This was a fun coming of age ya mystery/romance, in the vein of stories such as Gone Girl and Paper Towns. The standouts to me in this story were the side characters. I loved the relationship that evolved between Smith and Rory so, so much. And Smith's exploration of his gender was amazing to see, and is amazing representation for young queer teens. I couldn't stand Chloe at all, I would've liked the story a lot more without her. But, overall I still enjoyed this story.

Casey never disappoints.
With already having written two amazing best sellers- I had complete faith in them and how this next book would come out.

It’s a fun twist on a teen romance with a slight mystery- all in good fun.
It’s written beautifully to depict high school romances and the feeling of crushes and dances and everything that embodies what it’s like to be a teen again.

Thank you St. Martins Press for the ARC in exchange of an honest review!

My first words after finishing I Kissed Shara Wheeler were “Wow, what a book!”

And I’d like to think that encapsulates my feelings pretty well. To be honest, I am not quite sure how I’m supposed to do this book justice in a review. Sure, I could talk about all the things it is on the surface: a fun and twisty YA novel with excellent queer rep, a chaotic and unlikely friend group and all the teenage chaos you’d expect. And that would be accurate!

But to me, what lies beneath the surface of I Kissed Shara Wheeler is much more interesting. Which is fitting because a lot of this book is about expectations and appearances and the wonders that unfold when you dig deeper and look behind the curtain.

Chloe Green, our narrator and resident rebellious queer kid at her Catholic school, knows a lot about appearances. After all, being known for a) having gay moms and b) being queer herself, she’s exposed to a relentless sort of visibility in her community. People think they know her and Chloe has gotten pretty good at playing into and weaponizing those expectations. She thinks she sees through people and has figured them all out, most of all Shara. But beneath Chloe’s confidence is a whole lot of insecurity as things start to look a little more complex than she anticipated — especially Shara.

Truly, none of the characters in this book are fully who we expect them to be. They defy their resident high school tropes with colourful glory (and a lot of queerness). Only as Chloe is forced to band together to find Shara does she allow herself to truly see her peers in all their messy complexity. As a reader, uncovering the characters’ secrets and personalities beyond their appearances was probably one of my favourite aspects of this book. Casey McQuiston masterfully constructs each character with such vivid energy that they seem to jump off the page.

We all know I love a good mystery. So to uncover that I Kissed Shara Wheeler isn’t just a phenomenal YA contemporary but also has a delightful mystery plotline? Reader, I screamed. I honestly expected the whole “let’s find Shara!” thing to be a minor plot point because I’ve been burned by marketing before. But nope, it’s a true scavenger hunt. And I loved trying to figure out the clues and guessing where Shara might be! The mystery aspect kept the pacing fairly quick, so if you’re looking for a “read in a day” kind of book, I Kissed Shara Wheeler might be it!

Additionally, I simply adored all the little mixed media elements! There are Shara’s notes, transcripts of audio recordings, notes scribbled on class notes and so much more. Adding those elements to a book is a surefire way to win my heart and this was no exception. It adds so much texture to the story and I love it!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is twisted and mysterious and a lot of it is invisible, like roots buried beneath layers of soil. And much like that metaphorical plant, it’s about growth. About growing into who you are, no matter what someone looking at the sprout thinks you should be.

This theme of expectations and identity and the difficulties of finding your place when growing up was explored beautifully. Honestly, even as a 23-year-old, I took something away from it that I wish I had been able to absorb as a teenager. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is utterly affirming in its love for its characters and their messy identities.

Overall, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is delightfully funny and heart-achingly honest, with a mystery element, the most wonderfully complex and messy characters, and queer exploration of all varieties.

“There was this one weekend, a million summers ago, when I sat on the shore drinking a frozen limeade, and I realized the only thing I wanted to look at was the way the sun hit the girls swimming in the lake.
The problem has always been this: When I look at you, I taste lime, and I see light on water.”

When I first found out the newest Casey McQuiston book was going to be YA, I was selfishly a bit disappointed. I love their adult books with my whole heart and just wanted more of the same. Having read this now though, I shouldn’t have worried even for a moment. This book is perfect and I’m so glad it exists for everyone, but especially for young, queer people.

