#netgalleyarc I really wanted to love this book but it left me feeling meh. I love this author and their other books, I love a good mystery, and I love me some romance but this book just didn’t do it for me. I had a hard time staying invested in this book and found myself annoyed by the characters at some points of the book. I plan on purchasing it for my high school library because i I think my students will at least enjoy it.

If you're reading this review, it's probably because you're already interested in the book. Just read the book! It's so good! It's a love letter to love, and YA, and rom-coms, and loving a place that doesn't love you back, and it's basically all heart, with a healthy side serving of teen angst and learning hard lessons.

Absolutely obsessed, Casey McQuiston has done it again. I was worried because I’ve been enjoying YA less in the past few years, but I adore this book so much.

Longer review to come for my blog, will be added here!

rating: 5/5 stars

Casey McQuiston is back and potentially better than ever? Highly reminiscent of John Green's Paper Towns, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a very fun, slightly cliche, and super queer romp perfect for the summertime.


For my full review, watch here: https://www.tiktok.com/@kendallmakesart/video/7092044671857347886?is_from_webapp=1&sender_device=pc&web_id=7086579107465233963

Incredible - that really could be the whole review because everything about this book is incredible.

I teach high school in a small southern town and the accuracy of the personalities, secrets, misunderstandings, and triumphs of these wonderfully flawed characters was so spot on! I wanted to wrap Smith and Rory in a big hug while giving both Chloe and Shara a good shake and Georgia, Summer, Ash, and Ace a standing ovation for being who they are and taking risks.

I've had some expectations since I've enjoyed the author's other work, "Red, White, and Royal Blue" and judging form the mixed reviews of their second work, I had no clue what to expect with this YA debut.

After reading it, I have to say it's my favourite work of theirs yet. The character dynamics were fun to read and I could properly remember each character I'm this as they all were memorable in their own way. The mystery of finding out why Shara left and piecing together the clues with the characters really made me think. Shara being a complex character that I have mixed feelings about also super interesting to read about. I loved how chaotic this character was and how real she felt.

I absolutely love that this is also not just another coming out story and how all the characters just accept their fate of being some kind of gay and go on with their lives. They don't need a whole book about the struggles of not fitting in and then needing to come out and frankly that's really refreshing.

It does get sort of sappy when it comes to the students banning together to change their school which I found to be a similar issue I had in "Red, White, and Royal Blue" where people just collectively agree without effort that they are all on the same side and want to fight for the same thing. Like, way too optimistic compared to how I know the Christian schools after attending one myself, but I still enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

**4.5-stars rounded up**

After being unexpectedly kissed by her only rival for valedictorian, Alabama High School Senior, Chloe Green's life begins to unravel. Shara Wheeler, the kissing bandit, then disappears, leaving nothing but a series of cryptic clues in her wake.

Chloe isn't the only student being dragged along on this unconventional scavenger hunt. She's also not the only person Shara Wheeler kissed. Joining Chloe on this misadventure are Shara's long-time boyfriend, hunky football player, Smith, as well as Shara's bad boy neighbor, Rory, who has been crushing on the girl next door for years.

After the trio discovers the game includes them all, they put whatever petty grudges they may hold aside and begin to work together. It's a wild ride. Shara must have been planning this for months. It's intricate and over-the-top.

In fact, Chloe becomes so obsessed with getting to the truth that she ends up neglecting her other relationships; her best friends that have been there for her all throughout high school. Will Chloe be able to mend those fences by graduation?

This novel is Casey McQuiston's first foray into the YA space. Obviously, not a challenge for her; absolutely seamless. She kept her signature, lovable, heart-warming, sweet, sentimental, funny style all whilst keeping it relatable and applicable to a younger audience. As for me, I'm all for snarky, funny, chaotic self-discovery, so I Kissed Shara Wheeler was a great fit for my tastes!!

I loved getting to know all of these characters. They were each well developed and had their own challenges that they were working through. Throughout it all, watching their interactions unfold was a lot of fun. Chloe grows and learns so much about herself just through the process of trying to figure out Shara's game. Chloe starts to recognize some blind spots she may have had over the course of her high school tenure.

Overall, this was a delightful read. It's fun, smart and explores some important topics. It's clear McQuiston delivers no matter what age group she is writing for.

Thank you so much to the publisher, Wednesday Books and Macmillan Audio, for providing me copies to read and review. I am already highly anticipating whatever McQuiston comes up with next!!

