This book was perfection. I have zero critiques. The writing was funny, engaging, and real. The narrator killed it with all of the different voices. Stunning performance.

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC
Paper Towns meets The Prom, chock full of fun references I think the YA crowd is going to love. As a queer teen who grew up in Christian schools, this book hits too close to home. The dress code, the rules for teachers and students, the need for students to be “capital S Saved.” It hits the Christian school experience right on the nose. It makes me so happy authors like Casey McQuiston writing books like this for our queer youth. There were not many books that I read that had queer characters when I was younger and this book is full of representation. The storyline is fun and engaging. While I still haven’t decided if I like our main characters or not, I was incredibly invested in the mystery of Shara’s disappearance. I think our characters are complex enough that I don’t think they were supposed to be outright likable. We see a lot of their flaws as they navigate their situation and I think it is incredibly effective writing. As Chloe and Shara came up onto graduation, it made me feel as if I was reliving my senior year, which just filled me with joy. It takes me back to all the YA coming of age stories I read as a teenager, but I finally get to see myself in the characters. The message of accepting yourself for who you are is powerful and important. I wasn’t expecting much from this as I wasn’t a fan of One Last Stop, but I come out of this book a McQuiston “stan.” I just know this book is going to be so important to so many queer teens.

Chloe Green is a shoo-in for valedictorian, but before she can claim the title, her rival Shara Wheeler kisses her and then vanishes. Shocked, Chloe soon finds out that before disappearing Shara also kissed her boyfriend Smith and her neighbor Rory, leaving all three of them with mysterious notes. Though the three of them are the last people to ever be seen together, they are thrown into trying to unravel the mystery Shara left for them.

I loved loved loved this book. Though annoying at times (but I think that was the point), Chloe was an amazingly well-crafted character, and I really enjoyed her interactions with Smith and Rory, especially their hijinks. And the title character, once she graces the page, totally wow'd me. The chemistry between Chloe and Shara was electric, burning off the page. I was fully invested in solving the mystery alongside Chloe, Smith, and Rory.

It's worth mentioning that this is my first Casey McQuiston book, but it definitely won't be my last.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ALC. Natalie Naudus was a great narrator and I loved the voices she chose for the characters. They were a perfect fit. I definitely recommend this audiobook.

So this is my first book by Casey (yes I know), so I was really nervous that I would be really excited and then the work not meet expectation.

I was BLOWN AWAY! I’ve always loved a good mystery and I loved the character growth that came from this one. This book had the mystery, it had the drama, it had the representation, and it even had pre-read content warnings. That last one was also everything.

I had no clue that this book would be set in Alabama. That was a pleasant surprise. What was more exciting is the fact that this fictional town is actually only set about an hour from my hometown. It was exciting to have a story with parts of my home represented.

I also connected with the main characters experiences. A lot of these small towns in the south are very spot on to the description laid out by the author.

Last note to add is if you have the chance, the audio book is exceptional. I was given access to an arc by audio, and the narrator was spectacular. They didn’t just read the lines of the book, they absolutely performed the pages. At one point our main character cries and the narrator is so spot on that I could feel the pain in the words.

Absolute recommend!

This read was very high school. A true young adult read. It has a lot of drama, mystery, lgbtq rep, and the ending is wholesome. I loved the side characters more than the main characters. McQuiston writes such amazing side characters. The narrator did a great job and kept me entertained throughout the read. Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this read in exchange for a review.

Casey McQuistion is an automatic must-read for me since I loved Red White & Royal Blue and One Last Stop and I Kissed Shara Wheeler did not disappoint! I love the premise of Shara Wheeler disappearing, but not before kissing three different people: her boyfriend Smith, the boy next door Rory, and her academic rival Chloe. This leads the unlikely trio to hunt for the pink envelopes Shara hid around town that offer riddles and clues as to why she left and where she is now. it's a fantastic coming of age story that features multiple LGBTQIA+ characters growing up in small-town Alabama and attending a private Christian school. The narrator is fantastic and really brought the audiobook to life and made listening such a joy.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an audio copy to listen to in exchange for an honest review.

Ack I love Casey McQuiston so much! She writes so well and her characters come alive on the page- flaws and everything. I don't often enjoy high school romance type books because honestly, it's pretty cringy. Thankfully this book only had a little cringe scenes between best friends.

If you're looking for a great book with diverse representation look no further!

This book made me laugh out loud but also tugged at my heart strings. I loved the character development as they discovered who they are. Watching these characters find their way through love and their emotions was very realistic. I absolutely adored how obsessed Shara was with Chloe. I also adored Smith and his perfect little flowers. His interactions with Rory were so wonderful. Their relationship was really complicated, and I enjoyed the slow progression of them finding their way back together. Overall I enjoyed this book and would read others by this author.

