Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the eArc in exchange for an honest review!

I'm not surprised that I enjoyed this so much! Casey McQuiston has always written fantastic queer fiction and I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is not the exception! This combined the setting of an Evangelical Christian school with a very very queer mystery, which was a fantastic pairing in my opinion. The mystery was thrilling and the romance was very endearing, which I adored. I felt the ensemble cast was done particularly well, and I got a good feel for each of the characters even though there was only one POV. One thing I thought could have used more elaboration was why certain characters were hesitant to label themselves, such as Georgia as a Lesbian and Smith as Nonbinary. It's implied, however I think for a YA audience it might be worth explaining briefly! Overall I adored this book and will be handselling it to anyone who will listen!

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Have you ever hated someone SO MUCH because they’re unhateable and perfect? That’s how Chloe Green feels about Shara Wheeler. As the only two competitors for valedictorian in an elite, authoritarian Christian academy in False Beach, Alabama. Chloe moved to Alabama from LA 4 years ago and has hated everything since. That is, until her nemesis, Shara fucking Wheeler, disappears.

Chloe can’t stand this, so she sneaks into Shara’s empty room and stumbles upon — Rory, the notorious rebellious stoner. Here, they find a note addressed to Rory and find out that they both, in fact, have kissed Shara Wheeler. After roping in Shara’s boyfriend, Smith, the gang go on a journey of self-discovery, acceptance, rage, loss, and love.

I gave this 5 stars because I was crying. The joy, the loss, the love, the transport to being a teenager again through McQuiston’s writing…it was wonderful. I would 100% call this a coming-of-age story and I’m not usually into those. However, this slice of life, queer YA romance really burrowed its way into my heart in the best way.

This was one of my most anticipated books of 2022. I loved One Last Stop and i unexpectedly loved Red, White and Royal Blue. Unfortunately, this book didn't hit in the same way for me. It fell flat. It was a good story with interesting characters but it was missing something for me.
I would still recommend this book to fans of John Green and YA romance.

Casey McQuiston is three for three for me. Her YA debut was fantastic and more of the same soft and romantic goodness paired with snappy dialogue that I've come to expect from the author. The romantic aspect of the book probably didn't start until the 60% mark but all the action that got us there made the wait worth it. The characters were so likeable, and I smiled so much that my cheeks ached! My only very very very minor issue is that two of the side characters have very similar names (Ash and Ace) and it confused me on occasion. I absolutely cannot wait to see what McQuiston has next for us. Adult or YA - I'm here for it!

This is basically an lgbt version of paper towns and it was pretty interesting!!
I also thought it was interesting taking place in Alabama and I can't remember exactly where paper towns took place but I feel like it was somewhere similar?? In any case I think the setting really worked for the story itself, as someone who lives in Alabama it was pretty accurate and it def plays into the whole struggle that Shara goes through as far as any kind of homophobia, etc, especially her going to a christian school. Overall I think this was just a really fun way with all the mysteries to tell these character's stories and I think this will be a great staple in lgbt books for teens that they will probably pick up as a sort of classic years from now tbh!

This is another great book from Casey McQuiston, and likely to be received by anyone who liked Red, White and Royal Blue or One Last Stop. My two favorite elements of the book were the setting and the characters. It was so fun to live in the small town that made up the world of this book and it reminded my in many ways of my own upbringing. I also loved Smith, Rory and many of the other secondary characters, and I found myself wanting to spend more time with them. The mystery was interesting, but I did figure it out pretty early on (there's a bit hint in one scene) and made me less intrigued by the notes. Still, I loved reading it and look forward to more from McQuiston!

i may be the only person who has yet to read a casey mcquiston novel but i am glad i started with this one. i am in love with her writing style and cant wait to read her backlog

The first half of this book was so much like a John Green novel that one of the characters even acknowledges it! The most popular girl at Chloe’s private Christian school in Alabama goes missing and leaves clues for three very different people who have to figure them out together to ultimately find her.

Chloe, the main character, moved from California and is the only one “out” even as a bisexual. One of her mothers still causes a stir around town from coming out as gay back when she attended the same school. Throughout the intrigue of the hunt, we learn why nobody acknowledges their true selves in places like that. And finding Shara Wheeler isn’t the end of the book! There is so much more to it! Corruption, protests, and first kisses!

Perfect for fans of John Green who desire a diverse cast and more to the ending. Big thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

John Green wannabe. Like this literally reminds me of a knock-off Paper Towns. Just not as good. Which is bizarre because she has written other books that were so in her own lane. These characters are self-obsessed. Weak plot. Maybe I did chuckle 4-7 times. I also found the sidenotes in between the chapters pointless.

First of all, I went into this book knowing absolutely nothing other than the fact that this was advertised as a romance book. I feel that it was way more of a mystery than a romance, but I still really enjoyed it! The amount of representation in this book is absolutely beautiful and it truly felt so natural. The way religious trauma impacts one’s personality and ability to be who they truly are was showcased in such an important way. I truly think this book will help readers be their true self in some way or another. The one downside I had with this story was the lack of chemistry between the main characters. I feel like as a reader, something was missing between them. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this book to any new or older Casey McQuiston fans!

