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kayladaila's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia and Biphobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Bullying
Minor: Dysphoria
snowydaze's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I received an audiobook copy of I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Overall, I enjoyed listening to this book, the characters were fleshed out and the plot was interesting enough. However, there were a few points where the plot seemed to drag on a bit, which made it a bit difficult to get into the book. But once past these points near the middle, the story picked up pace and kept my attention. Therefore, I do recommend this audiobook as it deals with being queer in Alabama and the ways in which faith and queerness can interact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Alcohol
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Please respect my privacy for the next however many months I have to wait until the next CM book comes out. I am having PMD - Post McQuiston Depression.
I loved this book so much.
I don't want to summarize it here because honestly it's 1am right now and I'm tired. All I want is to talk about why I loved this, and if you happen to be interested in a synopsis, go read one. 😂
The first thing that absolutely gripped me was that the main character is a weird queer girl who is obsessed with The Phantom of The Opera. At which point, I had to wonder if Chloe Green is actually just....ME. The cast of characters were funny and smartly written and most importantly they were diverse while also often getting their own moments to shine in ways that did not directly affect our main character. That, to me, is lovely. Actually, the entirety of this book was smartly written. It didn't make me cringe because "ew kids don't talk like this" because....kids absolutely do talk like that. I loved how realistically identity struggles were shown and seeing kids written with the courage to stand up against bigotry and learning to be themselves. I loved it. I loved the whole thing.
You can talk smack about Casey McQuiston all you want, but if I had this book when I was growing up queer, I would be a different person right now, and for the better. This kind of representation is life-saving.
I loved this book so much.
I don't want to summarize it here because honestly it's 1am right now and I'm tired. All I want is to talk about why I loved this, and if you happen to be interested in a synopsis, go read one. 😂
The first thing that absolutely gripped me was that the main character is a weird queer girl who is obsessed with The Phantom of The Opera. At which point, I had to wonder if Chloe Green is actually just....ME. The cast of characters were funny and smartly written and most importantly they were diverse while also often getting their own moments to shine in ways that did not directly affect our main character. That, to me, is lovely. Actually, the entirety of this book was smartly written. It didn't make me cringe because "ew kids don't talk like this" because....kids absolutely do talk like that. I loved how realistically identity struggles were shown and seeing kids written with the courage to stand up against bigotry and learning to be themselves. I loved it. I loved the whole thing.
You can talk smack about Casey McQuiston all you want, but if I had this book when I was growing up queer, I would be a different person right now, and for the better. This kind of representation is life-saving.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Transphobia, Alcohol, Outing, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Lesbophobia, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
estellejacksons's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Drug use
perpetualpages's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
CWs: some explorations of homophobia, racism, misogyny, religious bigotry, and religious trauma; some mentions of outing; and some instances of underage drinking
Once again, Casey McQuiston has utterly pulled me into a delightful, thought-provoking story with an incredibly memorable cast of characters and distinctive plot points that I won't soon forget.
To start, I have to say that I really respects McQuiston's artistic range as an author in their ability to craft stories that are all completely different from one another, not only in genre but in their message as well. Even though each of their books so far are all very distinctively queer romances, they run the gamut from royal romance to surrealism and now to YA contemporary with a mystery twist. I Kissed Shara Wheeler, in particular, sets out to really examine a specific setting, which is this deeply conservative religious southern town, and it's asking questions about how this place and atmosphere has very differently shaped each and every character in the story.
That, to me, is the endgame of this story: to show how none of these characters are unaffected by religious trauma, even if they are earnestly devout, simply because that perspective is so inherently pervasive in everything they do and everywhere they go. It’s not possible for them to be unaltered by that specific viewpoint or experience, for better or worse.
Because of that environment, I think the main character, Chloe, starts out feeling like she is very much the lone lesbian at school, that she is the only person who is woke to the ever-present tension between social issues and religious issues, and she feels like anyone who doesn’t respond or think the same way that she does is then part of the problem. But what the story is actually doing is painstakingly revealing, through this collective hunt for Shara Wheeler, that Chloe and her classmates are so much more alike that she initially thinks. They just have different ways of processing and responding to those same experiences.
For Chloe, the way she shows up in the world is to be aggressively out and proud, to be the token in-your-face lesbian, and she wants to live in a way that forces people to confront their discomfort on a daily basis. That outlook is totally valid for who she is and where she is in life, but the point of the story is that she has to realize that not everybody is going to land in the exact same place.
On the other hand, you have someone like Shara, who responds to her own intersection of queerness and religious trauma by deliberately making herself lovable and perfect—because she thinks if you can’t make people accept you, at least they can hold you in high enough esteem that rejection wouldn't be an option.
While on the topic of Shara, I think Casey McQuiston made a really hard job for themself in playing with that Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype, because Manic Pixie Dream Girls are often portrayed as being "unknowable" and emotionally distant, which would be hard to reconcile for a potential love interest as is the case in this story. But I think there’s really something to be said about how the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is often defined by and characterized by the male gaze, which is purposefully absent and uncentered in this book. Here, that gaze is feminized and queered, which makes the dynamic inherently different.