This book got me in my feels! As someone who grew up in rural Georgia and evangelical culture, I felt incredibly seen. What really hit home for me is the message that you don't have to hate being from a small, southern town and you don't have to be out to everyone in order to find a community of queers and allies. Most of the characters in this book are navigating growing up in an intense religious environment with certain expectations regarding sexuality, gender, and presentation, and the arrival of Chloe - an out queer girl with two moms - rocks their world. I loved all the conversations about identity, the questions that lead to discovery, and the kindness exhibited by this close-knit group of friends as the welcome in classmates they thought they had nothing in common with.

This books is thoroughly enjoyable from start to finish. I love all the characters, they're such a fun, diverse group of teens. Shout out to Chloe's moms for being Relationship Goals! The plot is so good and full of senior year nostalgia, romance, friendship drama, hijinks, and sleuthing. I Kissed Shara Wheeler gets all the stars and kudos!

Inspired by Where'd You Go Bernadette and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Mcquiston wrote I Kissed Shara Wheeler, a queer romantic comedy set at Willowgrove Christian Academy.


About The Book 📚
Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Author: Casey McQuiston

Publication Date: May 3, 2022

Publisher: St. Martin's Press, Wednesday Books

Suggested Reader Age: Young Adult (language, teen alcohol and drug use, teen vaping)

Genre: Contemporary Romance, Mystery
› I Kissed Shara Wheeler begins 12 hours after Shara left, 42 days before graduation. The main character is Chloe, a girl from LA with two lesbian moms. She's smart and self-centred and yearns to be seen. Her academic nemesis is Shara, the principal's "perfect" daughter with shiny blonde hair, pale pink nail polish, and long-time football star boyfriend Smith. Shara and Chloe want valedictorian and they'll do anything to get it. Two days ago Shara KISSED Chloe. Out of nowhere. With no explanation. Shara also planted a surprise one on her neighbour Rory, the "brooding bad boy" with dark, curly hair and light brown skin. Then she fell off the face of the earth. Her parents haven't reported her missing, but her boyfriend and friends have no idea where she is. Chloe doesn't want to win valedictorian by default. She's determined to find Shara so Chloe can win fair and square.
› Characters: 10
1 point each
Goal, motivation, strengths, flaws, external conflict, internal conflict, backstory, characteristics, interesting side characters, and diversity.

› Atmosphere: 8
2 points each
Setting, descriptions, world-building, felt-appropriate emotions, mood.

› Writing Style: 10
2 points each
quality (beautiful, cliche, wordy), readability, style, dialogue, and non-repetitive.
The story is told with mixed media:
1. a countdown to graduation
2. messages left on pink cards by Shara
3. "notes from the burn pile"
4. notes passed between students and found in the back of notebooks
› Plot: 6
2 pts each
beginning, middle, end, page-turner? climax?

› Intrigue: 10
did I want to keep reading?

› Logic: 9
remove a point for confusion, plot holes, and elements that don't make sense.

› Enjoyment: 9
overall experience

Average 8.9

1.1-2.2 = ★
2.3-4.5 = ★★
4.6-6.9 = ★★★
7-8.9 = ★★★★
9-10 = ★★★★★

My Rating ★★★★
› Final Thoughts
• In McQuiston's own words, "a lot of this book is about coming of age queer in the religious South". Her blog post entitled "God-Honoring Trauma Dumping" is incredibly candid and parts of what she said hit me in my heart. I attended Catholic school from Kindergarten to Grade 10 and it's scary how much that experience gave me guilt that I carry with me still at 41 years old. "It’s hard to know you’re being traumatized when you don’t know anything else...We all grow up around stuff that leaves marks. My marks just happened to be in the shape of a cross...It was a culture of shame and guilt and performance, shrinking and hiding and purging and having every intimate part of you picked apart and assessed on a morality scale you didn’t even understand." (from God-Honoring Trauma Dumping)

"Shara is a book about loving the place that made you and also sometimes hating the person it made you into."
I wasn't incredibly impressed with this book when I first finished it. After reading McQuistin's blog post I understand my initial dislike of it was my own anger/shame/guilt I still carry with me from my childhood/teen years. I have a lot to personally unpack, and I can't imagine how much this book would benefit every single teenager growing up today. This should be required reading in every high school.



Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review.



*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a lovely blend of some of the best parts of YA right now: elements of mystery, a puzzle to solve alongside our protagonist, romance (and queer to boot), and a cast of diverse and interesting characters. The character's motivations are at once over the top (Chloe and Shara I'm looking at you) and yet completely realistic considering they are teenage girls coming up on one of the biggest changes in their young lives. Blend that with a town/ school that isn't completely understanding of queer identity, and you have a story that offers an exploration of what it means to be queer, what it means to get what you want, and what it means to be yourself.

