Casey McQuiston is best known for novels like Red, White, and Royal Blue and One Last Stop, but their newest book, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, has received just as much attention. Released on May 3rd, 2022, I Kissed Shara Wheeler is McQuiston’s first Young Adult novel.
Seeing as this book was released almost ten months ago, I am very late to the book review party. Despite pre-ordering the book and everything, I fell into the classic TBR (to be read) list trap. It may have been one of my most enticing TBR’s, but it was still put on hold until I had time to start—and finish—it this week. This is the official spoiler warning for this book. Proceed with caution.
The novel follows Chloe Green, Rory Heron, and Smith Parker as they try to track down Shara Wheeler, the girl they all kissed just before she disappeared. The trio goes on little adventures to find clues Shara has left behind. There’s romance, there’s self-discovery, and there’s an endless amount of fun.
The strongest aspect of this book is the character’s. As they say in their Author’s Note, McQuiston’s starting point for this book was the basic archetypal tropes that come in every high school based piece of fiction. The jock, the prom queen, and the nerd are just a few examples of tropes that McQuiston blends together to create complicated and loveable characters.
Shara Wheeler, the prom queen, is smart, quick-witted, and, arguably, maniacal. That’s a strong word, but as we learn as a reader, she has spent the time leading up to, and the time during, her disappearance manipulating people she calls her friends. McQuiston does try to redeem her behavior at the end, but I’m not sure whether I buy into it.
Chloe Green, the over achieving nerd, is a determined and intelligent character that I loved getting to experience narration from. She is the amalgamation of several tropes that, when combined, create a very human character.
The two other characters that pull focus in this novel are Rory and Smith (the loner and the jock). They are two other people left behind in the wake of Shara Wheeler’s scavenger hunt. Though not at the forefront, I will say I did enjoy their budding relationship, both platonically and romantically.
The story, though meant to defy tropes, did feel slightly predictable. I was calling the plot twists chapters in advance, and while I might not be the target audience, it did feel like the story map could be written out after the first couple chapters. The book also had character’s perfectly paired off at the end, and while I fully supported some of these relationships, others felt like they came out of left field. And some just felt like they were bound to be toxic given the circumstances that brought them together.
But, what this story lacked in unpredictability, it made up for in genuineness. By far the best part of this story was the relationships between the characters and how easy conversations could be had. There was a moment when Smith was questioning his gender, sexuality, and his role as a stereotypical masculine jock, and that conversation happened so naturally. There was no hesitation because of what was expected of him. It was the same throughout the book. Everyone was just accepted among their peers and the simplicity of it was beautiful
Overall, I Kissed Shara Wheeler was an enjoyable read. I don’t know if it’s a book I’ll consistently reread, but it definitely brought me some joy during a busy semester.