A review by reading_while_fat
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

5.0

“This is the real tragedy: Everything extraordinary about her is trapped behind the myth”

Do you remember the way your feelings felt too big for your body when you were in high school? Do you remember all the things that felt like the beginning and simultaneously the end of the world when you were a teenager? Do you remember the all encompassing and nearly cataclysmic energy of falling in love for the first time?

I Kissed Shara Wheeler really took me by surprise. A book about queer kids in a DEEPLY conservative environment might not seem relatable to anyone outside that specific space, but I think what I love about Casey’s books is that they remind us that things like love, angst, identity, flaws, and growth belong to us all. The humanity of us all.

I loved everything about this book. It was an enthralling mystery, hilarious, and felt deeply relatable to anyone who’s ever been a teenager. My favorite things:

✨ the sheer veracity of Chloe, she’s ruthless in the way that only a teenaged woman with a giant chip on her shoulder can be, and you ROOT for her - a sweet reminder that people are complicated and flawed but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy of empathy, love and belonging

✨ the UNRAVELING of Shara as we know her, and the courage it takes to choose yourself over the person you’re expected to be

✨ a family found in the most unlikely places

✨ a representation of queerness and Jesus taking up the same space - this book is fully of people ostracized and harmed by “the church”, some who are understandably and rightfully angry with the type of Christian who weaponizes the Bible against them, but some who feel the power of the LOVE that is Jesus in spaces that preach the Gospel of love in a safe and inclusive space.

~~~

This book was a love letter to queer kids in red states, and I can imagine they need to know they’re loved and cherished more than ever. I hope this book reaches them. Because you are loved. You are cherished. And you absolutely deserve an over-the-top romance between people like you!