A review by hmatt
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't tread into YA high school-centred stories lightly, but I trust CMQ, and they delivered. This is a trope-y, current, cute, funny read. It's almost over-the-top in how ridiculous it gets, but that's teenagers, right? As long as I kept in mind that the story is told from a specific teenager's perspective throughout, I was into it. Plus, Natalie Naudus could narrate a shampoo bottle and I'd enjoy it.

So, so many of the secondary and tertiary characters are incredibly fleshed out and lovely - this is something this author is really good at. The main characters are also really fleshed out, but we're so close to them that I almost liked them less because we get to see all their flaws and bad qualities, as well.

Things that took me out of it a little but that I still enjoyed:
  • I can't believe I'm saying this but um,
    everyone is queer? Like I love that. Dream world. But potentially too convenient in this small Alabama cluster of students. 
    • I was almost cheering when Shara revealed she really was just being a mean girl and trying to sabotage Chloe because I think that would have been an interesting turn of events to explore. I think Shara could have still had a redemption arc and she and Chloe still could have ended up friends. All the background pairings plus this main one were a bit too much for me.
  • Aforementioned: everything is so, so dramatic. I thought the middle bits were maaaaybe almost too drawn out - too many twists and turns. But like I said above, I found some peace with this by considering that we're getting all of our information from Chloe and not some omniscient narrator.
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