Oh I loved this book. It was so so so queer and emotional and fun and I loved it. A mystery? Love it. Super smart and manipulative girls? Yup. The ending was beautiful, the whole thing felt fantasy like while being grounded in characters.that felt real.

Shara Wheeler and Chloe Green are academic rivals in a small Alabama town. For four years they've been neck in neck for the valedictorian crown. A month before graduation Shara kisses three seniors, Chloe included, and then skips town. In her wake she leaves a scavenger hunt only three of them can solve. What they discover about Shara, and themselves, along the way might just change everything.
Overall this book was fun, but feels like a story I have read many times. Specifically John Green's 2008 novel Paper Towns. A chaotic run-in with a manic pixie dream girl followed by a wild goose chase? We've been down this road before.
Fans of Casey's first two adult novels will be underwhelmed by her entry into YA, because they grew up with the Margo Roth Spiegleman and Rory Gilmore. Maybe today's teen will love it?

RWRB was a top book for me the year it came out. I didn’t enjoy One Last Stop. And this one fell a little flat for me. The premise really intrigued me considering I grew up in a n evangelical, puritanical household. But that was a very small part of the book. I really wasn’t into the whole hunt for Shara. I didn’t think it was that intriguing.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a mystery at heart. But what that mystery is may not be what you were expecting! I inhaled this book over the course of 24 hours. Usually I only devour audiobooks like this but Shara Wheeler was so absorbing that I couldn't tear myself away!!

me before starting this book: it's fine I won't get stabbed through the heart
Casey McQuiston: 😈
me: oh my god I forgot who wrote this, help

This one is gonna take OFF! Shara Wheeler is a bit gentler than McQuiston's previous novels, or as gentle as a book can be with a genuine knife girl as a love interest. It's about finding your place and learning to take up space. Chloe has two moms and thankfully the story isn't about her bisexual coming out story! Like, coming out stories are great but queer people are so much more than just that one defining life moment. I really appreciate other kinds of stories about us. I would post the 9 million screenshots that I took, but y'all are just gonna have to read it for yourselves instead. Planning to reread with the audio version next time.

Thank you to NetGalley for a preview copy of the ebook.

Readalikes: stay tuned

There's something really special about reading a book that you know is going to change a young person's life.

I KISSED SHARA WHEELER has everything: a deranged scavenger hunt, late night runs to Taco Bell, climbing through your crush's window, theater kid chaos, finding friendship in unexpected places, and two girls hellbent on destroying each other.

First and foremost, Casey McQuiston has knocked it out of the park with their YA debut. The story's pacing was excellent and their prose, as always, brimmed with originality and hope. I couldn't put it down.

Of course, the real story is in the ragtag group of misfits that join forces to solve a mystery but end up finding each other along the way. Chloe and Shara, our respective Paris Geller and Rory Gilmore of Willowgrove Christian Academy, are fiercely lovable characters despite the fact that they are both teenage nightmares in their own right. The ensemble cast—Rory, Smith, Ace, and Georgia—are so fun that I want a few spin-offs just about them and their own ridiculous adventures.

I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is an earnest reminder that sometimes the real love story is the friendships that feel like family--the people who you didn't think you'd ever get along with, but somehow become the ones with whom you take late-night drives to the local fast-food chain. It's also about shedding shame and figuring things out, one step at a time, when the world is wide and ridiculous and makes no sense at all.

McQuiston has somehow crafted another magical story of queer joy and triumph, and I hope they never stop.

Here I am giving yet another Casey McQuiston book five stars. I loved this book. It was fun and entertaining and I loved all of the character relationships. I loved how it didn't take the path of a typical book like this. It kept going after you thought it would end and usually that's a bad thing, but I loved it for this book. It was done so well and really added to the story as a whole. It kept me locked in the entire time. Honestly, if the semester wasn't ending, I probably would have read this in one go. Every time I picked it up, I didn't want to put it down. I can definitely see myself rereading this in the future.

I also loved the rep, I thought there were some really great discussions about gender and gender expression. It was really lovely to see as I don't think we've really gotten that in a Casey Mcquiston book before. There were a lot of discussions really, yet it wasn't done in a way that felt preachy. That's just another thing that made the book great in my eyes.

I definitely recommend picking this book up when it comes out!

I finished I KISSED SHARA WHEELER a few days ago, but I had to sit on it for a bit before I even attempted to describe what this story meant to me. Thank you to Casey McQuiston for writing this fantastic YA debut, and thank you to Wednesday Books for sending me an early copy.

This book feels like falling in love for the first time. It feels like the smell of warm days and open car windows on long drives and reluctant hometown nostalgia. This book feels like the odd comfort of finding an unexpected place to belong with people you never saw coming.

I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is a love letter to young queer communities - the ones that aren’t always able to exist in daylight, but still find a way to sprout between the cracks and bloom into something beautiful. IKSW is a love letter to the annoying kids who think they know everything and try too damn hard. I wish I had this book as a teenager, yet as an adult I was still able to see myself on every page.

I could go on about the ~vibes~ forever, but I will stop there and say that this was a beautifully crafted novel. The writing was immersive and heart warming and hysterical - truly everything I now expect from a CMQ novel. The pacing was spot on for me; I could not put it down.

And of course as always, Casey’s pack of lovable misfits stole the show. I loved our narrator Chloe and her stubbornness, quirks, and honest heart. I LOVED Smith, Rory, Georgia, Ace, and the rest of the gang. And I also loved uncovering who the real Shara Wheeler was alongside Chloe. The plot has a mystery element to it, but I think the real mystery was Shara as a person… which was so creative and well done on Casey’s part.

Casey McQuiston has done it again, and I cannot wait to see the incredible career they have ahead of them. I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is truly a knock-out of a small town adventure queer coming-of-age rom-com.

An enormous thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and of course, Casey McQuinston for providing me with an eARC of this book. I am voluntarily leaving a review, all opinions are my own.

I was dying to read this book the moment I heard about it, especially after having read One Last Stop, and I have to say I definitely enjoyed this one. This was such a great coming of age story with a great cast of characters, with a focus on realizing how little you truly know about those around you and truly learning and accepting who you are yourself.

The mystery factor behind everything and the trial of clues had me sucked in right away, then you begin to get all the little human aspects- Chloe really having her eyes opened to the humanity and true stories of her classmates. Chloe went through quite a big shake to her reality, and I can honestly say that her reactions to everything felt real and legitimate, no matter how much they bothered me in the moment.

This book cemented the fact that I will be reading whatever McQuinston writes from this point on, I thoroughly enjoyed this one.

I love horrible nightmare girls!!!!!!

I feel like this book is going to be DEEPLY personal to a lot of people who grew up in ultra-religious circumstances. I love it when people's preconceived notions about each other are challenged, especially when characters who haven't had access to the same safe spaces & community finally get a chance to discover themselves and grow. I loved the humour and the dialogue, and highlighted a metric ton of one-liners because as always, CMQ's characterisation and ability to make characters sound like your absolute funniest friends SPARKLES.

High school contemporary isn't usually my thing but when Casey does it .... yes!!!

I absolutely loved this story, The characters were great and I really enjoyed getting to know them. The plot was equally compelling. I highly recommend this book.