A really good novel about a librarian who falls in love with a teacher who doesn’t seem to be interested. When he moves in with someone else she leaves the school and moves to Galveston, Texas. Four years later he moves to Galveston as the principal of the school she is working in but he has changed completely. Instead of a jovial man he is stern and forbidding. She and her friends try to loosen him up. This is the story of that effort and their budding relationship. The novel was hilarious and serious at the same time. It’s about relationships and how trauma can effect one’s life. This was an ARC through NetGalley and Macmillan publishing.

What you wish for
I loved all of Katherine Center’s books. They’re just so relatable and authentic.

This was super cute. Super endearing and everyone just grows on you. I loved everyone in the book and their experiences were just so real.

The ending with the whale was just the perfect moment that brought it all together.

I am a big fan of Katherine Center but did not enjoy this book as much as her others. I felt the main character was obsessing over things that didn't really matter and was hoping that Principal Duncan would have been developed more as his character had a good storyline that never really developed. With this being said I am still a big fan of this author and will continue to look forward to her new books!

Katherine Center continues to prove to be one of the authors I will automatically read anything she writes without even reading the synopsis. I just love her characters, they are well developed, relatable and keep me interested in the story. I genuinely cared for these characters and they felt multidimensional. It took me no time to finish this book and I’m already looking forward to her next. Thank you to the publisher for providing me an advance copy of this novel!

Katherine Center has done it again! I fell for What You Wish For immediately. The story touched on some very sensitive topics, including a school shooting, and epilepsy and the impact that it has on the individual who has it and their loved ones. Though such topics were discussed, they were written about in a graceful way that addressed their seriousness, yet worked well with the story.

I loved every single character! Well, excluding Kent Buckley. I would love to jump into the community of Galveston Island. The emotions that the characters experienced were very relatable.

I did not want this story to end! Just like How to Walk Away and Things You Save in a Fire, I felt like the writing was speaking to me personally, and I loved that! Despite the serious topics, What You Wish For was about love and acceptance, and with all that is going on right now, it was exactly what I needed!

I am disappointed because I really wanted to like this book as I have really enjoyed some of Katherine Center’s other books. However, this one fell flat for me. The main character was written in a way that was supposed to quirky and cute, but she came off as a cheesy. Most of the other characters were the same.
It felt like the author had too many ideas she wanted to cover (epic love stories, death of a beloved partner, gun violence, bad marriages, epilepsy, parenting, school drama, etc.) and was very surface level on all of them, so I ended up not caring about any of it. I finished the book because I thought it would get better at some point because Center is a talented writer, but it just didn’t. I do greatly appreciate the opportunity to read an advance copy, so a big thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for that!

Can I please just live inside Katherine Center’s head so I can be with her characters all the time?!? I loved this story and these characters! So much heart. I laughed out loud a bunch, too. I love how Center’s books always have life lessons that inspire you to live more fully and choose joy in the face of darkness. I loved Sam, I really loved Duncan, I loved Babette and all the supporting characters. It was also so fun to have Helen be part of the story. Loved this book.

Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s for the ARC!

I enjoyed this book a lot, as I do all of Katherine Center’s books. As always, the characters were well developed and extremely relatable, and the connections among them extremely compelling. The story was interesting and the book held my attention - I read it quickly because I didn’t want to put it down. It was enjoyable without being too light and fluffy and while still having deep, interesting themes to it. Somehow it wasn’t quite as good as a couple of her others to me (Happiness for Beginners and Things You Save in a Fire come to mind) - the plot was maybe a little too predictable and not quite as complex and well developed as some of her others - but still a great read from a great author.

I love Katherine Centers' books so much! This one is great, just like all
the others have been. I love that her books are different but they all are
written to make us feel something. I loved Sam the librarian! She is fearless,
dealing with the stuffy new principle she had feelings for in her last job that
she left to get away from him and her strong feelings for him. Now here he is
at her new job. A totally changed person from the crazy, happy man she once
knew. I highly recommend this book! Katherine Center has done it again!

Thank you so much, Katherine Center, Her publisher, and NetGalley, for giving
me the chance to read and review this great book!!

"...again and again ... to choose joy on purpose."

Katherine Center's book, as with all of her books, are fun and touching. You find yourself drawn in to quirky worlds of imperfection and warmth.

Samantha is a school librarian that moves to Galveston from California in hopes to forget about Duncan, a wildly popular love interest she had at another school that didn't even really notice her. She finds a garage apartment behind the schools principal and art teacher, Max and Babbette. When Max passes away the school is overcome with grief without their principal and dear friend. Sam soon finds out that the new principal is Duncan, the one she moved away from and start a new life. Duncan didn't pay attention to her back in California ... so why would he now? He also isn't the same fun-loving person that she remembers ... he turns out to be a different person who doesn’t even recognize her and is intent on changing the school completely for reasons he won't tell. Both Sam and Duncan have emotional problems that stand in the way of true happiness. With the help of family and friends, will they ever be able to learn to let go of the past and love again?