Casey also really plays with the queer power dynamic of the mysterious girl wanting to be chased by someone. What if the clues Shara left behind were actually love letters? What if it was actually incredibly gay that she has intentionally fabricated all of these opportunities for Chloe to actively think about her, and wonder what she’s doing and where she's gone? There’s an inherent queer yearning that’s constantly underlying every aspect of this mystery as it unfolds, and I think that’s what makes it really interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed this story! The mystery element is compelling, the twists are interesting, the characters are super memorable and fun, and like all of Casey’s other books it’s a story that you just don't want to stop reading. In the interest of full transparency, I will say that I didn't personally feel as attached to Chloe and Shara as a couple, especially compared to the other romances I've read from Casey, but that was definitely not a make-or-break aspect for me. I was still satisfied with the overall trajectory of the story arc and the pairing, so take that as you will.
With all that said, I found this to be an incredibly delightful, remarkable story that I will be thinking about for quite some time, and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you're a fan of queer contemporary coming-of-age stories!
Once again, Casey McQuiston has utterly pulled me into a delightful, thought-provoking story with an incredibly memorable cast of characters and distinctive plot points that I won't soon forget.
To start, I have to say that I really respects McQuiston's artistic range as an author in their ability to craft stories that are all completely different from one another, not only in genre but in their message as well. Even though each of their books so far are all very distinctively queer romances, they run the gamut from royal romance to surrealism and now to YA contemporary with a mystery twist. I Kissed Shara Wheeler, in particular, sets out to really examine a specific setting, which is this deeply conservative religious southern town, and it's asking questions about how this place and atmosphere has very differently shaped each and every character in the story.
That, to me, is the endgame of this story: to show how none of these characters are unaffected by religious trauma, even if they are earnestly devout, simply because that perspective is so inherently pervasive in everything they do and everywhere they go. It’s not possible for them to be unaltered by that specific viewpoint or experience, for better or worse.
Because of that environment, I think the main character, Chloe, starts out feeling like she is very much the lone lesbian at school, that she is the only person who is woke to the ever-present tension between social issues and religious issues, and she feels like anyone who doesn’t respond or think the same way that she does is then part of the problem. But what the story is actually doing is painstakingly revealing, through this collective hunt for Shara Wheeler, that Chloe and her classmates are so much more alike that she initially thinks. They just have different ways of processing and responding to those same experiences.
For Chloe, the way she shows up in the world is to be aggressively out and proud, to be the token in-your-face lesbian, and she wants to live in a way that forces people to confront their discomfort on a daily basis. That outlook is totally valid for who she is and where she is in life, but the point of the story is that she has to realize that not everybody is going to land in the exact same place.
On the other hand, you have someone like Shara, who responds to her own intersection of queerness and religious trauma by deliberately making herself lovable and perfect—because she thinks if you can’t make people accept you, at least they can hold you in high enough esteem that rejection wouldn't be an option.
While on the topic of Shara, I think Casey McQuiston made a really hard job for themself in playing with that Manic Pixie Dream Girl archetype, because Manic Pixie Dream Girls are often portrayed as being "unknowable" and emotionally distant, which would be hard to reconcile for a potential love interest as is the case in this story. But I think there’s really something to be said about how the trope of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl is often defined by and characterized by the male gaze, which is purposefully absent and uncentered in this book. Here, that gaze is feminized and queered, which makes the dynamic inherently different.
Casey also really plays with the queer power dynamic of the mysterious girl wanting to be chased by someone. What if the clues Shara left behind were actually love letters? What if it was actually incredibly gay that she has intentionally fabricated all of these opportunities for Chloe to actively think about her, and wonder what she’s doing and where she's gone? There’s an inherent queer yearning that’s constantly underlying every aspect of this mystery as it unfolds, and I think that’s what makes it really interesting.
Overall, I enjoyed this story! The mystery element is compelling, the twists are interesting, the characters are super memorable and fun, and like all of Casey’s other books it’s a story that you just don't want to stop reading. In the interest of full transparency, I will say that I didn't personally feel as attached to Chloe and Shara as a couple, especially compared to the other romances I've read from Casey, but that was definitely not a make-or-break aspect for me. I was still satisfied with the overall trajectory of the story arc and the pairing, so take that as you will.
With all that said, I found this to be an incredibly delightful, remarkable story that I will be thinking about for quite some time, and I would definitely recommend it, especially if you're a fan of queer contemporary coming-of-age stories!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Minor: Misogyny, Alcohol, Outing, and Racism
jennikreads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Minor: Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Alcohol
heytherekaity's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Gaslighting, and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity
caseythereader's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thanks to Wednesday Books for the free advance copy of this book.
- I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is part mystery, part queer awakening, part coming of age. It takes a little bit to get going, but once it does it doesn't stop. And I loved that it didn't end where I thought it would, and took the story beyond where most YA novels would wrap things up.