More like a 3.5 out of 5, but this was super super cute! Chloe is kind of annoying, but I also understand getting so obsessed with something you kind of block everything else. Smith Parker, my beloved. My main complaint is that from 50-75% of the way through the book, it just felt… kinda flat to me? Like, super unbelievable, kind of dumb, and made me think “oh no… will this end badly? Will I hate this?”. But the last 20% of the book or so saved it (still cheesy and hokey, but cute for a YA novel). I wish there had been more of a “mystery”/hunt aspect, but still a very enjoyable read.

If you've read McQuiston's other books, this one felt a little bit more like One Last Stop than Red, White, and Royal Blue, but definitely a different kind of story than either of them. The audience is also more YA than New Adult, which is a nice change of pace. It started out feeling like a mystery but ended up as more of a contemporary realistic fiction story. Whatever genre it is, it was a fun read.

Shara Wheeler is everything. She is the perfect student, perfect daughter, perfect girlfriend to high school quarterback Rory, and she is destined for a life of promise. But when she disappears on prom night when she's supposed to be accepting the crown for prom queen, everyone in the small, conservative town of False Beach, Alabama is left reeling.

Three people who are uniquely affected are Chloe, Smith, and Rory when Shara kisses all three of them before she mysteriously disappears. Chloe is one of the only openly queer teens at Willowgrove and she has been locked in what she thought was a two-sided hate-filled academic rivalry for Valedictorian. Rory is a skate-boarding badboy who is on the fringe of Willowgrove's rigid social hierarchy and has harbored a crush on Shara for many years. And Smith is Shara's longterm adoring boyfriend who feels he has to put up with a lot more racism than he should to get through high school. The only thing they have is common is Shara and her series of notes on monogramed pink stationary that keeps forcing the three of them together to find her.

Casey McQuiston has done it again. Just when I think they cannot possibly blow me away more, they do. CMQ has proven themselves as an accomplished adult writer capable of writing well-rounded, beautiful characters filled with stunning emotions. Their debut into YAF is stunning and is done in the best way possible. Once again, McQuiston has highlighted the beauty of queer identities and this time, they focus on finding that power within yourself at that *incredibly* difficult time as a teenage. This is the book I wish I had read as a teenager. These are the characters I wish I had had as representation to show me that I could be beautifully queer and chaotic and smart and messy and emotional and not have my shit together and desperately wanting things to work out the way I saw it in my head. I cannot recommend this enough and I cannot wait for everyone else to read it.

I've really struggled with what to write in this review because I can't think of anything new to contribute to the conversation. This book has everything you want in a Casey McQuiston book, and she has posted highlights on her own Instagram page- " Mean Girls references, Gone Girl Runaway Prom Queen, Friends to Enemies to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, small-town problems. If you loved her prior two books, you will love this one, although Shara Wheeler is more tonally like RWRB. Ultimately, this book is about identity and overcoming the constraints that limit the fully actualized self- not a new theme for McQuiston, but definitely revisited in a clever and satisfying way.

4.5 stars rounded up
When Netgalley alerted me that I had been approved for an eARC of one of my most anticipated reads of 2022, I could have cried. It's to be expected. I have stated this many times before but to me, Casey McQuiston's writing is like coming home. Casey manages to write the most lovable characters in every book. This one was no exception. Though I didn't enjoy it as much as her adults novels, it was certainly a treat to read nonetheless. My favorite characters were definitely the side characters. For me, our main love interest falls a little flat, but this may be a case where I truly am no longer than intended audience for a YA book. I just don't enjoy the chase like that anymore or understand the appeal of the popular girl. However, I'm still a sucker for a rivals-turned-lovers story and this was an excellent take on it.

Without spoilers, I found the cast of side characters to be incredibly charming. This was a book with a diverse cast of characters and each one felt incredibly well-developed. This is a trait of Casey's. I've yet to find a one-dimensional character in her books, even the "bad guys."

Obviously, knowing the content, it's worth acknowledging that there is blatant homophobia in the books. It takes place in a small Alabama town where our cast of characters attend a cultish Christian school. No one is going to get by unscathed. But I didn't (personally) find the content to be particularly triggering. It was very real. It reminded me of the time a boy in my Youth Group responded to the question "why did God create us?" with "to be heterosexual." To which I, young and closeted, stood up and screamed. A lot. And got in a lot of trouble, of course, leading to me having a breakdown in the side room while my friends continued to fight that boy. But I'd say that pretty well sums up the vibe of I Kissed Shara Wheeler well. There's homophobia, there's yelling, there's retribution. This book tackles it all with the experience of someone who has been there.

Not my favorite of McQuiston's books, but I'm not the target audience. I think the target audience is going to lose-their-minds love it, so I'm super happy about that and rounding up to a solid 4 stars!