McQuiston continues to write my favorite, funniest, most observant books and I cannot get enough. My queer heart is full to bursting with this one and I cannot wait for whatever comes next.

Every Casey McQuiston book I've ever read had made me feel so inexplicably... safe. And so at home.

I'm glad they're branching out to YA books as well. McQuiston's work is dear and special and so important to young adults finding their way, looking for safe spaces and stories they can live in for a little while, but I think it's also deeply important to extend that haven to younger queer kids as well. This book was so much fun. It made me laugh out loud every chapter. The cast was so full and alive and beautiful. McQuiston has really mastered the art of giving a reader exactly what they want, not quite in the way they expected, but exactly the way they wanted it without even realizing it. You never feel afraid, reading these stories. You can trust McQuiston to give you what you need and that you'll love every moment of it.

I think that's an art that is ridiculously impossible to master. How do you keep me smiling through the whole story? How do you keep me laughing? How do you keep me sighing in satisfaction with every plot twist and reveal? How do you keep me muttering, "Oh my God, this is absolutely ridiculous," without making me set the book aside for being TOO ridiculous?

There needs to be room for this kind of over-the-top fun, for this love letter to queer kids everywhere, this big, wet, sloppy kiss to each and every reader. It's important BECAUSE it's so fun and ridiculous. Queer kids don't have enough of that.

Keep 'em coming, McQusiston. You're doing important work here. I'll do my job as a librarian to help your work on the last leg of its journey, directly into the hands of the kids who need it. Who need somewhere to feel safe, to feel seen. To laugh and grin like idiots. Thank you.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is Casey Mcquiston's YA debut.
Chloe is a senior in high school who is trying to desperately win valedictorian and beat Shara Wheeler. Then Shara kisses Chloe out of nowhere and disappears. While trying to figure out the truth she bands together with Smith and Rory who were also kissed by Shara before she vanished.
This was really interesting and fun. The characters were well-written and the plot definitely kept me guessing what would happen next.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler was everything I love and more in YA. This story hinges on the power of teen organizing, highlighting the ways that youth can and do change the world. I loved this fun mystery and romance combo that confronts queerphobia in the south and the ways that queer folks can also internalize heteronormativity.

It took me forever to finish this book (not because I didn't like it but I've been so busy) but I'm finally finished! This was sooo sweet. I think I prefer her new adult books so far to this young adult one, but I loved that this was kind of part-romance and part-mystery. I wasn't expecting that! It was interesting. I also feel like I've never read a young adult book anything like this before, so that's a plus too! I will definitely recommend this to students.

I haven't read RWARB yet (my TBR is very long), but I've heard nothing but great things about Casey McQuiston's writing so I was really excited for this book. I really enjoyed the character development and the detailed settings. It felt like you back in high school with the characters. The mystery intertwined with Chloe, Smith, and Rory's growth, love, hate, loss and strength, made me really enjoy this book. I wasn't a huge fan of Shara's, but her growth at the end of the book revealed the motivations of why she did things. I will say I enjoyed the first 60-65% more so than the later third, but I wanted to see what played out with the characters.

I'll say it - Casey McQuiston can do no wrong. They're always an author whose books I will pick without having to know anything about the book and that's exactly what I did with I Kissed Shara Wheeler.

When Shara Wheeler kisses Chloe Green at prom she's in utter shock. Not only was Shara the daughter of the principal of their ultra-conservative Christian high school, Chloe's only competition for valedictorian, but she was also the haver of flawless hair and neatly glossed lips - so when Shara kisses Chloe, she's not excited she's pissed at the audacity that Shara would go that far to get in here head (and of course she like the kiss).

I will say, Casey is one of the few people that I can stand to read in the third person, so having to get past was already a challenge. I did find myself more invested in Chloe's circle of friends than in Chloe and Shara as a 'couple' and I had a hard time reading some of the parts where the logic of both their choices seems so illogical so I didn't really find myself rooting for them in the end as much as I thought I would.