I’m not posting a summary for this because I need all the space I can to gush about THIS BOOK!!!
Ok, so. Casey McQuiston is my favorite author, in no uncertain terms. This person could write a grocery list and I’d be hooked. In IKSW, McQuiston hits her stride. It’s no egret Red, White, and Royal Blue is my favorite book ever written, and she’s taken her trademark wit and humor writing style and applied it in this fantastically queer YA story. Chloe is a phenomenal narrator to this, and we learn so much through the lens’s of her perspective of the little Alabama town she’s found herself in. To be fair, there is not one single character in this book that isn’t meticulously written and well thought out. Each one has a moment to shine. I’m overly fond of the characters of Smith and Rory and their journey back to each other throughout this book. Like, actual tears in my eyes at the gym listening to Smith and his steps forward on his journey of self discovery. Then the actual character of Shara is one of the most intriguing characters I’ve read in a long time. Home girl just said NOPE and dipped out, leaving a trail of pink envelopes in her wake ti cause all sorts of mayhem. It’s the kind of chaotic energy I support in a character, and she’s not even the main character in her own story. This is one of the most funny and witty and thought provoking books I’ve read. Does it match the magic of Red, White, and Royal Blue? For me, no. But that’s only because that book has the most special place in my heart. IKSW Is going to be a book I come back to many many times just like RWRB and I’ll be the first in line for whatever story McQuiston gives us next.

I really enjoyed Casey McQuiston's other books so I was super excited for their debut YA book, so of course I had to read this one as soon as possible. One of my favourite things about their writing is the inclusivity and diverse characters which I feel is even more important to represent in a book targeted to young people who are also figuring out their identities.

I definitely noted the similarities to certain John Green novels and thought it was funny the author even made a comment about it in the book. I love a good scavenger hunt so I really enjoyed the parts of the book where they were hunting the clues and figuring out what letters from Shara meant.

I found that once they figured out where the letters were sending them I thought the story would be almost finished, but it kept going. I was kind of getting bored and the story slowed down for me after that point.

I did find that most of the 'reveals' were predictable and I wasn't surprised by the ending of the book. Overall it was a good story, but definitely not my favourite from this author. I still think a lot of people will enjoy it though.

I kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

Chloe Green is a young queer teen who finds herself going from California to a small town in Alabama. This has to be a culture shock for Chloe with this move. She attends Willowgrove Christian Academy were she is striving to become valedictorian. Her arc nemesis is Shara Wheeler the school's principal daughter. Shara Wheeler one day kisses Chloe and everything changes because after that time Shara goes missing.

This is a young romance with a twist of mystery while people search for where Shara Wheeler disappeared off too. It was funny at times I caught myself laughing and at times the story felt heavy with teens dealing with who they are and not fitting in the way they want to in the mist of the Bible belt which adds its own dynamic for young teens coming out. Chloe, Smith and Rory work together in trying to figure out where Shara Wheeler disappeared too. The clues keep coming and the trio keeps searching.

It was a coming of age story of two young ladies discovering who they are and embracing there LGBTQIA selves. It was about discovery and identity. Which is hard to deal with at this age. There where extra twists that was going on at the school that added to the story and enhanced it further.

I would recommend this Young Adult book it was witty and fun even though it was a competitive between two academic rivalries. It was not overtly to complex but enough to keep you turning the pages.

I know this story was drawn out into a neat little package but for teens that are raised in the southern bible belt usually do not have happy endings for some suicide or being kicked out of there homes for being who they are. This is the reality even though we want things to be all sweet and heartwarming in reality it does not work out that way for many.

Natalie Naudus narrated the story and did a great job. The antics going on she did that just right and had me laughing at times throughout the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and MacMillan audio for a free audio version of the book for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy of I KISSED SHARA WHEELER by Casey McQuiston. I loved McQuiston's last two books, so I was excited to read her next thing. I was a little surprised it was YA, but I got hooked right away with the fun scavenger hunt plot set by the perfect prom queen. I will admit there was a moment there, a long moment, where I was wondering how this was going to end up being a romance—the quadrangle thing with everyone being in the closet threw me off—but I got there eventually. Overall, it was just a fun, sincere, insightful book with McQuiston's fabulous writing and I enjoyed myself.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a wild ride, with twists a plenty! This narrator was fantastic! She did different voices for every single character, she read at a great pace, and she kept the story vivid. I Loved her reading style!

I don't know exactly why I didn't like this. I also do.

This kind of feels like Gone Girl meets, uh, Thirteen Reasons Why, but in a cute(ish) romance I guess? I'm not the biggest fan of a missing person trope and that immediately turned me off. I didn't think I'd have such a reaction to it, but here we are.

