So okay! This felt like two different books. The first ~60% is one story and then the back 40% is another one completely andddddddddddd I liked the second half better. I struggled getting through the first section but I kept going because it's Casey and because I loved some of the side characters and I was rewarded.

As much as this book is a love story, it is also very much a love story to yourself. There's a line that I don't think I'm technically supposed to quote yet because I read the ARC but the gist of it is that these teenagers have spent so much time being exactly who the administration of their school and some of the adults in their lives have told them they are supposed to be that they have no idea who they are and they deserve to have a space to learn that in. Which! Yes! This book was clearly a love letter to all teens struggling to be who they are because of the environment they're in or even struggling to figure out who they are because the adults in their lives have such a clear picture of them that they've never had a chance to figure it out for themselves.

Casey also does a great job of capturing growing up in a town where there's nothing to do. Walking around Walmart for an hour because you can? Spending your free time at a random chain restaurant? Hanging out with your friends in a field talking about frogs? Sounds very familiar!

PS I have adopted Smith Parker and will be protecting him from everything always at all costs.

Thank you to St. Martin's and NetGalley for an early copy of this book in exchange for an advanced review.

Religious high school in the South hasn't beaten Chloe Green down. But Shara Wheeler might. The Golden Girl of Willowgrove kisses Chloe and then disappears on prom night. And it gets stranger -- she also kissed her boyfriend AND her neighbor. And now she's left notes behind for them to find her. And Chloe is determined to expose Shara for the lying cheat that she is -- even if it means putting everything else she's got going on at the end of her senior year at risk.

I haven't been reading YA recently because I've felt out of touch with YA protagonists. But I was into Chloe immediately -- maybe because her struggles at a religious high school were a little too relatable -- and her attitude, her dreams, and her tunnel vision when it comes to winning. CMQ has the tightest prose of anyone out there right now and I was thrilled to see it continue in a YA voice, This book felt like one of the few I've read in the last few years that doesn't dumb down the tone of the teenage protagonist and the teenage experience for the audience. It's full of perfect pop culture references to situate the narrative in present day and had zero trace for me of a "how do you do fellow kids" vibe. And it tackles big ideas with the mind of a teenager -- that is to say, easily overwhelmed. We sit with Chloe and her friends as they figure out sexuality, gender, religion, academics, and their futures. And who can say that you stop dealing with those things as an adult?

In addition to fabulous character work, the plot was well-paced and I was invested in the mystery of Shara up until I could see what was happening and then I worried about Chloe because the writing did its job and made me care about her. The picture CMQ paints of the South and all of the people who live there does the legwork to break up the idea that we should give up on a whole region and group of people because of what we think we know about them. So while I think this book worked for me for a large number of personal reasons, I don't think it can be denied that CMQ has written something beautiful and worth reading.

I wasn't going to do it, but 5 stars.

What a joy it was to read Casey McQuinston's latest, I Kissed Shara Wheeler. Even though this was her first YA novel, I enjoyed it more so than her first, One Last Stop; this is probably because I work with high schoolers, but I do love a good mystery, and McQuinston gave us that AND more.

From the beginning of the book, it was clear the amount of thought and careful precision that McQuinston put into the plot. The mystery surrounding Shara Wheeler's disappearance immediately piqued my curiosity, considering the plot was built around LGBTQ+ teens in contemporary Alabama. While I am a queer person myself, I long for the day that coming out is normalized. That being said, I so appreciated seeing our protagonist, Chloe, and her moms (!!!!) as more or less "normal.," and that the introduction of her moms wasn't a "huge deal." It just was what is was, and I so appreciated seeing "moms" normalized.

McQuinston is also a MASTER at creating fun, witty dialogue, and immensely complex characters that you can't help but root for. That being said, while I was SO invested in the mystery and the characters in the beginning, once the mystery was more or less "solved," I was over it. Similarly, I felt the same reading McQuinston's One Last Stop: that the story just kept going and going when it could have been wrapped up much sooner. I find that this also happens with a lot of contemporary fiction, as opposed to mystery/thriller novels that keep me eagerly flipping page after page. That being said, I thought the plot was well-thought out; while not every character was necessarily likable (Shara and Chloe at times), I do feel like that's ok.. We don't always like every part of someone's personality, and I believe that it would be disingenuous to make every character perfect. Overall,, I Kissed Shara Wheeler was very much enjoyable, compassionate, and wonderfully told.

