I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuinston Review

 

3/5 ⭐

Tropes

➮ LGBTQ+ rep

➮ Romantic mystery

➮ Miscommunication

➮ Childhood friends to lovers (not the FMCs)

Synopsis

Chloe is close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she spent four years dodging gossipy classmates at Willowgrove Christian Academy. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler. A month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes. On a hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith and Rory. Thrown into an unlikely alliance, Chloe suspects there might be more to this small town than she thought.

Best Quote From the Book

“Shame is a way of life here. It’s stocked in the vending machines, stuck like gum under the desks. Spoken in morning devotionals. She knows now that there’s a bit of it in her. It was an easy choice not to go back in the closet when she got here, but if she’d grown up here, she might never have come out at all. She might be a completely different person."

LGBTQ+ Representation

5/5 🌈

This book has a large variety of LGBTQ+ rep in it. For all of the characters being in a Christian school, I was surprised with how many people were chill with the LGBTQ+ community. Some of the representations include lesbian, nonbinary, genderqueer, gay, and bisexual. All of these attributes heavily shape the characters and their actions within the story. This book does a great job showing both the inherent community amongst LGBTQ+ people and the varying scope that people are comfortable and safe to come out. 

My Thoughts

I will be honest, my reading experience with this story wasn't great. I have seen a lot of mixed reviews of this book over the years and I think said reviews are warranted. A lot of my not-so-great feelings are because I could barely stand both of the FMCs. There is also just no worthy plot. The entire book could've been one page of Shara just communicated. I will try to keep my commentary for this review constructive and not just a rant. 

The entirety of this book's plot is centered around finding Shara who ran away and is now leaving clues. If this happened to me in real life, I am not going on such a wild goose chase, whether she kissed me and dipped or not. Chloe has zero real reason to put up with this massive tomfoolery from Shara and yet she does. It seems at some points the reader is supposed to feel bad for Shara. I am not sorry that I will never feel bad for a spoiled rich girl throwing a tantrum. 

The whole book reads quite stereotypical. There are mean homophobic jocks, many of the queer kids have dyed hair, the pastor's daughter is a disappointment, etc. This aspect of it takes away from the message and diminishes the unique elements of the book. A girl going missing of her own accord could've been transformed into a greater mystery with more depth and important discussions about mental health. 

The only characters I liked in this book were the two primary side characters. Watching them interact and see their strained relationship morph into a budding romance should've just had a book of its own and cut the girls out entirely. I will also say Chloe's moms are lovely and deserve a shoutout for the maturity they bring in an attempt to share the story. 

Overall, while I did stick around to finish the story, I would not suggest others do the same. The entire premise is purely ridiculous and the FMCs are barely tolerable. I want a rewrite of this book that focuses on Smith and Rory.