Casey McQuiston was sure their new book would get banned. They wrote it anyway.

Casey McQuiston knows what some people think about the South.

The last two titles from the New York Times best-selling author, "Red White and Royal Blue" and "One Last Stop," were set in the major metropolitan areas of New York and Washington D.C. Yes, the mainly queer cast of characters had problems to solve, but they did so with the help of their equally liberal and diverse friends, in communities that seemed handmade for them. 

There's a tendency for literature that focuses on LGBTQ+ characters from religious upbringings to have a particular bent: Parents aren't understanding, religions are demonizing and small towns have nothing to offer but a satisfying glance in the rearview mirror. But in "I Kissed Shara Wheeler," their first young adult offering, McQuiston shows that real life, and real love, for LGBTQ+ teens and tweens can start long before they leave home.