Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - He besado a Shara Wheeler

I have read two books from Casey McQuiston and all of them I have loved for a variety of reasons. This book is now a part of my love for her writing and her story telling! This has so much queer joy and acceptance of oneself inside it's pages.

The characters in this book were all so well developed and each one was so likeable. Chloe was proud of who she was and bold in her words and actions. Shara was seen as the perfect girl in school but later on she was found to be hiding many more secrets then she let on. Smith was an athlete and Shara's ex boyfriend who was much more then he first appears and Rory was the school's bad boy who secretly has a big heart with a love for music. All of these characters followed a theme, that not everybody is as they seem. That you can't judge a person by who they are on the outside without finding out what they are like on the inside first.

The romance like the romances in her other books was very well done and sweet. I loved how Chloe and Shara realized that instead of hating each other they might have been developing feeling for each other for as long as they have known the other. That on one hand Chloe wasn't ashamed of being bisexual while Shara had to hide her feelings because of who her parents were in the community. My favorite romance in the book was Smith and Rory, who were friends as children but grew apart only to rekindle their friendship. Later they realized they had feelings for each other and have had them for most of their friendship.

The central themes of acceptance and how religion can affect people is portrayed well. I love how Chloe organizes an event where people can just be who they are without prejudice. Also how she has to learn that not everyone had an easy time coming out like she did and she has to put her own judgements on other people aside too. The effect of religion in some small towns is strong and sadly most young people have to hide themselves or find some way to be who they are without people knowing. It is something I hope one day that can be gotten rid of.

I enjoyed this book and I hope that the next book Casey comes out with is just as good as this or better then some she has already written.

Content Warnings

sadie_g's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted 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

I absolutely loved this book! It took me a while to get into it and I put it down for a bit but once I picked it back up, I couldn't put it down.

The mix of romance and mystery was so fun. This book has some heavy topics, as it is set at a Christian school that is pretty homophobic, but the characters force incredible bonds down to being in that environment together. Both the environment and relationships between the characters felt very realistic.

The romance between Shara and Chole starts as academic rivals/enemies to lovers, and they definitely aren't great people but they are very realistic and entertaining.

I loved the background characters and how their relationships and dynamics and interests felt fully formed.

I loved that Rory and Smith ended up together and that Shara set the whole thing up for them.

I'm so thankful to Casey for giving this queer coming-of-age story to their readers!

Content Warnings

seashellsforshelley's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious fast-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

4.0

Content Warnings

dsizemore96's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious slow-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

4.0

Super fun book. Sometimes it felt like it went on a little too long, but still a fun time overall. I will say that the biggest flaw for me was that the side characters are SO much more interesting to me than either of the co-mains. Not that Chloe or Shara are bad characters, but they weren’t my favorite. What I would give for a Smith Parker sequel. Come on, Casey! Lol

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