I found this book surprisingly enjoyable after I gave one last stop one star only a month before. I enjoyed the characters and their stories even if I did find some elements a bit far fetched. It was a much quicker read for me than one last stop and I enjoyed it significantly more.

This is how you do enemies to lovers. It was clear from the start that Chloe's hatred of Shara Wheeler was based completely on the crush she had on her, which was so painfully obvious to absolutely everyone but Chloe herself. It was perfect, the way that the grudge was built up so beautifully that it led the reader to love Shara a little bit as well.

On top of that, this book was so queer. I don't think a single one of the main characters was actually straight. It had representation for bi, lesbian, gay, non-binary and gender questioning characters and that's just what I remember off the top of my head. If you had any question that this book was gay (which how can you really considering the plot), let me assure you, this book was very, very gay.

If I absolutely had to give a negative about the book, then maybe the mystery was all resolved a bit too quickly as the last half of the book is more about Shara and Chloe's relationship, but even then, I would have hated the book to end on finding Shara and the games between Shara and Chloe are just beautiful.

All in all, this book was just perfect. A must read for anyone who loves the enemies to lovers trope.

Chloe Green is so close to winning Valedictorian. Her mom's moved back to their highly religious hometown, and she has hated every second of the past 4 years. The only thing in her way is Shara Wheeler, the headteacher's daughter who everyone loves. One day, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes from Prom. Chloe is desperate to find out what happened.

I don't read much YA anymore, as I feel like I have grown out of a lot of it. But I enjoyed Red White and Royal Blue by the author so thought I'd check this one out. Chloe as a character annoyed me a lot during this novel, but I ended up liking her also. I loved Smith and Rory, they were the highlights of this book for me. I liked the discussion around religion and being LGBT, as I find that an interesting topic.

If you like YA novels, with a little bit of mystery and romance I think you will love this.

I’m a huge fan of Casey McQuiston. Her new novel I Kissed Shara Wheeler didn’t disappoint. What I liked best about this story is the character development. As a huge fan of captivating characters in the books I read. I personally felt Casey got it spot on yet again in Shara Wheeler. They’re all vivid and multifaceted, which definitely got me thinking.

Chloe the main character, was uprooted by her mums from her Californian lifestyle, to move back to their conservative childhood town in Alabama. Chloe is unapologetically queer, and although wants to make Valedictorian at her school likes to rebel just enough to rock the boat. One day, Chloe’s academic rival and daughter of the principle, Shara Wheeler, goes missing straight after stunning Chloe with a searing kiss. Confused, Chloe sets out to find out where Shara is and in the process finds that she was not the only person kissed, but one of three! Shara has left them all clues to find her, but it’s not as simple as it may seem. Ulterior motives pave the way. Check out this fun, twisty book to find out what happened to Shara Wheeler.

✨ Rivals to lovers
✨ Mystery
✨ Coming of age
✨ Bringing down barriers at school

Thankyou to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book. As with all of Caseys books this was a quick and easy read. I enjoyed the plot and i liked the characters and their development, Another solid read from this author.

A quick and easy read that I found myself picking up after a long day to unwind. The characters are beautifully written and I came to love them within the first few pages and was rooting for them all the way to the end. At times I wanted to stop reading because I just wanted the experience to go on for longer.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved This book from Chloe’s character and friend development to finding shara and her subsequent character development. My only issue was that I felt we were introduced to too many characters and I couldn’t always keep up

Casey McQuiston is a great author, that much is evident from this book. I know I was disappointed by Red, White & Royal Blue, but the two year gap between that book and One Last Stop (which was one of my favourite books of last year) really helped them to develop their writing style. Like all Casey McQuiston novels, it's witty and humorous, and knows it too, but it never once verges on being too much, which I appreciate. All of the characters are very well developed, even the side characters, and it always takes me a lot to get invested in people that aren't at the forefront of the story. There's a certain side-relationship I'm talking about here that I immediately started shipping right when it was first implied (Rory/Smith supremacy, that's all I'm saying).

Since I assumed the main romantic relationship would be between Shara and Chloe, I was wondering how this would be developed since the main plot is about Chloe trying to find out about where Shara is, meaning I didn't expect her to be around for most of the novel. Being a lover of mystery thriller novels, I was personally more invested in the mystery than I was in the characters' relationships to one another, and I was missing some of the development needed to be totally on board with Shara and Chloe's relationship. Also, there were a few scenes that were essentially what I would describe as YA melodrama -- big arguments over quite little that tend to be resolved a chapter or so later. I could sense an argument coming between Chloe's best friend Georgia the moment that Chloe started withdrawing from her to pursue Shara's trail of clues, and while it certainly wasn't as ridiculous as some other YA books I've read, it still irked me somewhat. And sure, you could argue that teenagers do get riled up over nothing sometimes, which is true, but the part of Georgia's storyline that had to do with being Chloe's friend and what she was going to do after high school felt a little too predictable for me and therefore hurt her development. That being said, I did like the resolution of Georgia and Chloe's third act conflict and what the narrative said about her relationship with her parents that helped to strengthen her character, while also putting things into perspective for Chloe, who has an entirely different relationship with her moms.

I appreciate what this book did, what it said, and also how it ended. Without spoiling anything, it resolves all the major conflicts in the novel with leaving a few open ends on themes like identity and characters' lives after high school, allowing the reader to muse to themselves about what might happen after the book finishes without feeling angry that a major loose end wasn't tied up.

All in all, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a love letter to queer kids growing up in small conservative towns which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend to the vast majority out there, even if you're not too keen on YA.