Everything McQuiston writes, I enjoy. Red, White, and Royal Blue is still by far my favorite, but this comes a close second. There's so much anger and angst- and for good reasons! Who is Shara Wheeler anyways? She sounds so perfect, everything a Southern girl at a super Christian private school should be. Heck, she's the principal's daughter. But when she goes missing (within the first few pages) it turns out she has kissed three different people- and has orchestrated quite the Gone Girl for herself. Finding Shara is much less the point of this than finding yourself, which all three people she kissed have to figure out for themselves. This was a puzzle in a puzzle, taking on homophobia and finding oneself in a really approachable and loving way. Perhaps not a fully traditional romance, but an absolutely fresh YA novel that I devoured in a day. Although at the start of the book I wasn't sure this was really YA at all, by the end I would agree with the categorization. Five lilac-scented stars!

4.5*

This is a book I'd love to see become a movie! I don't say that about a lot of books, I'd rather they live in my imagination than see them not live up to my expectations. But I think I Kissed Shara Wheeler would make for an awesome movie, a la the great teen comedies of the 80s- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, etc., etc., etc.
This whole group of characters, Chloe, Shara, Georgia, Rory, Smith, Ash, Ace, Summer, Benji, the moms, and all the rest of the crew, I would love to see them brought to life! The world Casey McQuiston built in I Kissed Shara Wheeler was incredible and I feel it just lends itself to the big screen.

I really enjoyed this story. The journey of not only Chloe, Rory, Smith and Shara, but their friends as well- it was such an entertaining read. I would have loved having a book like this back in high school, but I think it's a story any age group would appreciate.
Out of the 3 books Casey McQuiston has written, this one is by far my favorite.

If Red White and Royal Blue is about worldwide queer history, One Last Stop is about local queer history, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about personal queer history.

I absolutely loved every character int he ensemble. I expected Chloe to be my favorite, but honestly Rory owns my whole heart. Each character feels real and I genuinely loved the ensemble and their interactions with one another. If Casey McQuinston were a god, they'd rule writing queer characters. I loved how Shara represented an Anti-Christ symbol. From how characters warship her, her father being the principle, getting everyone's attention easily, and disappearing for a short time and her return being made into a very big deal. At first I was worried Shara was going to be redeemed because I couldn't see how she could pull such a 180 at a certain point but she is characterized so flawlessly that I fell in love with her arc. I loved showing the complexity of growing up in an unaccepting environment and how everyone reacts differently. While the plot didn't hook me immediately, the characters sucked me in. I felt uninterested the first fourth of the book but continued and I'm happy I did.

P.S. I like to head canon that in this universe Chloe and Shara will run into August and Jane in New York pride while Ellen Claremont is president and see Alex and Henry make a public appearance.

I absolutely adored this book. It took me back to being in high school myself and I think McQuiston did a fantastic job creating these characters and this story line. I’m so looking forward to putting this in my school library so that my students have access to it.

Filled with witty dialogue as well as relatable and realistic characters, McQuiston really nailed another queer rom-com.
In all honesty it did take me a bit to get into the story, being a personal fan of rich world building and backstory, and this book simply drops you directly into a story right in the middle of the initial conflict.

All in all, an excellent read.

"𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬 -- 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭 -- 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐈 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬."

After two wildly successful new adult novels, McQuiston took all that quirky talent and channeled it into this revelatory YA debut that's as relatable as it is representative.

Interjecting witty pop culture references and highlighter-worthy one liners between bouts of candid conversations on religion, identity, and sexuality, 𝐈 𝐊𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚 𝗪𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐫 delivers an entertaining and essential story for developing readers. One that -- at times -- read too young for me, but never felt pandering or paltry. And even though I'm not the target audience, I'm certain the exploratory heart-to-hearts featured in this rivals-turned-lovers narrative will not only be cathartic af for some, but will also open the door for necessary discussions for others.

Like their previous works, McQuiston introduces readers to another loveable cast of misfits who learn that living their best lives means living their most 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤 lives. And while I personally found the leads -- and their motives -- messy, the strong supporting cast won me over with their humor and heart. Their journeys and development were far more engrossing than the book's central mystery, and, luckily, took up enough of the pages to keep me pushing through.

Giving off strong 𝘑𝘰𝘩𝘯 𝘛𝘶𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘋𝘪𝘦 vibes (if John Tucker sent his love interests on a scavenger hunt instead of a quest for revenge) this queer romance perfectly captures the feelings surrounding the end of high school and deciding who you're going to be going forward.



Trigger Warnings: homophobia, bullying, outing, religious bigotry, infidelity, racism, cancer, death of a grandparent, parental neglect, emotional abuse

“‘Once in a generation, there is a born bisexual who can do math. You’re the chosen one.’”