Overall, I still would recommend this book to anyone (after I make sure they've read RW&RB).

A solid YA romance that's self-referential to the genre and fun. LGBT characters abound, all in a positive light. Reminds me a little of Meg Cabot YA, in tone and overall upbeat tone. Recommended for collections serving teen and new adults.

I was thinking, “this sure is a lot like Paper Towns by John Green” and was very dubious about a copycat story. But then it was self-aware, and my love for it catapulted through the window to be amongst the stars.

Shara Wheeler is Casey McQuinston's finest of them all... and needs a television series as soon as possible!

Shara Wheeler is the popular chick in high school: everyone flocked to her, everyone wanted to be her, everyone adored her. So what happens when popular girl disappears and leaves "riddled" notes to three friends? Madness and revelations. Chloe, Rory and Smith are in a race against time to find out where Shara disappeared. But will she even want to be discovered?

As with ever other McQuinston book, one can seriously that she put her heart and soul into it. Filled with teenage jabs, will they or won't they ideas and envelopes with hiddenmessages, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a YA delight.

The perfect book to start my month of LGBT Pride reading. I had been saving this one for the right time and oh man it was definitely the right time! When queer Chloe Green moved from California with her moms to False Beach Alabama her world is turned upside down. The fun California times where she felt so comfortable in her own skin is gone. She has to attend a very christian school and there are rules upon rules to follow. Shara Wheeler is the town's coveted perfect girl. She believes in God, has perfect hair, and a perfect GPA to match. Chloe has spent the entire time she has lived in False Beach hating Shara Wheeler. She's obsessed then comes the kiss that changes everything. This was a super fun read and I suggest it to anyone needing a quick fun book. Thank you NetGalley and St Martin's Press for the advance copy.

This is a story about a girl gone away… or is she?

I loved everyone in this book almost immediately- except Shara. This book really spoke to me- the exploration of what identity means & the ways in which our own assumptions about ourselves can reinforce it- were beautifully done. This book had so many beautiful scenes, and the section about being a theater kid in particular stood out.. Over a decade later, I can still perfectly remember the beautiful, glittering chaos of being back stage on opening night. I also loved the John Green & Bleachers references- this book was delightful. @casey.mcquiston just doesn’t miss!

But I still don’t like Shara 🤣.

Thank you netgalley, Libro fm, Wednesday books & Macmillan audio for the e & audio arcs! I loved this book in all the formats.

Casey McQuiston writes a great LGBTQ+ romance novel! This one has some mystery and high school drama in the mix. Fun read!

<i>"She takes one last look out at the crowd, and she thinks that this can be what it means -- even only in part -- to be from Alabama.
It's her mom welcoming every one of her friends into their house without hesitation, Georgia hiking out to the cliffs to read a book from Belltower, Smith with flowers in his hair and Rory yanking down street signs, the stars above the lake and midnight drives, hand-painted signs and improvised spaces in parking lots. All the things that people can make False Beach into.
None of the people she loves in this town are separate from it."</i>
<i>Disclaimer: Added bonus quotes at the end of the review because I can't pick just one. My whole review would just be quotes I saved from the book.</i>

TL;DR: A love-letter to all your favorite 80s / 90s/ early 00s teen rom-coms, but make it queer.
Basically every YA and Rom-Com trope, but delivered in Casey McQuiston's zippy, zingy, pop-culture-laden-but-not-in-a-dated-way witty style, with a cast of characters that are ALL fully realized and individuated that you can't help but root for.
<b><i>I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.</b></i>

Vibes: A queer version of <i>The Breakfast Club</i> + the homoerotic subtext of Rory Gilmore & Paris Gellar's quest to be valedictorian of Chilton + a spoonful of the sugar that is <i>Mean Girls</i> that results in a reverse <i>10 Things I Hate About You</i> + Elle Wood's Valedictorian of Harvard speech from <i>Legally Blonde</i>

Genre: True YA, but honestly, if you love Casey McQuiston's other books, the line between YA and NA isn't even going to matter at all.
There's also a healthy dose of nostalgia if (a) you're a Xennial who grew up on those teen rom-coms; (b) you attended high school in the US, especially the South* 0r (c) you too were involved in a fiercely competitive battle for valedictorian which is why you gravitated toward Rory Gilmore in the first place.
*I didn't go to high school in the DEEP South -- the way Chloe goes to high school in Alabama -- but it was Southern enough for me, like Chloe, to see and judge religion by the <i>"judgmental, sanctimonious hypocrites hiding hate behind Bible verses"</i> I went to school with. And, also like Chloe, if I had seen a different side of it, I'd feel different too.

