Red White and Casey McQuiston

 Casey McQuiston

Casey is a 35 year old non binary American young adults author. They have 4 books published with a 5th on the way. Their main focus is on queer love stories and using their platform to educate young adults. They have many awards and accolades spanning over 5 years, their stories are not just stories they have deep rooted meaning for queer people around the world. 

About Casey

They were born on January 21st in Southern Louisiana, which means they are a Pisces! They did an interview with Samuel Maude, and he wrote "The author grew up Catholic but attended a small Southern Baptist school for 13 years before attending Louisiana State University.(5)" I like how they decided to stay in their home state for college then travel after they got their bachelor's degree. They currently live in Queens, New York with their family. Their website talks about how "when not writing love stories, they can be found staring at the nearest body of water or spending time with their beloved and always-hungry poodle mix, Pepper (1)." Casey is a very down to earth person, they have very little information on their website except for the important things, like their dog, Pepper!

Speaking of website here is the link for that if you are interested in checking them out! Casey's Website

Awards Galore

• RUSA Romance Award: One Last Stop (2022)
• Stonewall Honor Books in Children’s and Young Adult Literature:I Kissed Shara Wheeler (2023)
• Lammy Awards, Bisexual Fiction: (runner up) The Pairing (2025)

Their debut novel, Red, White and Royal Blue, was adapted to an Emmy-nominated film in 2023. (1)

Red, White and Royal Blue

Red White and Royal Blue Book Cover 

Red White and Royal Blue is a beautifully written story based in modern day. It follows the first son of the United States Alex Claremont Diaz and Prince Henry of Britain. It is their love story and how the pair were not so in love, not even friends. Their differing political climate proves to cause struggles throughout their story. They connect at Henry's brother's wedding, they make a spectacle out of themselves by knocking down the wedding cake. That was the beginning of their long story spanning over years, they fall in love over email and small in person meetings. They are just starting to feel comfortable with their relationship when their emails get leaked to the world. Now their private information, childhood stories, desires, and wants are all out for billions to see.

The couple goes on a brief break in order to ease in navigating this hard time. Henry's family is not supportive while Alex's is. They both were publicly outed, this was out of their control, and how each of their families will react had been foreshadowed from the beginning. 

In the end everything works out, there are elections, love, crowns, and scandal all wrapped into one amazing book.

Red White and Royal Blue Movie Poster 

Red, White and Royal Blue The Movie

The movie is based on their debut book, it is only on prime and came out in 2023. It is directed by Matthew Lopez, and Casey had a big hand in writing/casting the film as well (4). The movie became very popular amongst not only the readers of the book but also movie fans. Some say that the movie is fast paced compared to the book (4), however I am a fan of both the book and the movie and didn't mind the pacing.  

I have been watching and reading queer tropes similar to Red White and Royal Blue for years, some include Heart Stopper, Call Me By Your Name and Young Royals. These three are my favorites and I rewatch them at least once a year. This is one of the main reasons why I chose Casey to research, I was curious more about their history rather than the books themselves. I was interested to find out they grew up in a christian household, it is refreshing to see someone as collected as they are writing amazing works. 

Other Works

• Red White and Royal Blue (2019)
• One Last Stop (2021)
• I kissed Shara Wheeler (2022)
• The pairing (2024)
• Red White and Royal Blue The Private Correspondence (December 2026)

This information was found on source number 2

Literary Review 

Plasencia wrote a literary review that describes the ever changing world, and how Casey is making a space available for queer young adults to feel seen and heard. He writes "Online dating and social media have also changed how people explore their sexuality with topics like consent, sexual harassment, and sex education becoming more relevant as the days progress (3)." This is evident in Red White and Royal Blue, via their leaked emails and Alex's campaign strategy. I was intrigued to read this review based off of these parallels alone. I wanted to know truly how these things are being explored in real life. 

This is a quote from the article I think adds emphasis to my statement above, "These developments emphasize the need to celebrate diversity and explore how sexuality is shown in media and literature. It is for these reasons that this study examined how sexuality is portrayed in the main characters of Casey McQuiston's novel “Red, White and Royal Blue”. It focuses on how this theme is developed through the plot, the characters’ traits and actions, the representation of diverse identities, and the way the novel engages with or challenges traditional ideas(3)."  It is clear that the world is changing, and Casey McQuiston is helping it move in the right direction! 

Work Cited

1. Ballard, Claudia. “Casey MCQUISTON.” CASEY MCQUISTON, 2026,www.caseymcquiston.com/

2. Frank. “Casey McQuiston List of Books.” Book Notification, 9 Aug. 2021, www.booknotification.com/authors/casey-mcquiston/.

3.  Plasencia, Von Daniel Romina. “Sexuality Under a Textual Lens in Casey McQuiston’s Red, White and Royal Blue .” Kln Pass User Login, 26 Dec. 2025,https://research-ebsco-com.proxy-commonwealthu.klnpa.org/c/qh4vbl/viewer/pdf/jusrwnpd5r?auth-callid=39106c24-0768-4b77-9e16-af50f1bbd688

4.“Red, White & Royal Blue (2023) - User Reviews - Imdb.” Edited by Matthew Lopez, Imbd.Com, 2026,  www.imdb.com/title/tt10172266/reviews/.

5. Maude , Samuel. “Casey McQuiston Wants to Teach You about Queer Sex.” Elle , 6 Aug. 2024, www.elle.com/culture/books/a61742663/casey-mcquiston-the-pairing-red-white-royal-blue-film-sequel-interview/.