Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue is one of my favorite books of all time, but the second book, One Last Stop, was a bit of a disappointment for me, so going into this book I was more than a little nervous. But right away I could relax, I Kissed Shara Wheeler was everything I’d hoped for! It was queer and witty in that special Casey McQuiston way with memorable, relatable and so loveable characters full of flaws and personality, and I loved every bit of it.

The plot’s concept was more than just a little similar to John Green’s Paper Towns, with Shara Wheeler as the mysteriously disappeared girl, and Chloe, Smith and Rory on a quest to find her. But compared to Paper Towns (which I didn’t like that much to be honest) the characters and the focus on them getting to learn who they were and how the place had shaped them, rather than just trying to understand Shara Wheeler, made it into its completely own story.

At a first glance this might seem like a fluffy teen romcom, but there was so much more going on in I Kissed Shara Wheeler than just the scavenger hunt for clues to finding Shara; there were several love stories and coming out stories, the rearranging of high school cliques and lots of realizations.

This story really examines what being queer in a small southern town and a private school means, and how difficult it is to be the authentic you in such an environment. But at the same time, it was such a fun and lighthearted story with an amazing humor.

I absolutely adored all of the characters. Casey McQuiston has a magic way of writing characters that you feel connected to and immediately root for. Chloe was such a fierce and wonderful main character. I loved how she kept breaking the rules to take control of the reason for people staring and talking about her, rather than the fact that she had two moms and for her sexuality. I also loved the way she realized that she had been kind of judgmental herself, when not seeing beyond Smith’s jock status and Rory’s slacker attitude. And it was so special with the discussions about what being non-binary means and how we got to follow one of the characters in the process of discovering who they truly were.

One of the themes was the rivalry between Shara and Chloe, but I wouldn’t really call it a rivalry-to-lovers trope. It was more of an obsession that had some toxic parts, and which made Chloe neglect her friends in a way I didn’t quite like. I also never truly warmed up to Shara Wheeler herself.

But apart from that, this was such a heartwarming and uplifting queer story about acceptance, finding your true self, love and friendship, combined with a brilliant humor and an addictive mystery plot and some good old high school rivalry. I’m so happy that Casey McQuistion brought back all the magic and wit from her first book once again! 

Rating:
4.5 stars rounding up to 5

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​Author info:
Casey McQuiston

This book was my most anticipated read for 2021. Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue is one of my all time favorite books and couldn’t wait to read her new sapphic romance. I’d also heard so many wonderful things about One Last Stop from other readers that I was like a 1,000 per cent sure I would be even more obsessed with it than RWARB. So I’m feeling quite devastated right now for not loving it as I was expecting to.

What I absolutely loved about it was the found family; Myla, Isaiah/Annie, Wes and Nico just stole my heart from the very first moment they were introduced. And the love and support they all showed each other made me so warm at heart. I think that the diversity and representation in this book are some of the best I’ve ever seen. I so appreciated to see a transgender character being interesting on other merits and that the transgender part wasn’t made into a big deal.

“When did you know?”
“That I was trans?”
“No. That you were psychic.”
“Oh,” Nico says. “Whenever someone asks me personal questions, it’ always about being trans. That’s like, so low on the list of the most interesting things about me. But it’s funny, because the answer’s the same. I just always knew.”

The writing was great, the representation and inclusivity was amazing and the way parts of the LGBTQIA+ history from the 1970s New York was interwoven into the plot was so clever, but despite all that, I never connected with the story nor the main characters.

I wasn’t prepared for the sci-fi elements with the time-loop and the missing uncle mystery, and the whole thing with a girl lost in time, doomed to ride the subway for eternity, just didn’t work for me. The pacing also felt so much slower compared to RWARB and a lot of things felt repetitive and illogical. And I just couldn’t feel the chemistry between Jane and August. I really, really wanted to, but I just couldn’t get invested into the romance part. There were so many times that I found myself wishing for the story to focus on the other characters instead of August and feeling much more invested in the potential romance between other couples than Jane and August.

One Last Stop had such potential, and I know that most readers absolutely love it and I had hoped so much to feel that way too, but it just wasn’t for me. The whole concept of the story took so long to unfold and solve, and even though there were so many parts that I loved about it, I am so sad to say that for me, this book was quite a disappointment.

Rating:
​3 stars

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​Author info:
Casey McQuiston

Red, White & Royal Blue is a contemporary read, but it takes place in a parallel (better) world, where Trump never happened and instead the first female president was elected. Her son, Alex Claremont-Diaz, is an overachieving cocky aspiring politician in his early twenties. Since an episode in the past, Alex despises his British counterpart, Prince Henry.

“You can’t just call him my ‘archnemesis’,” Alex says [to his sister Julia]. “Archnemesis implies he’s actually a rival to me on any level and not, you know, a stuck-up product of inbreeding who probably jerks off to himself.”

So, the story starts off as a hate-to-love one, with Alex and Prince Henry having butted heads whenever they meet, until an incident at the royal wedding of Henry’s older brother lands them in the tabloids and they need to do damage control by faking a friendship. But soon they start to see each other for who they really are and the bitter rivalry evaporates into something more tender. And soon starks start to fly and after a surprise-attack kiss the First Son of the United States realizes that he’s in love with a Prince of England and that they’ve loved each other for a long time.

“True love isn’t always diplomatic.”

That’s for sure. But it’s also a fact that diplomatic Anglo-American relations have never been so much fun as in this book.

The characters are so loveable. Not just Alex and Prince Henry, but I also love Alex’s parents and his sister Julia and friend Nora (called “The White House Trio”, where ”Alex pushes them. June steadies them. Nora keeps them honest.”) and Henry’s sister Bea and the White House staff… Casey McQuiston does such an amazing job in making them feel real and making you love them. And there were so many wonderful scenes and twists and dialogues. The writing is so good and fun! Easy banter, sassy retorts, just everything you could possibly wish for.

Still, there are so many emotions in this book. So much love and vulnerability, friendship, angst, and the hardship and struggle of finding out who you are and stay true to that or remaining closeted. In fact, Alex doesn’t even realize that he is bi until he falls for Henry.

“Like, he’s pretty sure he’s straight. But he thinks about Henry, and, oh.”
“He needs a list. So: Things he knows right now.
One. He’s attracted to Henry.
Two. He wants to kiss Henry again.
Three. He has maybe wanted to kiss Henry for a while. As in, probably this whole time.”

This book is a gorgeous mix of love, hate, witty banter, strong characters, but also of ignorance and prejudices. It makes the important point that queer love is often forgotten by popular history, but Casey McQuiston reminds us about that so cleverly through Alex and Henry’s letters and gives us hope that a First Son of America and a Prince of England could make history together through their relationship. In short, the sentence printed on t-shirts after their love letters leak – “History, huh?”.(“Bet we could make some.”)

I hope we will get to see a love story like this in real life too soon, but until then go read this book and take its message to your heart!

“Take everything you want and know you deserve to have it.”

You are perfect just the way you are! You are beautiful and you are allowed to love whomever your heart desires!

Rating:
​5 stars

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​Author info:
Casey McQuiston