Romance Meter: 💗 💚 💗 💚 💗
It's all romance, and IDGAF. It was happy and queer and so joyful that I didn't even mind the love quadrilateral.

Character MVP: Smith Parker, the quarterback with the sunshine smile and <i>"victim of a tragic first-name last name, last-name first-name situation," who loves to wear flowers in his hair and gold glittery eyeliner and lavender lipstick. I LOVE HIM.
I love all of them.

Verdict: I saved this book to read for Pride Month (sorry, Netgalley) and it was 100% worth the wait.
Casey McQuiston is, and forever will be, an auto-buy author for me -- and the author I'd most like to know in real-life and be able to say, "I'm friends with <i>them</i>."

Her writing is just...perfection.
The way she crafts a story...
The way she captures detail, noting the little things like candy Shara has stashed on her boat...
The way she makes each and every secondary character stand out in a Dickensian way that you know who they are and remember their quirks...
The way she never fails to make me ugly-cry at the end of her books, in the best way, because I *feel* *all the things,* fully immersed in her narrative because she's tapped into real, raw emotions...

...it's magic.

Even though this is technically a YA book, it doesn't feel like a cookie-cutter YA book.
Yes, there's teenage protagonists.
Yes, those protagonists act like teenagers, doing impulsive teenager shit. (Although they're definitely, like, CW Teenagers in that they're more mature and articulate than your average high-schooler -- like they all have the souls of the mid-twenty-something actors who are playing them).
And, yes, the book is about distinctly teenage things -- self discovery & coming-of-age before graduation.

But it doesn't *feel* like the type of YA that people often snub their noses at. It feels timeless, the way <i>The Breakfast Club</i> is timeless -- the way that Elle Woods' Harvard Graduation speech is timeless -- the way that Kat's "I hate the way you..." speech to Patrick is timeless -- the way that Regina George throwing photocopied pages from The Burn Book as she slo-m0 walks down the hall in a fit of Machiavellian vindictive fury is timeless.

Read this book, then if you haven't, go and read [book:One Last Stop|54860443] and [book:Red, White & Royal Blue|41150487]. I don't think you'll regret it.

Favorite Pieces of Prose (excluding all the witty one-liners that literally made me giggle-snort aloud while reading):

<i>"It's not much -- Chloe knows this. It's just car windows rolled down, the blue-and-white glow of a Walmart in the distance, the smell of wet pavement under the tires, the hum of neon from a Dairy Queen, the same radio station as always blasting a rotation of the same fifteen songs. But she thinks she's starting to understand what it means to be from here, because she could swear the bright red burn of artificial cherry is the best thing she's ever tasted.
She leans out into the wind and tips her head back opening her eyes to the stars, and thinks maybe everything in the world really can fit inside the False Beach city limits."</i>

<i>"Chloe Green was born in California. Her mom's egg, her mama's body. California soil. She grew up in a house full of Obama coffee mugs and Tibetan singing bowls and unofficial aunts who played cello in their living room after dinner parties. Before they moved here, she never felt anything about Alabama, and she certainly never imagined it could make her feel anything about herself.
But Alabama is in her, no matter how much she pretends it's not." </i>

<i>"She told herself it didn't get to her. She knew who she was. Her moms love her, her friends love her, she *knows* who she *is,* and she's never bought into the bullshit notion that people like her are made wrong, not for a second. It's an unpleasant sting when a teacher tells her to stop trying to use Bible verses to prove that the love between her moms can't be wrong because it says right there that God is love and all love is of God, but -- no. No, as long as she can go home at the end of the day and see the two women who raised her sitting on either side of the kitchen table, she knows it's not true.
But that's not accounting for the time in between.</i>