IKSW was exactly what you want from a Casey McQuiston novel. All the characters were endearing and fully developed. Smith was a particular favorite of mine. I enjoyed all the clues Shara left behind for Chloe, Rory and Smith to find and solve. The trio were not exactly friends at the start but it was wonderful to see their relationship grow and evolve as they search for clues to Shara's whereabouts. Lots of LGBTQ+ representation that will speak to a lot of readers both young and old.

McQuiston does it again, creating a compelling "whydunnit," with all the wit, bite, and snappy dialogue readers have come to love. The story kicks off when an unlikely trio is shoved together by the shared mystery of where school sweetheart Shara Wheeler has disappeared to and why, and why she seems to have chosen these three in particular to solve the mystery, but it soon becomes clear that finding Shara Wheeler is only part of their challenge ahead. With sly commentary on high school and small town politics, McQuiston deftly dodges overdone stereotypes and instead pushes readers and characters to expand and deepen their perception of themselves, their peers, and their community, while taking them along for a fast-paced, fun, emotional, and satisfying ride.

This feels, at this point, like classic CMcQ: rom com with a really strong other plot that's a little weird (first book: political intrigue; second book: time slip; this book: missing person search) and a lot more friends than are typical in romance novels. And i generally love them all! Though i adore YA, i don't think it added much to the book--i think i like their new adult books better--but i look forward to this being on high school classroom shelves bc it's a romp!

This was a NetGalley ARC.

THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES TO THE PUBLISHER FOR THE E-ARC

y'all i am smiling like an idiot right now. this was sapphic academic rivals to lovers EXCELLENCE!!! the beginning started out a little shaky, because you're thrown in at kind of a strange starting point and aren't given much time to settle in before things are grooving. but once we get passed that, there was just so much to love about this book.

our main girl, chloe, is a 17 year old, bisexual, self-declared bitch who moved from california to teeny tiny false beach, alabama four years ago. she's getting ready to graduate from her ultra strict christian high school with one goal: beating shara wheeler, the golden child, for valedictorian. but after prom, shara is missing, and chloe finds herself tangled in a mess she wants nothing to do with.

it sounds very john green, paper towns-esque, but i PROMISE the vibes are so different. i can't tell you how sucked into this book i was. whenever i wasn't reading it, i was thinking about how i wanted to get back to reading it. yet while i was reading it, i didn't want it to end. it was fun, heartwarming, super queer, and i found myself highlighting so many lines — as i tend to do with all casey mcquiston books, because their writing is simply Magnificent.

chloe green is not a perfect MC. she's not even really a nice MC. but she has a good heart, and she goes on a wonderful journey. i love her relationship with her bestie georgia, and i loved the friends she made along the way. i will say, this book was a little predictable when it came to the side characters' stories. while tunneled vision chloe was oblivious to some of the things going on around her, i at times wanted to shake her and say "PAY ATTENTION!!!" though as i write this, the predictable-ness may have very well been intentional. and regardless, it didn't affect my enjoyment of the book, obviously.

with their first venture into YA, the incredible casey mcquiston has proved they can do it all, and i can't wait to see what they do next.

While there is definitely a lot to enjoy here and I can see what the author was trying to do in the end I found this one lacking. It started out ok for me and I was interested enough but as things progress I found myself bored. The ending kinda picked up a little but overall I was never really excited to pick this back up. I also didn’t fully connect with Chloe or Shara, both separately or together and I would’ve liked to see more depth from them both. I also found the motivation behind Shara’s disappearance to be disappointing and it didn’t feel genuine to me. All of that say this one was just mediocre for me in the end, I didn’t hate it or anything just didn’t really enjoy it all that much either.

This book is a roller coaster from start to finish, and my incessant need to know what was going to happen next kept me riveted. What starts out as a mystery blossoms into a subversive coming of age story about challenging the status quo and daring to live authentically.