- McQuiston's true talent lies not in quippy banter, but in creating tight, loving queer found families. I adored the central group in this book and would happily read full novels about any of them.
- I think this book will be wonderful for kids growing up in places where they feel like they might never be able to be their full selves. It shows that it will never be easy, but that your people are often there with you if you know where to look.
- I KISSED SHARA WHEELER is part mystery, part queer awakening, part coming of age. It takes a little bit to get going, but once it does it doesn't stop. And I loved that it didn't end where I thought it would, and took the story beyond where most YA novels would wrap things up.
- McQuiston's true talent lies not in quippy banter, but in creating tight, loving queer found families. I adored the central group in this book and would happily read full novels about any of them.
- I think this book will be wonderful for kids growing up in places where they feel like they might never be able to be their full selves. It shows that it will never be easy, but that your people are often there with you if you know where to look.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Bullying, and Cursing
Minor: Alcohol, Sexual content, and Racism
imstephtacular's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Minor: Drug use, Racism, Alcohol, Classism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
bookstarbri's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I'll admit, I was nervous. Not because I don't trust Casey McQuiston to create a wonderful story with depth and amazing characters (they have proven by now that they are perfectly capable of doing this). But going from adult (even New Adult) to YA can be challenging for some authors. Some authors simply write younger characters and think that's all YA is when it's far deeper than that. YA is not a genre for every author to tackle.
That said, Casey McQuiston tackled it and did so beautifully. The story itself is so fun, the characters are BRILLIANT, the setting and the themes were all so important and handled very well. And with each book I read from Casey, I learn just how talented they are at creating characters that anyone can find themselves in somewhere. Chloe Green, for instance, is our disaster bi MC who is so funny and has so much heart. Smith Parker is this gloriously sweet and kind boy (who, frankly, I would die for) and then Rory is a disaster gay but a disaster gay who cares SOO much but everyone believes he doesn't. And then there is the other friend group with Georgia, Benjy, and Ash, who are such vital pieces to Chloe's story while also shining individually as well. Even Shara, who we don't meet right away, is a wonderfully complex character who I couldn't help but to love even through all of her...interesting techniques at capturing a certain someone's attention.
This story deals with small towns and living in the Bible Belt as a queer teen and friendship and identity and finding community. As someone who has dealt with religious trauma and intolerant communities within the church, I felt so seen in this book. One thing that kept me from giving it a full 5 stars was that I wished the story would've gone just a teeny bit deeper into the religious trauma/growing up in church aspect and how it related to Shara especially. Shara had clearly gone through a lot in this regard and this was discussed briefly but I think even just a few more pages highlighting how Shara has grown to have her own spiritual relationship separate from her parents would've been nice. And thinking about it more, I think we needed more Shara in general. The first half had very little of her and that made it challenging to care about her at first even with all the characters being connected because of her.
Anyway, I felt so much nostalgia reading this and wished so desperately that every queer kid living in these kinds of environments had/have queer friends who support each other like this. But Casey has kind of given us that in these characters. I can't rave about them enough. And the romance in this is fun as well, though I think the friendships took the spotlight completely.
Thank you to Casey McQuiston for writing this gem of a book. It's beautiful beyond measure. Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
That said, Casey McQuiston tackled it and did so beautifully. The story itself is so fun, the characters are BRILLIANT, the setting and the themes were all so important and handled very well. And with each book I read from Casey, I learn just how talented they are at creating characters that anyone can find themselves in somewhere. Chloe Green, for instance, is our disaster bi MC who is so funny and has so much heart. Smith Parker is this gloriously sweet and kind boy (who, frankly, I would die for) and then Rory is a disaster gay but a disaster gay who cares SOO much but everyone believes he doesn't. And then there is the other friend group with Georgia, Benjy, and Ash, who are such vital pieces to Chloe's story while also shining individually as well. Even Shara, who we don't meet right away, is a wonderfully complex character who I couldn't help but to love even through all of her...interesting techniques at capturing a certain someone's attention.
This story deals with small towns and living in the Bible Belt as a queer teen and friendship and identity and finding community. As someone who has dealt with religious trauma and intolerant communities within the church, I felt so seen in this book. One thing that kept me from giving it a full 5 stars was that I wished the story would've gone just a teeny bit deeper into the religious trauma/growing up in church aspect and how it related to Shara especially. Shara had clearly gone through a lot in this regard and this was discussed briefly but I think even just a few more pages highlighting how Shara has grown to have her own spiritual relationship separate from her parents would've been nice. And thinking about it more, I think we needed more Shara in general. The first half had very little of her and that made it challenging to care about her at first even with all the characters being connected because of her.
Anyway, I felt so much nostalgia reading this and wished so desperately that every queer kid living in these kinds of environments had/have queer friends who support each other like this. But Casey has kind of given us that in these characters. I can't rave about them enough. And the romance in this is fun as well, though I think the friendships took the spotlight completely.
Thank you to Casey McQuiston for writing this gem of a book. It's beautiful beyond measure. Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Alcohol, and Emotional abuse