Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler
Author: Casey McQuiston
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Publication date: May 3, 2022
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Summary
Shara Wheeler is Chloe Green’s biggest competition for valedictorian at Willowgrove Christian Academy in Alabama. At least she was, until she kissed Chloe and disappeared after prom. One month before graduation. Now, Chloe is desperate to find her so she can beat her to the top of the class. In the right way.
But Chloe soon finds out she wasn’t the only one Shara kissed before leaving. There’s Smith, Shara’s quarterback boyfriend, and Rory, her next door neighbor. When the three of them start finding clues to Shara’s disappearance, it’s up to them to find her. But does she want to be found? What might Chloe and the others discover about themselves instead?
Review: I Kissed Shara Wheeler
Thanks to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced copy of this to review! Casey McQuiston is absolutely one of my all-time favorite authors, and she’s written a YA! What isn’t to love? This is absolutely one of my most anticipated books of 2022. I am so happy to say that it lived up to the hype.
Best known for Red, White, & Royal Blue, McQuiston’s writing definitely lends itself well to a YA audience. McQuiston has a knack for writing great casts of characters that you fall in love with almost from the beginning. This is the cast for Shara Wheeler as well. What’s great about this book in particular is that none of the characters are who they were at the beginning of the book, in the best way possible. Growing up in this highly conservative, christian setting, this book is very much about finding yourself and finding a way to be yourself, even if everyone around you doesn’t want you to be.
I said this when I originally posted my review on Goodreads, but this book is like a mashup of Footloose, Mean Girls, and Paper Towns. In like the best way possible. Maybe throw a little Breakfast Club in there. You get wrapped up in Chloe’s obsession to find Shara, but you also see how her journey to find Shara changes her. And how it changes Smith and Rory (arguably the best plotline, but that’s all I’ll say here). Once events really start to pick up, it’s difficult to put this book down.
I’ve seen some critiques for this book saying that Chloe is a bit selfish, which she is. She’s very much wrapped up in her own world for most of the book. But also, that’s the point? This is such a teenager thing, and it fit so well for Chloe’s character and her character arc. I am here to say we should no longer rate YA books down for portraying teenagers as accurate teenagers.
Anyway, it’s hard for me to rank McQuiston’s books, but I know that this one will absolutely make it on my re-read list. Which reminds me, I should re-read Red, White, & Royal Blue. It’s been too long.
5/5 stars