Chloe, Smith, and Rory have gone to school together for four years (although the latter two have known each other longer), but they don’t appear to have anything in common beyond being classmates. Shara’s notes draw them together; the clues not only have this unlikely trio working together, but they are obligated to revisit key moments of their high school years because everything is connected.

This book is one part mystery, one part confessional, one part teen comedy, with a splash of Flashdance thrown in for good measure. Ultimately, it is a tale of queer joy and triumph. Chloe, the whip-smart snarky protagonist/narrator is the perfect guide for a journey I would like to describe as surreal, but is actually fairly mundane. But in this case, mundane is not synonymous with boring, but rather the sort of thing that could happen to anyone. This makes Chloe and her friends’ lives so relatable, even for people (who may or may not include the author of this review) whose own high school days are long in the past.

.While McQuiston’s protagonists have all been on the young side, this is the first that has explicitly been written for Young Adult audiences. One of my dearest friends has a daughter who is a senior, and while talking about books last night, my friend told me that her daughter’s favorite book is Red, White, and Royal Blue. I immediately recommended IKSW, and I can’t wait for them to read it. I’m probably going to buy a copy for my oldest daughter, who is going to camp for a month this summer. She and her cabinmates all read each other’s books last year, and I feel like we need to up our game this year, so she’ll be bringing all the Casey McQuiston books—haha!

In case you couldn’t tell, I would absolutely recommend I Kissed Shara Wheeler. This might be a YA title, but as I alluded to in my previous paragraph, there is massive appeal beyond the target demographic. I am looking forward to many, many re-reads in the future.

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s Press (Wednesday Books)/NetGalley.

#ikissedsharawheeler by Casey McQuiston is a YA rom-com about academic rivals who become romantic partners. This novel covers many sensitive topics including identity, gender and orientation.
This is a well written book with great representation 📚🤓❤️

Thank you to #NetGallery and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for a review

I don’t know what it is about this authors writing that just doesn’t work for me. I loved so many of the smaller details but overall I truly don’t understand what was going on. The plot didn’t make that much sense and I felt lost. I’m so sad. I wanted to love this.

“I Kissed Shara Wheeler” is a YA Romantic/Mystery of sorts that pulls inspiration from many of its predecessors. The novel starts off with the titular Shara Wheeler going missing and leaving notes for her rival Chole and her two male love interests Smith and Rory. The trio soon find out they all have something in common, they have all kissed Shara Wheeler.

I really enjoyed the first half of the novel but then it drops off a bit for me. The tonal shift from this intense mystery and shifting into a different style really threw me off and made me not like it as much. The leads as well come off unlikeable and it is really hard to root for either of them, which is an important thing when you're looking at a novel that is in the rom-com style.

What it has going for it is that there is a lot of LGBTQIA representation that is known in novels written by Mcquistion. I found that the side stories that involved these characters to be quite interesting and I would have loved to see more focus on that instead of the golden thread that we were given.

Overall the novel was OK, I think fans of McQuistens work will enjoy her first foray into the YA sphere. The novel was well written, just not my cup of tea.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book just as I thought I would. I was overjoyed when netgalley sent me a arc of this book. It keeps right in line with the high standards that Casey McQuiston has set in her previous incredibly popular releases.
What is different in this one is that it is geared toward a younger audience. So all of that spice that we all love from this author is not as present. However the characters maintain the wit and sarcasm which has always drawn me into them and invested me in their lives.
McQuinston is honestly just such a fun writer and can weave a light hearted but in depth lqbtq story like no other. I feel like much of what this story discusses are things that todays young people should hear about.
And it is worth saying that while there is some criticism of the church it is done in a productive way rather than an out right attack (so dont believe those who will undoubtably try to turn this whole book into some sort of assault on religion).

I like McQuiston a lot and had high hopes for this book. While I enjoyed the story, I did find it very predictable at times, which made it a little boring at points. I still enjoyed it and would recommend it, though!