In this contemporary YA rom-com mystery, SoCal girl Chloe Green is stomping her tiny, fierce, openly queer rebelliousness through her senior year at an uptight, competitive, private Christian school in Alabama. She and her moms had to move back from California for Reasons, and Chloe is determined (if Chloe is ever anything, it's DETERMINED) to get a kick-ass education out of this place. And she won't accept anything less than valedictorian. Problem: she's suddenly super distracted by the annoying disappearance of her competition — the everyone-thinks-she's-perfect-but-Chloe-knows-better Shara Wheeler. Chloe knows Shara is up to something. Shara knows Chloe knows. There are clues. Actual annoying clues. Scattered around scavenger's hunt style. On Shara's annoyingly perfect pink stationery. Did I mention how annoying Chloe finds all of this? No one else seems capable enough or interested enough in tracking Shara down, so what is Chloe supposed to do? Obviously, there's only one choice: she has to team up with a stoner and a jock and track down the missing prom queen. Yes, it's a gloriously updated, totally queered 80s montage unfolding right before your very eyes.

As I said, I'm (mostly) not the target audience here, but the school and religious community it's based in are very familiar — and I found them to be pretty accurately portrayed. (Definitely check the author's notes and content warnings for the kinds of oppressive, anti-LGBTQ behaviors and attitudes included. It's a tough read in places.) The general high-schoolery of it all feels realistic, too. And if not necessarily what I think of as "realistic," McQuiston's characters are allowed to be multifaceted with sharp edges and crappy choices and moments of being truly horrendous friends and other moments of being wise and generous beyond their years. I think some readers will find the main characters unbearable and unlikable. I think others will scream in joy and recognition at these smart, complicated, manipulative, chaotic, charming, witty, hurting, joyful, creative characters.

Casey McQuiston’s books are all unique, yet all inclusive. This book was full of twists and turns from the start, but concludes with a happy ending. The middle seemed a little slow, but the story picked back up at the end and had great closure.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Casey McQuiston strikes again! So far, I've loved everything they've written.

This one brought back some memories of private Christian school (for me, from third to twelfth grade!!) - some good, some not so good. I'm a little jealous of Chloe's support circle. I didn't have that in my life in school.

I feel like this was probably more of a four or four-and-a-half star read, but I literally could not put it down. I stayed up well into the night until I couldn't keep my eyes open, then picked it up again first thing in the morning. To me, that kind of a book gets that extra star.

I really enjoyed following Chloe, Smith, and Rory as they delved into this puzzle that Shara created for them, seeing the aftermath, and basking in the afterglow.

Highly recommended.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler
“Of course Shara cast herself as the main character of her own personal John Green novel… [Chloe’s] going to beat Shara at her own game. And then she’s going to destroy her for it.”


This is McQuiston’s best novel yet, and I don’t say that lightly.

I feel like McQuiston has fixed a lot of problems that I have had with her writing in the past. I DNF her first book because of the bad fanfiction quality of the writing, and struggled with the uneven pacing of her second book (really? You’re just going to… avoid all your problems that you so desperately care about, August?) I Kissed Shara Wheeler fixed a lot of these issues by having a real mystery that had me wondering if Shara was really pulling strings behind the scenes or truly being sincere with her intent.

I may have a soft spot for the book because I live close to where the novel is described as being set. It honestly gives me a little appreciation for the setting of One Last Stop, too. Maybe I wouldn’t be bothered with what I considered tokenism with her drag queen characters if I grew up in the environment where I was surrounded by unabashed queer kids, too.

It’s hard being queer in the south and I feel like McQuiston nailed it. There’s a loneliness to it, too. My friend in Las Vegas is always telling me that her and her girlfriend get called cute by strangers while I was kicked out of a mall with my girlfriend in high school and was talked out of going to prom by my mom. That said, McQuiston also nailed that Queer kids in the south find one another, too. Birds of a feather. They always do. It was nice to read a story where Southern homophobia was punished in my lifetime where one of my pansexual friends was jumped for holding another girl’s hands. So maybe it just means a lot to me that Gen Z are lucky enough to have more opportunities to be themselves.

I would recommend this novel to any queer Gen Z reader ready for a mystery with a realistic setting and any queer reader looking for an #ownvoices novel set in good ol’ Bama..


For readers who like: Casey McQuiston’s previous books; sapphic high school romances; enemies to lovers; mysteries, multiple teenage queer representation including nonbinary, gay, lesbian, bisexual characters; happy endings; punished homophobia; #ownvoices narratives; with an Alabama setting.

Thank you so much to Wednesday Books for an eARC of this!

I am a huge Casey McQuiston fan. I will be honest, I was a bit skeptical at first. I'm not a mystery fan, and I struggled ot get into the book at first. There were so many things up in the air, and I honestly didn't know where the story was going.

But once we finally meet Shara and Chloe comes face to face with her after everything Shara has put her through, everything just CLICKED. I do think too much of the book was spent trying to solve this childish mystery (it's kind of explained that way in the book). A lot of the mystery itself felt pointless (except for 2 things that come out of it that I won't spoil for you!).

But with Shara in the story, the book picked up for me. I finished the last third of the book in like an hour and it honestly made the book for me. It was really difficult to see what Casey was trying to do, so pleasej ust stick this one out if you're struggling! And don't walk in expecting just romance, because this certainly is not it.

So while I'm gving this 5 stars, I will say there were some things I didn't like about the book. Overall, a great YA debut for Casey McQuiston