bright pink envelope. The clues are compelling, the characters are real and sometimes harsh, and the pop culture references are some of the best I’ve encountered in a YA contemporary. However, the large tone/plot shift that occurs during the last third threw off the balance of this well-crafted book, leaving me disappointed. While I understand the attempt to “queerify” very straight elements of typical high school stories, McQuiston fell into the cliche trap and piled on so many tropes in the last hundred pages that the initial story seems long forgotten.

For fans of Becky Albertalli and John Green, this story marries what readers love about new and old YA books, but I only wish we were looking more to creating new works rather than trying to revive the old.

Shara Wheeler disappears. In the last days of the senior year of four students who are enamored with Shara she vanishes. She leaves notes and clues about her disappearance and assures the three who are bereft without her presence that she is alright and they will eventually understand what is going on. It is little comfort to Chloe, who experienced a single kiss from her, and her neighbor who experienced the same. The boyfriend is also confused so the three become an alliance of sorts on a quest to find Shara. The book is interesting, and contemporary, and will keep young readers challenged by the mystery of Shara. It's set in the last days of high school in a private school in conservative Alabama and is a fun muse. The school, run by ultra-conservative adults has a host of not-so-conservative happenings going on with its students. Young adults and teens will enjoy the rebellion, honesty, and plot of this book. Thanks to #NetGalley#IKissedSharaWheeler for the opportunity to read and review this book.