The Cross Necklace Symbol in I Kissed Shara Wheeler

Introduction

In Casey McQuiston’s I Kissed Shara Wheeler, a small piece of jewelry carries the weight of faith, family, performance, and personal revolt. The cross necklace—Shara Wheeler’s discarded diamond-studded crucifix—first appears as a school status symbol, then becomes a tool Chloe uses to provoke Shara, and finally emerges as a sign of Shara’s reclamation of her own identity. This object weaves through the novel’s exploration of religious expectation, hidden rebellion, and the pressure that comes with being the perfect Christian daughter.

What Is the Cross Necklace?

The necklace is a thin silver chain with a small, ornate charm: a diamond-studded crucifix. At Willowgrove Christian Academy, similar cross necklaces serve as a visible marker of wealth and piety. Chloe’s mothers could not afford one for her, and the necklace represents a social world that has often excluded her. For Shara, the necklace was a gift from her parents on her thirteenth birthday, accompanied by a letter about her becoming a “woman of Christ.” It is, in Shara’s own words, “like wearing a little travel-size version of their expectations.”

Where the Cross Necklace Appears

The cross necklace recurs at several key moments in the novel:

Freshman year, the library: Chloe witnesses Shara hesitate, then unclasp the necklace and drop it into a wastepaper basket. Chloe retrieves it and keeps it for years, initially with a vague thought of pawning it but never doing so.
Chapter 19 (Chloe’s study session): Chloe deliberately wears the necklace to provoke Shara during a tutoring session in the library. She casually pushes her collar aside to expose the crucifix, and Shara’s reaction is immediate and disoriented. Shara asks where Chloe got it; Chloe lies that she found it in the trash. Shara cannot answer the question directly and flees the room.
Chloe’s bedroom (same night): Shara climbs through Chloe’s window to leave another pink note, still wearing only her undershirt. The necklace is not mentioned again until the return scene.
Chapter 23 (dinner and return): After a tense dinner with Chloe’s mothers, Chloe returns the necklace to Shara on the drive home. Shara explains why she discarded it and then puts it back on, tucking it under her dress before facing her father.
After graduation: The necklace is not explicitly mentioned at the bonfire, but its resolution in chapter 23 closes the arc. Shara chooses to wear it again, but on her own terms—hidden from her father’s gaze but present as a personal choice rather than a forced expectation.

How Its Meaning Evolves

The cross necklace undergoes a clear transformation in meaning over the course of the story:

From status symbol to discarded object: When Chloe first sees it, the necklace is a sign of belonging at Willowgrove. By discarding it, Shara rejects that public performance of faith and the social pressure that comes with it.
From provocation to confession: Chloe weaponizes the necklace to push Shara toward honesty. Wearing it is an act of manipulation—Chloe wants Shara to “own up to something for once in your life.” The scene forces Shara to confront the fact that Chloe knows her better than she expected.
From burden to reclaimed choice: When Shara finally explains why she threw the necklace away, she articulates her struggle with religious identity. She loves God and feels at home in church, but she does not want that love to be confused with the performative Christianity of her peers or the rigid expectations of her parents. Returning the necklace allows Shara to re-integrate that part of herself on her own terms. She puts it back on, but tucks it out of sight, a quiet reclamation rather than a public declaration.

Character and Theme Connections

The cross necklace connects deeply to several characters and themes in the novel.

Characters

Shara Wheeler: The necklace is Shara’s object, and her relationship to it mirrors her internal conflict. She is caught between her parents’ vision of who she should be and her own growing awareness of her queer identity. The necklace represents the pressure to be a certain kind of Christian woman.
Chloe Green: Chloe keeps the necklace for years, not for its monetary value but because it is a piece of Shara. Wearing it is both a provocation and a confession of her own fixation. By returning it, Chloe shows that she understands Shara’s struggle and respects her autonomy.
Chloe’s mothers: Their acceptance of Shara at dinner offers a counterpoint to Shara’s own family. Chloe’s mom shares her own story of leaving Alabama, encouraging Shara to consider that she is “allowed to exist somewhere else.” This moment gives Shara permission to imagine a future where the necklace can be a personal symbol rather than a parental one.
Principal Wheeler: Though he never directly interacts with the necklace, he represents the authority and expectations it embodies. His sermon on gossip and his presence at the end of chapter 23 underscore the pressure Shara faces.

Themes

Identity and Performance: The necklace is a performance of faith and wealth. Shara discarding it and later reclaiming it privately parallels the theme of performing a false self versus discovering one’s authentic identity.
Queer Awakening and Acceptance: Shara’s struggle with the necklace occurs alongside her awakening to her feelings for Chloe. The cross represents the religious environment that complicates that awakening.
Manipulation versus Authenticity: Chloe uses the necklace to manipulate Shara into honesty, but the object ultimately leads to a truer connection. The game of hidden notes and provocations gives way to genuine understanding.
Family and Community: The contrast between Shara’s family expectations and Chloe’s supportive mothers highlights the role family plays in shaping—or freeing—a young queer person.
Competition and Rivalry as Intimacy: Chloe’s competitive instinct drives her to wear the necklace as a challenge. That rivalry becomes a path to intimacy.

Study Questions

1. Why does Shara throw away the cross necklace? What does it represent to her at that moment?

Shara discards the necklace in the library during freshman year because she feels it represents her parents’ expectations rather than her own faith. She explains to Chloe that the necklace came with a letter about becoming a “woman of Christ,” and she did not want everyone at school to assume her way of loving God matched the loud, performative Christianity she saw around her. Throwing it away is an act of rejecting the public identity imposed on her.

2. How does Chloe’s decision to wear the necklace advance her plan to provoke Shara?

Chloe wears the crucifix deliberately during their study session in Chapter 19, exposing it by casually pushing her collar aside. The necklace startles Shara because it is a tangible link to her secret past—an object she thought she had permanently discarded. Chloe uses the necklace to force Shara into a confrontation, demanding that Shara admit the necklace is hers and, by extension, admit the hidden parts of herself. The tactic works: Shara becomes visibly anxious and flees the room, showing that Chloe has touched a nerve.

3. What changes when Chloe returns the necklace to Shara in Chapter 23?

When Chloe returns the necklace during the car ride after dinner, the gesture shifts from provocation to reconciliation. Chloe admits she saw Shara discard it and has kept it all these years. Shara, in turn, confides why she got rid of it. She puts the necklace back on but tucks it under her dress before facing her father. This act shows that Shara is choosing to reclaim the symbol on her own terms—wearing it privately rather than as a public performance of obedience. The return solidifies the trust between her and Chloe.

4. How does the cross necklace connect to the novel’s larger theme of religious expectation versus personal faith?

The necklace serves as a concrete example of the divide between public religious performance and private belief. At Willowgrove, cross necklaces are status symbols that signal piety and family wealth. Shara’s discomfort with wearing it comes from her awareness that others will assume her faith is the same as her parents’ or her peers’. She loves God and feels at home in church, but she does not want that love to be reduced to a uniform. By both discarding and later reclaiming the necklace, the novel suggests that faith can be personal and authentic even when it does not match institutional expectations.

Conclusion

The cross necklace in I Kissed Shara Wheeler is far more than a piece of jewelry. It encapsulates the tension between the person Shara is expected to be and the person she is becoming. Through Chloe’s provocation and Shara’s explanation, the necklace transforms from a symbol of oppression into one of personal agency. It is a reminder that identity—religious, romantic, or otherwise—cannot be worn on a chain for others to judge. It must be chosen, hidden, and claimed again, like Shara slipping the crucifix beneath her dress, keeping something sacred and true for herself.