I will be including this book in my personal classroom library, but I am not in love with it. While I’m actually a huge fan of both of McQuiston’s other works, this one was not it for me. It was boring and I couldn’t feel invested and while McQuiston does make reference to it, the whole beginning feels like a less interesting and compelling rip off of John Green’s Paper Towns. The only thing better about this book is that it’s queer.

McQuiston has done it again! They write about the queer community in a way that is unashamedly for us. Being set in high school, this one comes with the bonus of highlighting the process of self-discovery. Very Paper Towns meets 13 Little Blue Envelopes but gay, which is exactly the niche I've been waiting to have filled.

I wanted to like this book more than I did, which makes me sad considering I love all of McQuiston's other books. But this one didn't do it for me.
Firstly, I found Chloe to be an unlikable character. She wasn't horrible, she just wasn't that great either. Sure, I guess she grows a bit by the end, but I didn't buy it.
Secondly, the mystery felt contrived and pretty anti-climactic.
Thirdly, Shara was THE WORST.
Finally, Chloe and her love interest should have NEVER gotten together. They're going to be such a toxic couple.

Also, I found the sheer number of queer kids in this Alabama Christian private school to be absolutely unrealistic. Write the world you wish you had, I suppose, but it felt disingenuous to the reality of queer people as well as to Chloe's character.

I love Casey McQuinston so it's no surprise that I loved this book. The characters in this story feel so fleshed out that it feels like they're real people. This is funny, charming, and full of heart. Definitely recommend it for any YA reader.

I so wanted to love this book and don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and am recommending it to all my friends but it just didn’t hit the same as Red White and Royal Blue or One Last Stop. The entire time I kept thinking Paper Towns and I know it was somewhat marketed that way but it was difficult to feel a draw/investment to keep reading. The characters are really the ones who made the story for me. McQuiston has always been a pro with characters and that makes up why they are one of my favorite authors. The work and dedication they put into thinking of every aspect of their characters life is incredible and drew me in more than the plot.

One month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes. On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her.

This was ridiculous and unbelievable, but I liked it fine. It's not my favorite Casey McQuiston book, but I think I've just grown out of YA books. The audiobook narrator was great!

Great story! Definitely more YA than her other books. If you liked them, then you will also like this one. It also has Karen McManus vibes. I think damson hers would enjoy as well.

This had everything I am looking for in a YA contemporary romance, and all the things I love about Casey Mcqueston's writing. This was a super cute romance, but more importantly, a really great coming-of-age story about being yourself, even when it's easier to conform to what's expected of you. I really enjoyed the entire cast of characters, their distinct voices and characteristics, and the journies that went on throughout the book. I also really loved the writing style. It had the perfect mix of humor and serious moments that kept me engaged, laughing, and rooting for the characters.

Unfortunately, I was not able to finish reading this book. The character actions felt forced and awkward.
I'm so sorry.
One Last Stop is great though!

This was amazing. I loved this book. I loved the characters. i thought that they were well developed and the story had great pacing. I was completely intrigued the whole time. this is one of those books where you finish it and have to take a breath and then hug the book. I love this author and love love love her other stories. she just writes in a way where you fall in love with the characters and you only want good things to happen and when something not so good happens you are just so crushed for them. Not many people can write like that and its just so fun to be in books that make you feel so many feels.

Highly recommend.

I love an academic rivals story line and couldn't wait to read one from Casey McQuiston, having loved her adult romances. Unfortunately, this one wasn't my favourite. It wasn't bad, and had a lot of important discussions, but I think maybe I expected something and it went in other directions I didn't particularly care about. It was also really hard to care about the relationship when I actively disliked Shara, and they seemed really toxic together.

Thank you to the publisher for approving me to read I KISSED SHARA WHEELER! I'm not typically one for YA but I absolutely loved this. It gripped me from the first page and kept me hooked throughout. I especially enjoyed the focus on queer joy in towns where stereotypically you might not expect to see it. We're everywhere. I loved this.

After being unexpectedly kissed by her seemingly straight rival for valedictorian, Shara Wheeler, Chloe Green becomes obsesses with finding out where Shara disappeared to. The only clues are cryptic notes that Shara left behind. Fortunately she gains two companions in Rory, Shara's next door neighbor, and Smith, Shara's boyfriend, who were also kissed by Shara before she disappeared.

While I understand the general appeal of this book and Casey’s writing, I think my expectations were too high for this book and I ultimately felt let down. I understand it’s a YA, but it felt even more young and immature than I expect from YA books. Queer YA books are so vitally important and I think this book was good, but just wasn’t a favourite for me.

Chloe Green, valedictorian-in-the-making and bisexual Los Angeles implant in a small religious school, unexpectedly gets kissed by the most popular girl in school, her academic rival and daughter of the principal, Shara Wheeler, right before prom. Immediately after prom, however, Shara goes missing and Chloe takes it upon herself to figure out why because she will NOT be valedictorian via forfeit.

Chloe, Shara’s boyfriend, and the neighbor boy next door who’s lowkey in love with Shara go on scavenger hunts led mainly by little pink envelopes left by Shara herself in the wake of her disappearance. As a teenager, I probably would have eaten this up, but something about the “dream girl manipulates others” trope seems a bit too mid-aughts for me. And while McQuiston does a decent job of modernizing and adding depth to what ultimately is a John Green plot, it still fell pretty flat for me. The saving grace is that this isn’t a book about “the girl,” it’s more about the people surrounding the girl and how small towns are comprised of people who maybe aren’t what they seem -- in a good way.

I LOVED Red, White and Royal Blue but found myself disapointed in Last Stop so I wasn't sure what to expect going into this book. Luckily I was not dissapointed again. I really enjoyed this one, the plot and chracters were all fun and engaging and kept be hooked. I would definetly reccomend this one.

This is my first book by Casey McQuiston, because I keep meaning to read their books and not doing it. I am so happy that I found time for this one! I love a good YA romance and I really loved that there were several layers of romance built into this book. I thought all the characters felt realistic and very empathetic, but especially Chloe and Shara.

Fun, interesting book that kept me engaged and wondering what was going to happen right until the end! Loved the characters and the diversity in the book.

I’m a big fan of both Red, White, and Royal Blue and One Last Stop. I started reading this not realizing that it is YA and ended up not loving it because of that. The book is absolutely up to standard with the writing of the rest of McQuinston’s revue, but if you are not a fan of YA in general, you may want to skip this one. The story is strong, but I struggled to relate to the characters based on their age and things going on around them. I found some of the characters a little annoying but I typically feel that way with most young adult books so I am probably not the best judge of that. A great book if YA is your thing, just personally not for me.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a Karen McManus-esque high school mystery involving an ensemble cast.

THE prom queen of the school, Shara Wheeler, goes missing after prom and leaves behind three letters: one for her boyfriend Smith, one for her neighbo,Rory, and one for her rival, Chloe. The three work together to try to find Shara, with Rory and Smith losing interest eventually and Chloe continuing the quest on her own. This is all complicated by the fact that Shara's dad is the principal of their religiously focused conservative high school in a rural Bible belt town and Chloe is the out kid and child of lesbian moms transplanted from California. The story is fast paced and the first three-forths focuses on following Shara's clues to find her. The forth is about the students coming together to protest the school's treatment of LGBTQ+ kids and stage their own graduation as well as the coming out of a statistical norms busting percentage of the kids at the school. The story was fast paced and fun. Having going to a similar school decades ago, it was a thought provoking look at what a high school like that would've been like in a different era. The characters were all well-developed, and I enjoyed the story, but it almost felt like two different books when the focus and storyline shifted so much for the last stretch.