Goodreads Synopsis:
Chloe Green is so close to winning. After her moms moved her from SoCal to Alabama for high school, she’s spent the past four years dodging gossipy classmates and a puritanical administration at Willowgrove Christian Academy. The thing that’s kept her going: winning valedictorian. Her only rival: prom queen Shara Wheeler, the principal’s perfect progeny.
But a month before graduation, Shara kisses Chloe and vanishes.
On a furious hunt for answers, Chloe discovers she’s not the only one Shara kissed. There’s also Smith, Shara’s longtime quarterback sweetheart, and Rory, Shara’s bad boy neighbor with a crush. The three have nothing in common except Shara and the annoyingly cryptic notes she left behind, but together they must untangle Shara’s trail of clues and find her. It’ll be worth it, if Chloe can drag Shara back before graduation to beat her fair-and-square.
Thrown into an unlikely alliance, chasing a ghost through parties, break-ins, puzzles, and secrets revealed on monogrammed stationery, Chloe starts to suspect there might be more to this small town than she thought. And maybe—probably not, but maybe—more to Shara, too.
Fierce, funny, and frank, Casey McQuiston’s I Kissed Shara Wheeler is about breaking the rules, getting messy, and finding love in unexpected places.
My thoughts:
I binged this audiobook in a single day.
It’s a very light, easy read. I didn’t know anything going in and have never read anything by this author previously.
It’s a YA contemporary / mystery with an LGBT romance.
It was interesting from the get-go, I was intrigued by the plot almost instantly. I’m not the biggest mystery reader but I did enjoy that element to this novel. I like the ‘disappears and leaves clues for x to find’ kinda trope.
It was very YA – the main characters are expectedly immature, dramatic, and obnoxious. They were a bit over the top for me. I didn’t particularly love anything of the characters.
The story itself is nothing particularly unique but it is an enjoyable plot. The twists aren’t particularly shocking. Some just didn’t really do it for me, in terms of believability.
I did enjoy the fast pace of the story, I hate when things are dragged out too much but I think the balance of mystery and reveals/resolution was well done here.
My main issue is I found it to be toxic. Shara is a very toxic character. She’s manipulative and I just can’t get behind a toxic romance. It felt a bit forced and weird. I don’t know, the ending just wasn’t for me.
Overall, an amusing read. Would definitely recommend to YA mystery/romance lovers. It’s not a new favourite but worth a read!
Rating: 3 Stars
Literary Leisha 