Summary (from the publisher):Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.
But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.
Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.
My Rating: 5/5 Stars
My Thoughts:
Like the rest of the universe, although I LOVED Casey McQuiston’s Red, White, & Royal Blue, I wasn’t a big fan of One Last Stop. That being said, while I went into her first YA novel, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, with some hesitancy, I am SO glad I read this book because I loved it SO Much.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler reminded me of why I love YA. The book felt like such a nod to some classic novels (I think there is a part dig part acknowledgment to John Green’s work, oops), but while still being fresh & current to YA today. The book follows Chloe Green, who is competing for valedictorian with golden girl, Shara Wheeler, at their private Christian high school. Chloe has always been one of the odd ones out at her high school, between rebelling against the school’s dress code & ideas, for having two moms, and being bisexual. And once again, Shara Wheeler threatens to steal the spotlight from Chloe when she disappears after prom night. Shara left pink envelopes hidden around the school and town for Chloe, Smith, Shara’s quarterback boyfriend, and Rory, the boy next-door, forcing the three to team up and figure out where Shara went.
I Kissed Shara Wheeler was such a fun contemporary with its mystery element. It was almost a light & fluffy,rom-com YA version of Gone Girl (which again, Casey McQuiston hints at in the book itself), as Chloe is on a quest to figure out where Shara went while dealing with those end-of-high school feels and saying goodbye to her friends at they all separate for college.I didn’t realize the mystery would also involve Shara’s boyfriend, Smith, and his ex-best friend, Rory, and I loved exploring their relationship and focus on their personal struggles too. While exploring themes around identity, coming-of-age, and even religion (the small town, Christian Alabama setting added so much more to the novel), this book was so fun with such witty dialogue and is sure to leave a smile on your face at the end.
Overall, I loved I Kissed Shara Wheeler and look forward to what Casey McQuiston might have in store for YA next!
Have you read I Kissed Shara Wheeler? What are your thoughts? What is your favorite Casey McQuiston book? Share in the comments!
Fangirl Fury 
We’re so excited to read this book and we’re glad to see you rated it five stars!
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[…] I Kissed Shara Wheeler Review […]
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I AGREE WITH BASICALLY EVERYTHING YOU SAID! 😭 IKSW was one of my best reads of the year, and you perfectly summed up what I thought of it (great minds think alike hehe). I loved the characters so so much, and despite the plot being pretty wacky, I thought it was such a fun read. I’m so glad you enjoyed it, I think it’s such a shame that not many people have heard of it. I talked about how influential I think it will be to queer teens and why IKSW deserved so much more hype in my review here: https://hundredsandthousandsofbooks.blog/2022/07/19/make-some-noise-for-i-kissed-shara-wheeler/
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thanks for reading, hope so many more readers pick it up!
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