After reading the authors previous books - Red White and Royal Blue, and One Last Stop and loving them, I was really excited to read this one.
It was an enjoyable read overall, however I personally preferred her other books over this one.

We featured I Kissed Shara Wheeler in our article 'Booksellers recommend the best summer reads' on Caboodle, the rewards programme from National Book Tokens.

Rach from Bags of Books in Lewes: I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston
"There is absolutely nothing to not love about this novel. A brilliant coming of age YA novel of unlikely friendships, finding yourself, and standing up for what you believe in. Everyone loves Shara, she's gorgeous, popular, and a A grade student. When she suddenly vanishes, Chloe, Rory and Smith are determined to find her. With absolutely nothing in common other than Shara kissed each of them before she disappeared, the three start following the clues for the scavenger hunt Shara left behind for them. Full of humour, romance and an array of loveable and inclusive characters. This is the perfect beach read for 13+."

LOVED THIS!! It’s like John Green’s Paper Towns meets an 80s romcom.

I wished something like this was available to read when I was younger as I think this LGBTQ+ style romance was lacking, but this is great and accessible and has Casey’s wonderfully compelling storytelling that’s so visible in her adult fiction too.

With each new book McQuiston further cements themself as a force to be reckoned with. I know when I pick up one of their books I am going to lose several hours of my life in one swift chunk to an excellent story, and this was no exception. Part mystery, part coming of age, part enemies to lovers, this was a glorious mashup of so many things I love. Chloe is competitive and certain of herself and an absolute delight to read, and I adored watching the core cast around her take shape. It was so wonderful to watch the ripples expand as Chloe took the time to dig beyond her certainty of the small religious town she was stuck in, and to see how diverse and beautiful the world around her was. McQuiston acknowledged that they took inspiration from their own upbringing, and it showed in the claustrophobia of Willowgrove, the oppressive fear of never escaping that seeps through the pages and laces so many of the choices of those around her who do not have the certainty that Chloe does that there is a world beyond that will accept and love her for who she is. The book took me back to the desperate longing and feeling of being on the cusp of something, a mystery left to unravel, a hope for something more, that permeates the end of high school. It was an absolute joy to read.

This was sweet. Kept me gripped and excited to read on. Would absolutely recommend to younger queer people in particular. Not my favourite McQuiston (but I'm also not the target audience!) Highlight was the ensemble cast of characters and the friendships created.

Yes, yes and more yes! Casey has done it again!

I Kissed Shara Wheeler is the perfect YA summer queer read!

Chloe’s life takes a spin when she is kissed by her rival for valedictorian, Shara. Shara then disappears leaving a series of cryptic clues for Chloe, Shara’s boyfriend and her hot next door neighbour.

I don’t doubt I’ll be picking this up again in the near future, it’s proof that Casey has no struggled writing for a variety of different age groups.

4 stars.

I loved Red, White and Royal Blue, so I had high expectations for Casey McQuiston's YA debut. I'm definitely glad to say that I ended up enjoying I Kissed Shara Wheeler a lot - so much so that I practically flew through it in one sitting. The voice is so stunning and, aside from a few lines of dialogue that were a little cringeworthy, the prose is highly enjoyable to read. I also loved the snippets of personal notes scattered throughout the book. The protagonist, Chloe, meant a lot to me, mostly because of how much of myself I saw in her. I loved the representation and I found myself relating to a lot of her experiences throughout the book.

The only reason this book isn't five stars is because I found it difficult to connect with Shara. I wanted to love her as much as I loved the other characters (who I definitely wanted to know more about!) but her motivations were a tiny bit confusing. I particularly found this to be the case at the beginning of the second half, when the narrative was more drawn out and the action slowed down.

Overall, I absolutely adored this book and the queer representation, and I will continue to read just about anything that Casey McQuiston writes.

Following the massive successes of both Red, White and Royal Blue and One Last Stop, I was interested to read I kissed Shara Wheeler, aimed at a slightly younger target audience.

Chloe Green is so close to graduating top of her class in her very Christian high school in the South, except for Shara Wheeler ruining her plans. Blonde, the principal’s daughter and perfect in every way, she is Chloe’s fiercest rival. Until she disappears before prom and steals all of the limelight.

Chloe then finds herself in a weird, unexpected treasure hunt with Shara’s boyfriend, and her neighbour, as they work together to unravel the clues Shara has left behind in the shape of pink letters, sealed with her kiss.

This was a good read, but I got a bit tired of the game playing with the high school characters, which I guess is indicative that I’m a bit too old to fully enjoy this. Good for young adults, the characters are lovely. I also thought I’d like to hear more of Chloe’s mums’ relationship - probably another sign of me being too old!

Saying that, I can easily see how there’re more stories to tell in this as the kids go off to various colleges - it would be interesting to follow their journeys.
I’m also a sucker for gracious kids pulling together against a big bad (see Buffy) so without posting spoilers, I did enjoy that bit a lot.

Definitely for fans of McQuiston, lip balm and prom queens. Thanks to Netgalley and to MacMillan for the DRC, as always!

I kissed Shara Wheeler is everything I loved about John Green's books as a teenager, but make it queer. Obsessed with Chloe, Shara and the Gang

I really enjoyed McQuinston’s other books, however I found this really hard to get into. It just didn’t click with me, which was a shame because I was really looking forward to reading it!

Netgalley archived this title before I could read it, thanks Netgalley! Disappointed, I really wanted to read it

im sorry to say but i really didnt love this book!
ive read all of caseys books and loved OLS and RW&RB but this just wasnt for me!
would read more by this author but this one wasnt for me.
i found the plot f finding shara boring!