<i>"Willowgrove is the first time she's been around Christianity, and so to her, that's what faith is: judgmental, sanctimonious hypocrites hiding hate behind Bible verses, twenty-four karat crucifix necklaces, and charismatic white pastors with all the horrible secrets that money can protect.
She's never been to a church cookout or met a practicing Christian who was also gay. She's never even stepped inside a church where she felt safe. Maybe if she had -- maybe if her mom hadnt' been burned so bad that she never brought Chloe near Jesus until she absolutely had to -- she'd feel different. At this point, she doesn't know if she ever will.
But she also knows that Alabama is more than Willowgrove. And if that's true, maybe faith can mean more than Willowgrove too."

"Shame is a way of life here. It's stocked in the vending machines, stuck like gum under the desks, spoken in the morning devotionals. She knows now that there's a bit of it in her. It was an easy choice not to go back in the closet when she got here, but if she'd grown up here, she might never have come out at all. She might be a completely different person. There's so much to it here, so much that nobody tells anyone about.
So, if she's the only one in the class of '22 who's really *out* for now, if her existence can provide cover for half her graduating class to stand up for something without saying things about themselves they can't yet say, that's enough. That's plenty."

Casey McQuiston is my favorite author so I had very high expectations for this book, yet somehow it exceeded my expectations?!!? I loved this book and I love Chloe, Rory (where do I send the adoption papers?), Smith and even Shara. I loved how packed full this book is with queer characters! And I love that the main characters are sometimes assholes (insult any one of them and I will take it personally), it made them seem more real and relatable and made me love them even more. I hope that many queer people are able to find themselves in this book like I did, with every Casey McQuiston book I read I learn more about myself

Chloe Green's sights are set on valedictorian. Her one obstacle: Shara Wheeler, daughter of her uber-religious high school's principal and the girl everyone in school idolizes. Then, a month before graduation, Shara unexpectedly kisses Chloe in an elevator and vanishes. Chloe goes on a search for answers, learning that she's not the only one Chloe kissed. Obviously there's her boyfriend, Smith, the high school quarterback, and then her neighbor, Rory, who has been crushing on Shara for years. The three learn Shara's left behind a bunch of clues via letters, forcing the unlikely trio to work together to track down Shara and perhaps learn more about themselves and each other in the process.

I wasn't quite sure how I felt about this one while reading it. Every McQuiston book is a special occasion and rare treat, but SHARA started off very slowly for me. It was hard to get lost in the story--mostly because I really didn't care much for Shara or Chloe at the beginning. Shara was missing, but honestly, she seemed like a jerk and I felt like telling Chloe, "good riddance." But even Chloe didn't always seem to show her best side, coming off a bit self-centered as she ditched her loyal friends in the quest to hunt down Shara... why?

But, this YA romance picks up as you read on, with a big thanks to its wonderfully diverse supporting cast. Smith and Rory truly made this book for me, which took me by surprise. They were unique and funny, but often tender and sweet characters, and I fell for them more quickly than the ladies! The theme of friendship runs stronger in SHARA than romance, which I really liked. It also tackles being queer in a religious atmosphere (Chloe attends a Christian high school) head on and with total passion, and you'll find yourself cheering in places. This is a wonderful book for queer kids looking for their place in the world and attempting to work out their identity.

Overall, this isn't my favorite McQuiston, but I enjoyed seeing her take on the YA world. It's powerful in places and sweet in others. 4 stars.

This was such a cute, funny, messy, campy, heart-squeezing, earnest, magical book. It’s a teen rom-com wrapped in a mystery and a love letter to found family and all the weird and wonderful things that encompass being a teenager, growing up, and learning who you are.

It captures that nostalgic school’s out feeling so well and while it at times felt like Paper Towns meets John Tucker Must Die, it’s a story wholly its own and the more I read it, the more I loved it.