Reviews

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

kingstonthedogwoof's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

selincck's review against another edition

3.5

🇩🇪Dieses Buch ist ein unterhaltsames Jugendbuch mit viel LGBTQIA+-Darstellung, wenn du eine schnelle, unterhaltsame Lektüre suchst. Obwohl ich das Buch gerne gelesen habe, konnte ich wirklich keine Begründung für den Verlauf der Handlung finden. Shara Wheeler wirkte so narzisstisch und da sich die ganze Handlung um sie dreht, konnte ich die Handlung nicht besonders mögen.
Trotzdem hat mir die Beziehungsentwicklung der Nebenfiguren sehr gut gefallen, ebenso wie zu sehen, wie sie erkennen, wer sie wirklich sind und dass sie sich mögen. Mir selbst hat dieses Buch nur wegen seiner Nebenfiguren gefallen, da die Hauptfiguren sehr unreif und dumm wirken.

🇬🇧 

This book is a fun YA book with a lot of lgbtqia+ representation, if you want a quick fun read. Even though I did enjoy reading the book, I really couldn’t find any reasoning for the happening of the plot. Shara Wheeler felt so narcissistic and since the whole plot revolved around her, I couldn’t like the plot very much. 

Still I very much liked the side characters’ relationship development as well as seeing them realise who they really are and that they like each other. I, myself, only liked this book because of it’s side characters since the main characters felt very much immature and stupid.

hiimizzy's review against another edition

Just got up to the part where she returned and nahh it could easily be cut at the part where she was found Idk it's just not for me it feels like a waste of time I might come back to it someday

zvzannaj's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

Before I begin, Gemma pls do not judge: 

Okay, now I’m quite certain it’s definitely Casey’s writing style that I just don’t enjoy at my current age, especially as this is her second book I’ve read. I think her books would’ve been so good for me when I was 15-18 and needed to read about people my age who were queer and stuck up for what they believed in etc etc. It was definitely an interesting read, and I know I’m not the target audience for this so I feel bad for rating it so harshly. 

The concept was good but I think there were just so many things missing from the storyline. I enjoy mystery books written about school students (eg AGGGTM) but I felt like Casey was trying to tell us about too many characters at once and it just muddled everything and the reason behind Shara disappearing just wasn’t even that interesting. The ending was very cute, and it reminded me a lot of Heartstopper. I think if this is to ever turn into a TV show I would very much enjoy. 

((Also, I felt like the random extracts of people writing in their notebooks and letters etc. were SO RANDOM and barely added anything to the story so I was so bummed about that as well))

sofstriestoread's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

b00kh0arder's review against another edition

5.0

The title makes me hear Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl", and the cover - for some reason - makes me think of "Heathers" (and I don't know why, as there's no body count in this book, it's just the weird way my brain makes aesthetic connections, so I was glad to hear the author herself mention it as an inspiration (of many) in an interview). "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" is a brilliantly written LGBTQ teen romcom/mystery, with well-rounded, interesting characters and a sensitive - nuanced - look at LGBTQ culture within conservative, religious communities (at least, it read that way to me but I am admittedly not from the Bible Belt). Funny, sweet and sharp.

schwonja's review against another edition

funny lighthearted

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

belanaborealis's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

so first of all this is definitely faberry fanfic but second of all i really enjoyed it! especially the side characters. smith owns my heart

thebadjiasmin's review against another edition

3.0

non mi stava piacendo ma poi verso la fine mi ha preso tantissimo

christinereads1823's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Excellently done as always. McQuiston's writing is full of queer love, self-discovery and expression, and finding ways to overcome obstacles together. This book combines those themes with an explicitly called out reference to Paper Towns and other teen romance, creating something magical in the way that only they can.