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A review by icarusandthesun
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
reading this book felt like an eternity; the longest 355 pages i've ever read, but i didn't hate it at all.
i'm usually not a big fan of young adult and ya romances, but this was one of those pleasant exceptions.
the characters were likable and funny; especially chloe who essentially just roasted the hell out of most of these characters. her unflinchingly unfiltered opinions were quite entertaining. never before have i read someone refer to someone else as an "indie soft boy" in a book before, but turns out that's exactly what i needed in my life.
besides chloe, the other characters were fine as well. i thought rory was good vibes, and also really relatable because who doesn't want a couple of expensive stratoscasters on their wall??
i'm gonna be honest here and say that half of the time, i had no idea where the plot was going. the plot was a mellow rollercoaster and i was just in there enjoying the ride, wherever it might take me.
as the plot and conflict neared their climax though, i became more and more unconvinved.
i didn't really like how the conflict was resolved.it didn't strike me as very realistic that every single important character would end up realizing they're queer. the jock, the stoner guy, the popular girl—all of their conflicts were rooted in the fact they're denying their being queer in one way or another. which is a little silly, not gonna lie, because it felt anticlimactic. shara started this whole mystery scavenger hunt just because she's an attention-seeking coward who can't deal with the fact she likes girls? what??
i wasn't a big fan of rory's and smith's relationship arc, either. it was esentially just fanservice for all the yaoi obsessed girlies (and i mean that in the most gender-neutral way) who believe two dudes can't have an intimate relationship with each other that's not romantic. simply didn't feel realistic.
i still enjoyed the book though, more because of the language and dialogue than the plot to be honest, but that's alright.
it was also really interesting to explore these themes in a christian small-town school typa setting.
a queer, lighthearted read.
i'm usually not a big fan of young adult and ya romances, but this was one of those pleasant exceptions.
the characters were likable and funny; especially chloe who essentially just roasted the hell out of most of these characters. her unflinchingly unfiltered opinions were quite entertaining. never before have i read someone refer to someone else as an "indie soft boy" in a book before, but turns out that's exactly what i needed in my life.
besides chloe, the other characters were fine as well. i thought rory was good vibes, and also really relatable because who doesn't want a couple of expensive stratoscasters on their wall??
i'm gonna be honest here and say that half of the time, i had no idea where the plot was going. the plot was a mellow rollercoaster and i was just in there enjoying the ride, wherever it might take me.
as the plot and conflict neared their climax though, i became more and more unconvinved.
i didn't really like how the conflict was resolved.
i wasn't a big fan of rory's and smith's relationship arc, either. it was esentially just fanservice for all the yaoi obsessed girlies (and i mean that in the most gender-neutral way) who believe two dudes can't have an intimate relationship with each other that's not romantic. simply didn't feel realistic.
i still enjoyed the book though, more because of the language and dialogue than the plot to be honest, but that's alright.
it was also really interesting to explore these themes in a christian small-town school typa setting.
a queer, lighthearted read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Minor: Transphobia