I usually hate when teenagers ask me for recomendations about books. Simply because I dont want to give them a book with to much spice, or one they cannot relate to.
But this is one of my top books I will probably always recommend. It touches on so many sensitive topics that need to be spoken about.
I loved it. I am obssessed with it. I cannot name a favorite character because I enjoyed every single one of them.

Casey McQuiston won my reader's heart with Red, White & Royal Blue and because of that, I will read every book they publish. While quite different from the romantic and spicy new adult books, I Kissed Shara Wheeler was, in fact, quite good, but not at all what I expected. The writing style had recognizable elements from their previous books, but ultimately had an entirely different feel to it. With the characters being all slightly unlikeable, it had a really weird tone/ mood.
I love a good mystery and a slow realization of love. As in "Oh shit I think I love them". This definitely checked those boxes and made for a wild, yet slightly predictable ride. 3.5 Stars.

I enjoyed this book for the setting and reality of small, private, Christian school mentalities. While I did not enjoy it as much as McQuiston's others, I think that there could be a lot of students in my classrooms who feel very seen after reading this book.

I admittedly don't love a high school setting/ young adult novel, but I Kissed Shara Wheeler quickly sucked me in. Casey McQuiston continues to deliver!

I love Casey McQuiston's writing and character development. The relationships that exist between the characters while trying to find Shara were a major strength of the book along with the humor and Chloe's unique voice. There's a ton of LGBTQ+ representation, but there are also some stray homophobic vibes as well. These sensitive themes are handled beautifully by McQuiston, as always. This is a great coming of age story, and I look forward to McQuiston's next book!

I absolutely loved I Kissed Shara Wheeler!
It’s an academic “rivals turned lovers” romance that touches on topics such as friendship, religion, and queer identity. It’s charming, it’s snarky, I love it.

Chloe Green isn't letting Shara Wheeler's sudden disappearance stop her from becoming valedictorian. Shara Wheeler- the pride and joy of the small Alabama town that Chloe reluctantly moved to when she was a freshman. But then notes from Shara starts showing up and Chloe is consumed with finding where Shara has gone.

McQuiston is great at telling a story with characters who aren't perfect but you want to root for. As someone from Alabama, I'm glad that they are from Louisiana writing about the south, or I would have docked a star. But McQuiston really gets that feeling of trying to find your place in a small town. They have secured themselves a place as one of my favorite authors.

i really enjoyed this but i didnt enjoy the end with the father and how at ease it worked out, yet how he also had no repercussions. i loved shara wheeler, but i sadly did not love the mc. and not in the way that youre not supposed to, but in the way that it just feels bad to be inside her head. but i loved the setting and premise and side characters so much it made up for it!

This was super cringy. I felt like I was reading the diary of a 15 year old girl. At first it had the feel of Paper Towns, but I just couldn't get on board why everyone was so obsessed with this one popular girl.

3.5 stars, really. I don't know how to rate this book. It was very fun and readable, as is expected of a McQuiston novel, but it felt like 3 books crammed into one. Plot threads resolved themselves very quickly in favour of another storyline, when I think one of them could have been spun out into a full novel.

A great entry into YA for McQuiston, perfect for her fans or those new to her work. The story is complex and interesting. Nothing ever feels simplified or dumbed down for the audience. The characters are complex and well-rounded, no one's motives are simple or completely virtuous. Really a great work.

I found this book to be really enjoyable. I think that the characters are really entertaining and fun to follow as the book progressed. Excited to read more books by this author.

While I didn't love this quite as much as McQuiston's adult novels, I still had a really fun time with it and thought it did an excellent job at portraying what it's like to be queer in That Kind of Christian community. As usual, the friendships and secondary cast were utterly amazing, and I spent a good amount of the book laughing. Strongly recommended!

Impressed by McQuiston's debut YA novel. True to her other novels, this one also includes a diverse cast of characters and addresses social isssues.

This book was an enjoyable and sweet with a fun mystery element. It was a quick and light read. It wasn't my favorite from this author, but I still liked it.

As noted in many reviews, the idea of the novel is giving Paper Towns vibes. However, McQuiston makes the story her own, and manages to make each of the characters searching for Shara - as well as Shara herself - dynamic, sympathetic, and compelling. The story gives readers plenty to think about, and, I think, portrays fairly some of the inherent hypocrisy of conservative leadership.

Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for sharing this title. All opinions are my own.
If you've read Casey McQuiston's other titles, then give this a shot! While not an instant "love" like I felt for Red, White and Royal Blue, and even a little more of a slow burn that I had for One Last Stop, I Kissed SHara Wheeler drew me in after a bit and made me fall hard.
The cast of characters are entertaining and have great chemistry. The plot draws you in but doesn't reveal too much, too fast. You experience what life is like for a queer protagonist living in a conservative, religious southern community. Coming of age, but also specific to this person at this time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced review copy.

Since reading and adoring Casey McQuiston’s first novel, Red, White and Royal Blue , I have been anxious to read more from them. This is their first foray into young adult literature, and I think they were very successful. This was a great enemies to lovers story in which two girls are school rivals, and one disappears, leaving notes to the other with clues about her disappearance. I really enjoyed all of the characters in this book. McQuiston really knows how to craft not just a main character, but also side characters, so that they all feel so real and human. I especially liked the exploration of how these people are actually so much more than what they seem or what stereotypes may imply. Even the setting of a small conservative town in the south was handled with depth and nuance, discussing what it means to be a newcomer to this kind of setting but also what it means to have grown up there. This book remained fun and lighthearted while still including some of these tougher topics, and I think the result was a great read. Highly recommend to those who enjoy McQuiston’s other works.

For McQuiston's first YA book it was well written and entertaining. It definitely had an air of maturity to it that I feel often come from an Adult author writing YA. However it was charming and the characters were lovable, even the titular Shara Wheeler who you want to hate.

I really enjoyed this book, the characters were well fleshed out and the mystery aspect really kept you turning the pages. I'm not sure I felt the character of Shara and the way the book ended felt like the payoff I was looking for, but otherwise a very satisfying read.