Casey McQuiston: the queen of world-building, characters you fall in love with, and pop culture references to make you smile. I have adored all of McQuiston's work, and her latest I KISSED SHARA WHEELER, her first YA novel, is no exception. While nothing can top the joy I felt while flipping through RED, WHITE, AND ROYAL BLUE, this beautiful, sapphic love story comes close.

At the core, most of this book is a mystery revolving around the search for the most popular girl in high school after she goes missing during Prom. But it's so much more than that -- it's about coming to terms with living in a crappy, small-town after moving from the big city, discovering yourself and also those around you (especially after you initially write them off), and the power of underdogs banding together in the face of injustice. It's both cute and meaningful, funny and sweet. It's a must-read if you already love McQuiston's work, and I also hope it gets put in the hands of lot of young YA readers who look to books to help make themselves feel seen.

I adored this book! I'm so happy Casey McQuiston has entered YA. It reminded me of a late 90s/early 00s teen romcom movie, a fun adventure with the cliques and high school drama, but queered up with a nuanced take on religion which is so important for the LGBTQ+ community. There is a wide variety of LGBTQ+ representation, not just in identities, but where characters are at in the journey of discovering themselves, and I love that. Realistic characters who are trying and screw up anyway, with fun romance and rivalry and amazing relationships and friendships. The found family you have come to expect from Casey. I wish I had this book as a teen, and I will be thrilled to recommend it to students and teens in my life.

An absolutely wonderful read from beginning to end.

A story that takes the reader on an amazing journey through the life of our main character.

A must read for sure!!

A smart funny and different take on coming of age and finding yourself. Chloe, daughter of two moms who is a new arrival to Alabama and to a Christian Academy, impulsively kissed Shara Wheeler, her competition to be valedictorian and then....Poof- Shara is missing. This sets of a quest of sorts, which Chloe would have never expected of herself, to find Shara. Shara's boyfriend Smith, a quarterback, and Rory, a stoner, also kissed Shara that night so all of them feel some responsibility. They form an unusual team, not always happy, but that makes this more all the more entertaining. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It's meant for the YA crowd but it's got good lessons for older readers as well.

A huge thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!
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Casey McQuiston is one of my go-to authors after Red, White, and Royal Blue, which is definitely high on my top recommendations to everyone. I was very excited about I Kissed Shara Wheeler, despite feeling mixed about OLS, and IKSW did not disappoint at all! This is McQuiston's first Young Adult novel and the genre is better for having them. I would have adored this book as a teen just as much, if not more, than I did now. It is clear that they understand how teens communicate with each other and the characters very much feel like complete and rounded individuals.
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The plot itself is a fun mystery tied up in the highest stakes of high school: the valedictorian race, with some relationship drama on the side. There are also the many teens figuring out who they are and who they want to be on the cusp of adulthood, when their very conservative, Christian, small town has always preached only one way to look and act and behave. It is unsurprising to me that Chloe, as the only relatively out queer person at school, has attracted a friend group of those also pushing the boundaries of the rules of life as they know it, but I also really enjoyed the exploration of other characters trying on and discovering new facets of what could be post high school.

I'm so happy I got to check this book out and I can firmly say that I will read anything written by McQuiston. This was a fun story, with mysterious clues, funny notes, and a plethora of queer characters to make my heart happy. The fact that it's set in an Alabaman Christian school ups the stakes for these teens who are just trying to be their true selves and I loved seeing them rise up against the adults stifling them to take control of their lives.

This starts out right in the middle of everything and kept a good pace throughout. Shara is already missing and I was totally invested in Chloe, Rory, and Smith following the pink envelopes to discover more about this elusive girl. The friendships formed also warmed my heart and I adore seeing couples come together. It was especially fun to see kids from different cliques and backgrounds bond and break down those barriers keeping them apart.

Chloe isn't a perfect character, she can be harsh and obstinate and didn't always treat her friends how they deserved. She's a regular teenager and it was nice seeing her work through some of her flaws and become a more mature person. I thought it was funny that so many people were afraid of her at school because she pushed boundaries and wasn't afraid to be openly queer. Having Chloe as the main character kept things interesting and she was a fun narrator to follow.

I had a great time reading this and I'm looking forward to the release date so everyone can check it out!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book. All opinions are my own. Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the copy