I Kissed Shara Wheeler: A Novel

If Paper Towns (John Green) and Tryst Six Venom (Penelope Douglas) had a baby, it would be this. I'm sure YA authors are sick to death of the John Green comparison, but here it applies.Like Paper Towns, it is a book about quests and capers and clues--attempts to find a beloved, enigmatic girl who turns out to just be a regular girl and not the magic pixie dream the main character believes her to be.The dialogue is cute, quippy, and upbeat (and maybe just a liiiiitle twee at times.) The ensemble cast is important, not just window dressing. Their myriad storylines are complex and fully realized.And in the end, everything turns out more or less okay. And there is, of course, a graduation.Like Tryst Six, there are two intense, "The Girl" lesbians who are absolutely obsessed with each other. They hate each other, love each other, love to hate each other, and are so wrapped up in the games and lies they're blind to it.One of the main characters is a supposedly perfect girl, pretty and blonde and gentile, who's full of anger and fear. She's a little bit evil (maybe more than a little.) The pressure from her parents and her peers keeps her from coming out of the closet. She can't even admit the truth to herself.The other is an outsider. An outcast. And she wears that reputation like an armor, along with mankiller boots and black eyeliner.In Sum:This book is a YA version of Tryst Six--less dark, less sexual, less violent.This book is Paper Towns with competitive, villainous lesbians--There's more stomping, growling, pushing people off boats, etc. Also, the relationship between the mains is a little more equal and has more time to blossom before it blooms.

🦇 I Kissed Shara Wheeler Book Review 🦇🦇 There's only one thing standing in Chloe Green's way of winning valedictorian: the town's favorite and Chloe's rival, Shara Wheeler. A month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe, then does the most infuriating thing: vanishes. Chloe and two other boys Shara kissed are left with a series of cryptic notes; a scavenger hunt to find her. Can Chloe drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair and square, or is there something else behind Shara's disappearance?💜 Alright John Green fans. This one's for you. As always, Casey McQuiston's prose is a breath of fresh air. The narration instantly pulls you in as if you're listening to an old friend (the easily frustrated, type A kind you have to be patient with). Warning: this story WILL transport you back to high school. I can't explain it, but it felt like I was on campus, watching my fellow students live as the protagonists of their own unspoken stories, the entire time.There's so much to love in this one. For the sake of being succinct (you bookish bats know I can ramble):💌 Chloe's amazing, artistic queer moms💌 The whole found family of it all💌 The EASY, natural queerness (it's never questioned, it just IS, as it tends to be in a CM book)💌 The snippets from the burn pile before chapters (giving us glimpses into the minds of side characters)💌 Chloe and Shara are both equally messy and chaotic💌 The rivalry, the frustration, the angst💌 Every side pairing💌 All the theater kids💌 Smith and Ash's interaction (AGH!)💌 Rory and Smith (Just...more AGH)💌 The reminder that side characters are going through it, too (don't forget to check on your best friends)💌 The prose, the banter, the jokes; I literally laughed aloud, and that takes a lot💜 This story is a reminder that there's so much more to a person than what you see on the surface. That sometimes you can romanticize someone you hardly know. And that you can unknowingly do that to yourself, too.💙 While I was reading this, a few people told me they DNF. The second half is SO much stronger than the first, though. I think the pacing is a bit exhausting because the scavenger hunt drags a little, but it's the second half where we see SO much character development from Chloe, Shara, Rory, and Smith.💙 Religion (the story is set in small town Alabama, at a Christian school) plays a big part in the story. While that could have led me to disconnect, it didn't. It only adds to the discussion that queerness and acceptance (in ourselves and each other) needs to be an ongoing discussion. That sometimes you need to step outside of your bubble to see the world from a new lens.🦇 Recommended for fans of Looking for Alaska, Paper Town, She Gets the Girl, Delilah Green Doesn't Care, and Imogen, Obviously.✨ The Vibes ✨💌 Sapphic Romance💋 Queer Cast💌 Coming-of-Age💋 Young Adult💌 Enemies to Lovers💋 Small Town💌 Slight Mystery💬 Quotes❝ There’s a girl with brown eyes who reminds me of the first book I ever loved. When I look at her, I feel like there might be another universe in her. I imagine her on a shelf too high for me to reach, or peeking out of someone else’s backpack, or at the end of a long wait at the library. I know there are other books that are easier to get my hands on, but none are half as good as her. Every part of her seems to have a purpose, a specific meaning, an exact reason for being how and what and where it is. ❞❝ What’s the point of wanting and being wanted in return if the person they want isn’t truly you? ❞❝ “You know… if being a guy feels like something you have to do, like it’s an obligation or something…” Ash says carefully. “Maybe think about that.” ❞❝ This is the real tragedy: Everything extraordinary about her is trapped behind the myth. ❞❝ There are enough students comfortable with the way things are to create the feeling that you’re the only one who doesn’t belong. It can be hard, when all the rules claim to be good and moral and godly, to feel like you can challenge them without admitting something bad and wrong about yourself. ❞❝ There are things out there for you that you haven’t even thought of yet, that you don’t even know how to think of yet. Who you are here doesn’t have to be the same as who you are out there. And if the person you feel like you have to be in this town doesn’t feel right to you, you’re allowed to leave. You’re allowed to exist. Even if it means existing somewhere else.” ❞❝ “And to the girl who kissed me,” she says, “I have done some of the best work of my life because of you. And I know you have done some of the best work of your life because of me. I don’t know a better way to explain what love means to two people like us.” ❞

