I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston Review

 Title: I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Author: Casey McQuiston

Age Group: Teen/Young Adult

Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Romance

Series: Standalone

Star Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

I borrowed this book from my local library and reviewed it.

Casey McQuiston. How do I count the ways in which I adore her work? I’ve read almost every book by her now, and it’s really hard to pick a favorite, but I Kissed Shara Wheeler is most definitely a contender. She is one of my favorite queer authors, and I’ve checked out Shara Wheeler several times from the library, though I wasn’t able to finish it until a few days ago. In this wacky, romantic, and wildly funny rom-com, we meet Chloe Green, a SolCal transplant who hates the town of False Beach and nearly every person within it. But the top of her hate list sits Shara Wheeler, resident Good Girl in town who has everyone worshipping at her feet. When Shara disappears shortly before graduation, Chloe is determined to figure out where she is and why she ran. In the process of this makeshift scavenger hunt, Chloe realizes that Shara is not the only one in False Beach harboring secrets, and in dismantling Shara, she just might find exactly what she never knew she needed.

This book was such a fun, romantic romp, full of sly, dark humor, high school angst, and I loved every minute of it! The setting of False Beach, the small town with conservative values, felt so real to life to me. The pacing was breakneck, and I was captivated from the first line. I was laughing practically every other page, and I could feel the spite dripping off Chloe! The other characters were also well-drawn out, especially Shara, Rory, Ace, Ash, Georgie, Summer and Benjy. I loved the way that this book didn’t just focus solely on Chloe and Shara. As much as they were a central point, their other classmates got the star treatment too. And the ending was absolute perfection. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is one of my favorite books of the year! Casey McQuiston triumphs again!