I also felt like this book had multiple plots. Like, a thing started, it ended, but it just kept... continuing. One major thing happened and I was like "oh hey nice it's almost over" only to open the audiobook and notice that, no, I'm only 46% in. A plot that kept on giving when I didn't want to continue.

Maybe Casey McQuiston's next one will be a fit for me, but so far, each book I've read by this author has gotten one star less than the last.

I LOVED THIS!! I have never read Casey McQuiston before but obviously she’s been huge on my radar. I read this in one sitting and stayed up until 2am because I had to know how everything played out and was just having so much fun.

I think my absolute favorite part of this was the side characters? I just loved their personalities and dynamics so much and the humor was just so so great. It’s awesome to see people that really act and feel like high schoolers today. And the setting of a religious high school and a conservative town just hit so close to home and felt so well portrayed.

I feel so attached to the side characters which is probably interesting because I definitely liked the main character Chloe a lot less? I really appreciate that she was a strong character with established traits and an arc but she did rub me the wrong way. I’m not sure if it was the narrator as some of her voices were more grating than others, but she did have a lot to portray and for the most part were really amazing! If anything they nailed the comedic timing and the dynamics.

Also the dynamic between Chloe and Shara! At the beginning I was getting tired of how unrealistic Shara’s extremely perfect, queen bee reputation was but as you delve deeper into the book it gives a lot more foundation and development to her character which flesh things out.

The plot of this was really fun and the sort of Gossip Girl-like messages and clues bringing three very different high schoolers together was really fun. However when it shifts from that to other parts of the plot it can get uneven to me? There are like 3 different parts of this book that felt like whole different vibes, which made for a more multidimensional book but can make the tone shift a lot.

Overall I had a blast with this and literally cannot wait to consume more of Casey’s work!! Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I kissed Shara Wheeler starts out the day after the titular event. Chloe Green has no idea why Shara would kiss her of all people then disappear. Chloe and Shara have been competing for class rank since Chloe moved to town as a freshman. As Chloe tries to find the missing Shara she finds others in the same predicament so she teams up with Smith and Rory so they can find Shara and make her explain why she kissed them.
I picked this up because it was written by Casey McQuiston and have to say I wasn’t disappointed. I am generally not a huge YA fan and audio books aren’t my preferred reading method but I was impatient and wanted to see what McQuiston’s first foray into YA looked like. The plot was definitely interesting and kept me listening attentively for hours. The book is written in first person from Chloe’s POV and we get to hear all about her wild thoughts as she runs through the Shara Wheeler scavenger hunt. There’s also a lot of flashing back to specific memories along the way that really help paint the picture of the relationships at this school, Chloe and Shara’s in particular. The nuances of teen relationships and lessons learned as they become young adults are highlighted in a way that is comical yet very real. Chloe learns more about herself and how to see others as whole people rather than just good and bad and we get to go along for the ride. Overall fun read that brought me back to my high school days, both good and bad.

One of the cutest YA rom-coms I’ve listened to lately. This is my first book by Casey and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Believable characters and so good! Definitely recommend the audio version. Great narrator. Perfect book for summer to escape into.

Watch my Amazon Live meet the author show reviews: www.Mylevel10life.live

If you’re looking for a fun and captivating YA novel this is for you!! I loved listening to this audiobook. I was hooked from the start and really enjoyed my listening experience.

The narrator was great, the characters were so fun, there was mystery and a whole lot of queer love!! Casey McQuiston always manages to create loveable characters and the crew in this book is no exception. Chloe Green was a great MC. While not always likeable she was extremely relatable. I loved Rory and Smith so so much as well. The Moms were *chefs kiss.* Such a good cast of characters!! They were authentic and complex and just wonderful to read about.

I found this book dragged a tiny bit in the middle but overall I think the pacing was good. I wanted a little bit more of Chloe and Shara together but I did enjoy the arc of their relationship. The plot seemed less enticing to me simply because the characters interacting and the development of the friendships/relationships were so good. While I liked the premise and the synopsis is super intriguing, I didn’t find that was what pulled me into this book. I think the fact that McQuiston created these amazing characters is what kept me hooked.

Overall, this book was a really fun time and I think fans of McQuiston’s other books/fans of YA contemporaries will be happy with this novel!

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review.

I love Casey McQuiston, but this might be my least favorite book from her yet. It was good, but the romance felt a little toxic and hard to root for. I just couldn't actually buy into the fact that either of the love interests actually liked each other, let alone were supposed to be staring in some grand queer romantic comedy.

This was a unique genre for me and I found that by halfway through I really liked the characters. This felt like teen angst, mystery, drama, love story, and coming of age all rolled into one. The narrator did a great job with the voices and accents.