it’s about being proud together, but safely and quietly, protecting each other, and knowing there is a space in the world for you to exist and belong. It took weeks to thrift the perfect dress (black chiffon and lace, like a sexy vampire assassin), and it was supposed to be a perfect prom. I Kissed Shara Wheeler is a renewing coming-of-age story surrounding the growth of queer communities in adversity and the friendships that develop during the critical points of our lives. Raise your hand if you've been personally victimised by this funny, weird, razor-sharp, intensely compassionate, subversive, sweet, electrifyingly romantic knockout of a book.

its about the home you make with your queer friend group, how you /see/ each other daily, even in places that refuse to see you. some will leave, some will remain, but everyone has impacted you in one way or another, moulded you into the person you are today. i've talked about my own experience as a young queer person–figuring it out in high school, but waiting until college to be out. The walls are a simple biege, with framed photos of her family and her boyfriend and her flock of identical pointy-elbowed, flowy-haired friends with perfect Glossier faces. Chloe is a wonderful protagonist, whip-smart, determined, flawed, but bold enough to be fully herself even in unwelcoming circumstances.When popular 'miss perfect' Shara Wheeler goes missing at prom, her boyfriend Smith Parker, the boy next door who has a major crush on Shara, Rory Heron and her rival for valedictorian Chloe go on the hunt, following the clues Shara left behind. A month before graduating from Willowgrove Christian Academy, the principal's perfect daughter, prom queen Shara Wheeler, kisses Chloe Green and vanishes. S. president and the Prince of Wales turns into a whirlwind romance in this charming story about true love. I never felt completely invested into the main characters and that’s a tough thing for me as a reader.

While this wasn't my absolute favorite of Casey's books, I am eternally grateful to it for pulling me out of a months long reading slump and I am so! No sex, lightweight, unexpected, but sweet, romance for several of the characters and an uplifting ending…what more could you wish for? Chloe is so close to beating Shara, but on the weekend of the senior prom, Shara kisses Chloe and then vanishes. She perfectly encapsulated not only the fears, insecurities, and troubles of teenagers but also the discrimination and suppression of the LGBTQIA community, particularly in a place where young people are already under pressure to be perfect and acceptable in the eyes of others.

Firstly, these desires are mostly personal opinions and not reflective of the quality of the writing or success of the book.