Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

24 reviews

kathleencoughlin's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I was a bit disappointed to find out this is more YA than NA which was one of the things I'd enjoyed about McQuiston in the past, but overall I had fun reading the book and liked how it played with a lot of the classic high school coming of age situations. I see a lot of my flaws and insecurities from high school in Chloe so I enjoyed watching her work through those and come out the other side.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

emilypete17's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

5.0

This book is like the chaotic queer lovechild of a John Green novel and all of your favorite coming of age movies from the past decade. Casey McQuiston knows just where to hit me to make me bawl my eyes out and snort-laugh every single page. I wish I had this book in high school, and I'm so glad there are other queer kids in the south who have it now and maybe will finally be able to see a piece of themselves on the page.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review against another edition

Go to review page

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


Expand filter menu Content Warnings

decklededgess's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

trigger warnings: homophobia, bullying, missing child, religious trauma, emotionally abusive parents,  underage alcohol use, cheating mention, sexism, sexual harassment, outing

This was the book that finally made it click that I in fact do not relate to every tiny thing in YA books anymore. Like...I've officially outgrown them which is nice. I can relate to a lot of the emotional turbulence in a retrospective way but I cannot relate to any of these kids and their wild ass behaviours. Maybe that's also partly due to me being a teacher.

Oof this book was heavy on the closeted "went to caltholic school" queer kid trauma and that really hit close to home. A lot of the emotional epiphanies were a sort of balm to my younger self which was wonderful.

On the flip side I have never been more pissed of at a bunch of kids. I kept yelling at them to Not Do That but then we wouldn't have a book so that's neither here nor there. I really appreciated the unreliable narrator aspect, it led to a lot of moments that required reflection and critique but also empathy towards the 17-18 year olds making the choices in the book and towards Chloe who was running herself ragged on her own lack of objectivity.

This was a fun little mash up of Paper Towns, Booksmart, and Never Have I Ever. I loved how aspects of all three were blended into a uniquely Southern Queer Kid experience of high school.

Super fun!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
More...