I Kissed Shara Wheeler, by Casey McQuiston

Shara, the prom queen shoo-in and generally perfectly predictable human being, does something unpredictable when she kisses three classmates and vanishes.

Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Author: Casey McQuiston

ISBN: 978-1250244451

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Publication date: 2022

Genre(s): Mystery, romance, contemporary

Available format(s): Print, audio. I reviewed the print version.

Awards, honors, notable mentions: Stonewall Young Adult Honor book

Reading level/interest level: Age 13 and up, according to Amazon

Summary: Chloe Green is so freaking close to leaving her oppressive high school, the Willowgrove Christian Academy, forever. Before that, of course, she’s got to win valedictorian. Her rival, annoyingly perfect and exhaustingly pretty Shara Wheeler, is Chloe’s only real competition, but whatever – Chloe knows she’s got this.

But Chloe’s plan is foiled when Shara kisses Chloe, a completely chaotic move in their calculated games, and vanishes without a trace just a month out from graduation. Then, Chloe discovers that she isn’t the only one Shara kissed. Football quarterback Smith and rebellious Rory also had the mysterious pleasure of kissing the prom queen, which only leaves Chloe more confused and more curious than ever… and maybe even jealous? She begrudgingly ropes the boys into her quest to find Shara, realizing she may have underestimated her peers, and her own feelings.

About the author: Casey McQuiston (they/them) grew up in the Deep South, the setting of I Kissed Shara Wheeler, McQuiston’s YA debut. McQuiston’s first book was the romance novel Red, White, and Royal Blue; a film adaptation of the novel was recently released on prime. McQuiston followed the extremely successful book with a sapphic romance titled One Last Stop. They are currently working on their fourth novel, another queer new adult book. McQuiston lives in New York City with their dog, Pepper (McQuiston, n.d.).

Critical review: This book immediately transported me to the last few weeks of high school, which is an impressive feat since that is almost a decade ago for me now! The rising summer heat and humidity of the Deep South seemed to pore through the page just as strongly as the feelings of nostalgia and homesickness, knowing you’re about to leave a special place and the people you’ve always known.

The mystery element was fun without featuring too heavily; that is, Shara’s cryptic notes and puzzles were fun to work out but McQuiston also devoted most of the plot to developing characters and relationships.

I found the supporting characters, including Rory and Smith and Chloe’s thoughtful best friend Georgia, even more than the main love interests. As a reader of McQuiston’s previous two romances for new adults, I was looking for a found family to root for and I wasn’t at all disappointed in that regard. However, I wasn’t fully convinced by Chloe and Shara’s romance. They are also a little messy and definitely need to work on themselves as people (that is, if they were real people), but in a way I also appreciate that McQuiston wrote messy, complicated teenage characters because teenagers ARE messy and complicated!

Related programming ideas: A start-of-summer and/or farewell party for high school seniors would be totally fun for readers of I Kissed Shara Wheeler, since it’s really a love letter to hometowns and the high school experience. To further reference the book, the librarian could add an element of mystery to the party; attendees could solve puzzles or play games like Codenames or Mafia.

Brief booktalk: Shara, the prom queen shoo-in and generally perfectly predictable human being, does something unpredictable when she kisses three seemingly random people and then vanishes without a trace just a month out from graduation. Chloe Green, Shara’s rival and one of her kisses, can’t accept this one bit, and vows to find Shara even if it means finding herself in some very sticky situations and shenanigans. You should read it for yourself, but I can tell you one thing now: the vibe is be gay, do crime.

Potential challenges: This book, which features several queer characters and relationships, could face challenges for LGBTQIA+ content. In addition, there is also some criminal activity, such as underage drinking and breaking and entering, which some may take issue with.

Reason for inclusion: McQuiston’s books are TikTok sensations and even their new adult titles are well-loved among slightly younger readers, so it only made sense to include their YA book. I also think it sets itself apart from other YA mysteries by also featuring romantic and coming-out storylines. In some ways, the stakes are lower – there is no murder – but in other ways, they’re higher, because being openly queer or even closeted in the South can be very scary and even dangerous for young people.

Check this out: A conversation between Casey McQuiston and fellow queer YA author Becky Albertalli!