A review by louwhitlock
I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston

adventurous funny hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Thank you Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC
Paper Towns meets The Prom, chock full of fun references I think the YA crowd is going to love. As a queer teen who grew up in Christian schools,  this book hits too close to home. The dress code, the rules for teachers and students, the need for students to be “capital S Saved.” It hits the Christian school experience right on the nose. It makes me so happy authors like Casey McQuiston writing books like this for our queer youth. There were not many books that I read that had queer characters when I was younger and this book is full of representation. The storyline is fun and engaging. While I still haven’t decided if I like our main characters or not, I was incredibly invested in the mystery of Shara’s disappearance. I think our characters are complex enough that I don’t think they were supposed to be outright likable. We see a lot of their flaws as they navigate their situation and I think it is incredibly effective writing. As Chloe and Shara came up onto graduation, it made me feel as if I was reliving my senior year, which just filled me with joy. It takes me back to all the YA coming of age stories I read as a teenager, but I finally get to see myself in the characters. The message of accepting yourself for who you are is powerful and important. I wasn’t expecting much from this as I wasn’t a fan of One Last Stop, but I come out of this book a McQuiston “stan.” I just know this book is going to be so important to so many queer teens. 
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