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A review by guivx5
Eu beijei Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
adventurous
emotional
funny
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
Casey could publish a compilation of her cooking recipes and I would buy and read it from start to finish in one night at this point.
I gotta be honest, I never thought this would be my favorite CMQ book out of the three released so far. I had such a good time reading "One Last Stop", and the blurb wasn't particularly super interesting like a time-traveler 70s lesbian or something like that. But, oh boy, I just didn't know yet. What Casey did here was write a story based completely in one of my deepest, and from this point I advise you to read the review only if you've read the whole book, pleasures while reading a story: gay people finding out they're gay.
OH, BOY. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
I was a repressed gay teenager. I still feel like most of me is covered in that gay teen angst on a daily basis, and flashes from my school days, where bullying and fear were common, are a constant in my nostalgia/wtf-have-I-done-with-my-life memory trips. During those times, between my desperate attempts to like some girl or finish the history paper on the night before class (I could never be a Chloe Green), I read a couple books about teenage boys who find out they're gay and in love with each other. At start, It felt like such a wrong thing: to read stories, now I know, about people being themselves and being happy about it. It was the beginning of high school. Those books were important in such a way that I tried to come out to my mother several times. But I didn't. Instead, I came out to a teacher. And then to a friend, and to another friend, and another one, up to the point where everyone I cared about in my life, apart from my family, knew about me. So I read more, and more. But I still didn't come out to my mom until years later, long after my school days. The boys and girls in those books (Where were the non-binary folks in 2015s LGBTQ romances???) were so brave and went through so much. But they always came out in the end and everything immediately went right. They're parents were loving and careful in the end, no matter what. And, of course, they were deeply, madly in love with each other. I felt left out, because I didn't have such advantages (*Cries in hot school boyfriend I've never had*).
This book was something I wished I had in my teen days.
A book with gay teenagers who are out, lesbians who are not ready yet and even NB folks, shattering my perceptions of gender that should've been shaken long ago. I needed to see these people when I was younger. I needed to see that I was not alone. That I deserved a happy ending as much as those perfect book couples, even if I was far from being ready to. That I could take each step on my own terms.
CMQ is the queen of gay romcom. I love her writing style, her ability to put so much energy and feeling to every scene (Specially the big parties/events scenes, she always describes the vibes so well!) and, most of all, I love her consideration towards everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. This story has a soft spot in my heart, where I'll always treasure the laughs, gay panic moments and everything that comes in between.
Sorry, I couldn't write a normal review for this one. It was a too personal experience that I now realize I've prolonged in three weeks just to spend more time with Shara and Chloe, and Rory and Smith, and Georgia, and MOTHERFUCKING ASH!!!
To all the queer folks who struggle like me, in different ways and degrees: take each step of the way on your terms, just don't give up.
...
Remember when I said I met CMQ in a autograph event, when I was still reading "One Last Stop" and "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" was just a recent buy? When I said I'd die the day she'd write an enby character? And she said it was gonna be in the next one? And then I read IKSW and there was MOTHERFUCKING ASH?!?!?! Was she just referencing this book and laughing in foreshadowing or will there actually be more enby representation on the next one? I NEED TO KNOW!!!
What am I gonna do now that I've read all of her books?
I gotta be honest, I never thought this would be my favorite CMQ book out of the three released so far. I had such a good time reading "One Last Stop", and the blurb wasn't particularly super interesting like a time-traveler 70s lesbian or something like that. But, oh boy, I just didn't know yet. What Casey did here was write a story based completely in one of my deepest, and from this point I advise you to read the review only if you've read the whole book, pleasures while reading a story: gay people finding out they're gay.
OH, BOY. I LOVE THIS SO MUCH.
I was a repressed gay teenager. I still feel like most of me is covered in that gay teen angst on a daily basis, and flashes from my school days, where bullying and fear were common, are a constant in my nostalgia/wtf-have-I-done-with-my-life memory trips. During those times, between my desperate attempts to like some girl or finish the history paper on the night before class (I could never be a Chloe Green), I read a couple books about teenage boys who find out they're gay and in love with each other. At start, It felt like such a wrong thing: to read stories, now I know, about people being themselves and being happy about it. It was the beginning of high school. Those books were important in such a way that I tried to come out to my mother several times. But I didn't. Instead, I came out to a teacher. And then to a friend, and to another friend, and another one, up to the point where everyone I cared about in my life, apart from my family, knew about me. So I read more, and more. But I still didn't come out to my mom until years later, long after my school days. The boys and girls in those books (Where were the non-binary folks in 2015s LGBTQ romances???) were so brave and went through so much. But they always came out in the end and everything immediately went right. They're parents were loving and careful in the end, no matter what. And, of course, they were deeply, madly in love with each other. I felt left out, because I didn't have such advantages (*Cries in hot school boyfriend I've never had*).
This book was something I wished I had in my teen days.
A book with gay teenagers who are out, lesbians who are not ready yet and even NB folks, shattering my perceptions of gender that should've been shaken long ago. I needed to see these people when I was younger. I needed to see that I was not alone. That I deserved a happy ending as much as those perfect book couples, even if I was far from being ready to. That I could take each step on my own terms.
CMQ is the queen of gay romcom. I love her writing style, her ability to put so much energy and feeling to every scene (Specially the big parties/events scenes, she always describes the vibes so well!) and, most of all, I love her consideration towards everyone in the LGBTQ+ community. This story has a soft spot in my heart, where I'll always treasure the laughs, gay panic moments and everything that comes in between.
Sorry, I couldn't write a normal review for this one. It was a too personal experience that I now realize I've prolonged in three weeks just to spend more time with Shara and Chloe, and Rory and Smith, and Georgia, and MOTHERFUCKING ASH!!!
To all the queer folks who struggle like me, in different ways and degrees: take each step of the way on your terms, just don't give up.
...
Remember when I said I met CMQ in a autograph event, when I was still reading "One Last Stop" and "I Kissed Shara Wheeler" was just a recent buy? When I said I'd die the day she'd write an enby character? And she said it was gonna be in the next one? And then I read IKSW and there was MOTHERFUCKING ASH?!?!?! Was she just referencing this book and laughing in foreshadowing or will there actually be more enby representation on the next one? I NEED TO KNOW!!!
What am I gonna do now that I've read all of her books?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Transphobia