CMQ has done it folks, they have restored my faith in YA. I’ve seen a couple review saying this is simply a queer retelling of Paper Towns, and while I see the similarities (since it is one of my fave John Green novels) I think CMQ makes this idea all their own. I love the way they write friendships, pining, conflict, and climax. I loved all the side characters, especially Smith, Rory, Benjy, and Ace, and Chloe was the perfect amount of unlikeable to have her get under your skin while still wanting to root for her.

The one thing that was a bit off for me was the pacing. I felt that Chloe, Rory, and Smith finding this notes was a bit rushed and the first few days of Shara being back was a bit too stretched out. I think CMQ wanted to show some development between Shara and Chloe, but I felt that wasn’t 100% achieved. Otherwise though, an amazing, fun read just like all their other books! I can now say with great certainty that CMQ is now a favourite author of mine

Casey McQuiston writes immensely readable books. Even when I don’t love the plot, like in One Last Stop, I always have a hard time putting them down.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler has a plot very similar to Paper Towns, but with McQuiston’s signature touch (aka almost everyone is queer). I’m a big fan of Paper Towns (not sorry), so I really enjoyed the scavenger hunt shenanigans in a small, Southern conservative town where the setting is very much its own character.

Casey was a funny, acerbic lead. I always love a bitchy smart girl who’s obviously lying to herself!! The gang around her was the usual cast of quirky side characters you’ve come to expect from a Casey McQuiston book. I feel like some could have been fleshed out a bit more, but alas.

As someone who grew up in a super religious environment, I thought this book really nailed the sense of shame that teenagers feel growing up in a place like this when they desire to be even a little outside the norm. The pressure to be perfect is PALPABLE. And I also like that it didn’t completely villainize the place. Some hometowns are more accepting than others, but they’ll always be a part of you no matter what. It’s okay to see the good too.

The one thing that annoyed me was the focus on Shara’s perfect looks. I get that it’s needed to show how the hottest, most popular girl in school can also be harboring shame and secrets, but every descriptor of her otherworldly gorgeousness became too much for me.

Overall, I liked McQuiston’s foray into YA better than One Last Stop, but still nothing can quite touch the masterpiece that is Red, White & Royal Blue. So I do recommend this if you're a fan of her works!

I loved Casey McQuiston's first two novels and was thrilled to hear that she had a YA book coming out! There's a lot to enjoy in I Kissed Shara Wheeler, but I ended up having mixed feelings overall.

Chloe Green, an LA-transplant attend a VERY Christian High School in Alabama, is ready to get out. With graduation in sight, she's determined to beat out perfect Shara Wheeler for Valedictorian and escape to NYU in the fall with her best friend, Georgia. But her plans come screeching to a halt when Shara kisses Chloe two days before prom and then disappears in a cloud of lip gloss and chiffon. Rumors fly, but only Chloe, bad boy Rory, and Shara's jock boyfriend Smith, have any idea what's going on. Because Shara has left each of them a pink-enveloped letter with cryptic messages about her departure. Chloe begins working with Rory and Shara to follow Shara's trail of clues, eventually discovering that none of them really know Shara at all.

The first half of the book has big Paper Towns energy and I think McQuiston is aware of that - she makes a John Green reference early on. There's some fun in the mystery and it's enjoyable to watch Chloe bond with Rory and Smith. However, she desperately doesn't want to bond with anyone. Chloe is convinced that she's the smartest person in the school, that her friends are the only people worth talking to, and that Shara Wheeler is the Worst. She's sassy and smart, but also pretty mean. This goes on for most of the book. While eventually Chloe realizes that there's more to her town and her school than she thought, it takes a LONG time to get there and I found myself very frustrated with her character. She lets herself get so obsessed with Shara's letters that she misses plans and commitments with her friends and can't quite see her own blindness. THEN, when Shara returns, Chloe hatches a half-baked plan to get Shara to fall for her just so she can reject her. It's just SO mean and petty and not cute. Chloe's growth is a huge part of I Kissed Shara Wheeler, but I honestly couldn't stand her for about 70% of the book.

I love good-intentioned acts of teenage rebellion, so I really enjoyed the last quarter of the book. As soon as Chloe and her friends started planning their protest graduation, I was sold. Seeing the different friend groups bond and come to understand each other was great and I think the ultimate goal of the novel was achieved here.

One final thought is that I wish there had actually been a bit more of Shara herself in the book. While we learn a bit about her through Chloe's flashbacks and her letters, I felt that there was a lot of Shara still to uncover at the end.

I admit, at first I wasn't really into this book. The beginning was dragging a bit and Chloe was a little whiny. It picked up quickly though and I wanted to find out what happened to Shara. There were several funny parts, and Chloe's experiences seemed very realistic. I enjoyed the story overall. I would highly recommend this to YA readers!