I have often heard personal LGBTQ+ stories about being raised in a religious family and the shame, quilt, etc. that is instilled by the church and/or church going folk, so I loved that this book touched on the subject in an important and relevant way. Anyone raised in a church environment trying to come to terms with their sexuality, should read this book, even though this book is not technically about that subject. I'm so glad I was raised in CA and not Alabama.There is no filler in this book like so many others, and the author is good! Good at crafting an interesting story that was different from the 300 others I've read over the last couple yrs. I will probably read it again in a few months, it was that good. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they make a movie out of this one also.

Mysteries that delude the main character but are obvious to the reader are among my least favorite things. Cute story and likable characters make up for that a bit, as does - importantly- diverse representation. 3.5 stars

4.5*This is a book I'd love to see become a movie! I don't say that about a lot of books, I'd rather they live in my imagination than see them not live up to my expectations. But I think I Kissed Shara Wheeler would make for an awesome movie, a la the great teen comedies of the 80s- Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, etc., etc., etc.This whole group of characters, Chloe, Shara, Georgia, Rory, Smith, Ash, Ace, Summer, Benji, the moms, and all the rest of the crew, I would love to see them brought to life! The world Casey McQuiston built in I Kissed Shara Wheeler was incredible and I feel it just lends itself to the big screen.I really enjoyed this story. The journey of not only Chloe, Rory, Smith and Shara, but their friends as well- it was such an entertaining read. I would have loved having a book like this back in high school, but I think it's a story any age group would appreciate.Out of the 3 books Casey McQuiston has written, this one is by far my favorite.

Sério, é um dos livros mais bonitos que eu tenho, é um livro que te prende do começo ao fim, você fica querendo saber o que vai acontecer com a Shara a todo custo, você começa até pensar que a bichinha morreu (é meio enrolado mas vale a pena), os personagens são todos bem feitos e com muita personalidade sabe, eu gostei mt desse livro, é muito fofo <3

Tardé mucho en leerlo y encariñarne con los personajes, pero al final me gustó mucho. Smith fue mi personaje favorito, creo que al final si sientes que vale la pena

🇩🇪 Die Geschichte hat für mich ein kleines bisschen den Vibe von Pretty Little Liars / Gossip Girl (bezogen auf die TV Serien). Viele witzige Stellen, aber auch nachdenkliche Momente. Eben von allem etwas. Ich hab das Buch verschlungen. Die verschiedenen Charaktere waren divers und ich hab (fast) jeden einzelnen ins Herz geschlossen. Es ist ein super Unterhaltungsroman der mich gefesselt hat. Noch dazu kann man das Buch richtig gut lesen und verstehen, auch wenn man nicht die besten Englischkenntnisse hat.🇺🇲 I absolutly loved this book. The story was easy to follow for a non-native speaker. Funny but also pensive. It kind of gave me some pretty little liars / gossip girl vibes. I'm looking forward to read some more books from Casey McQuiston and can absolutly recommend this book with it's cute story and likable characters.

Truly amazing. I am currently in the last few pages and I am finding this to be close to the level of the Size 12 series by Meg Cabot.A puzzle on several levels. A serious romance. A story about a stricker than average church school.

I don't really read romantic comedy's a lot, mostly it's just fantasy for me. But I have read a few lgbtq+ romance books now and I find that I do enjoy them in between all the fantasy all the time. I'm also so happy that there are more and more books like this with MC's that are queer and not just the side characters.The story itself was really fun and I didn't know how the book was going to go, I just got it because I heard it was about 2 girls falling in love 😂So it was a nice surprise that it was not just a regular love story but something different. The MC really found herself and I loved reading about it.This is one of those books I wish I had when I was in high school myself!