A great summer beach read for 2020 ... not to be missed!

I have to say, I almost gave up on this book around 30%. I really hated the beginning. Due to all the wonderful reviews, I kept with it and I am glad that I did.

The beginning felt a little juvenile, like teens in high school. I didn't see anything happening, like the plot was just lost in all the everyday mundane tasks. The story really picked up when the characters weren't in school. That's when I got sucked into the book and I couldn't put it down.

I really don't think the book description does this story justice.

Review will be live on Book Confessions of 3-25-20

Samantha is a quirky, small-town school librarian, who lives in her principle’s guest house, and pines for her unrequited love Doug, who never even knew she was alive.

Until Doug shows up as her school’s new principal.

When tragedy strikes, Samantha’s community is reeling in grief and disbelief. But there’s little time for mourning when Doug arrives taking command and throwing every shade of grey into their established system. Doug takes a rather militant vision of school protection and immediately starts carrying out his disciplinary measures.

This upsets and dismays the staff and students, but it is Samantha’s shock from the drastic changes in the fun-loving Doug she remembered, to this man of flint, that emboldens her to lead the revolt against his implementations.

The two have no choice but to work together, and slowly, layers of protection and guardedness are peeled back to reveal a respectful appreciation of the other and the spark of mutual attraction.

I am a fan of Katherine Center’s writing – it is perceptive, authentic and refreshingly witty.

Do read What You Wish For - I highly recommend it!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the read of Katherine Center’s, What You Wish For.

Opinions expressed in my reviews are my own.

I am a huge fan of Katherine Center. She writes fantastic stories that touch me deeply. What You Wish For is another gem to add to her collection. I love her titles and book covers!

This story is about overcoming fears. It is realistic, emotional, heartbreaking and uplifting. The two main characters are the result of past situations (as we all are). Choosing to find hope and continue to live your best life is not easy, but finding joy each day is a great plan to move forward.

I love the message of this book. At the time I read this book, the world is crazy and finding joy might be the only way to keep sanity, March 2020.

I recommend this What You Wish For very highly! I want to thank NetGalley.com and St. Martin's Press for giving me the pleasure of reading this book. My review is my own opinion not influenced by receiving the ARC.

Fans of Katherine Center will enjoy What You Wish For, it's a fun, easy read that still touches on the effects real-world issues have on people, their lives, and relationships.

In Katherine Center’s novel, “What You Wish For”, Sam Casey loves her life as the librarian in an elementary school on an island in Texas. Her beloved principal and father-like figure, Max Kempner, had always had the motto “never miss a chance to celebrate”, and they created a school full of celebration, joy, and a love of learning. When Max unexpectedly passes away, Sam is reunited with Duncan Carpenter, a man with whom she had an unrequited love at her last job. Duncan will take over as principal, but the once fun-loving teacher has changed into a different person, obsessed with turning their school into a secure, “jail-like” facility. Sam hopes to crack through his rock-hard exterior, and bring out the man she use to know.

I have read Katherine Center’s two previous novels, “Things You Save in a Fire” and “How to Walk Away”, and this newest novel exhibits many of the same themes of hope, love, and inspiration. This book encourages us “to choose joy on purpose”, and this joyful novel with fill your heart with warmth and love.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed this book. It was an easy read and I connected with the characters.
Duncan was sympathetic and had a good history.

This book lacks surprise--both in the writing and the plot. To take pleasure from reading, I need to wonder at the impact of word of choice and the ways in which an author controls the experience of the reader. There is no control here.

Remember Things You Lose in a Fire last year? Well, Katherine Center is back and has once again knocked it out of the park.

There are many people who can tell a story well. There are not many people who can tell a story so well you feel as if you know the characters personally and are rooting for them all. One thing I love about her stories is they are everyday people living lives full of problems, insecurities, losses, and joy. You will cry, you will laugh and you will come away having learned more than one valuable lesson!

So let's talk about who is who and what is what!

Sam Casey has had a hard road to travel. With help from the kind family who own the school where she is a Librarian, she is learning to embrace joy and kindness where she can.  She loves the school and the children and with Max as her boss and her landlord, she feels she has a sort of family. 

But life has a funny way of reminding us we aren't really in control of anything when Max drops dead at his 60th birthday party. Leaving his wife and friends devastated.

Obviously, they have to have a new principal, but never in any part of Sam's mind did she think she would know him. Her crush from her former school. He was the fun teacher and she was not his type. Assumptions there!

The Duncan who shows up, however, is not her Duncan. This guy is in a three-piece suit instead of the flamingo pants Sam remembers. And he doesn't seem to know who she is. 

His main goal seems to be to turn her beloved school into a drab, gray prison for children. No fun, no joy, no field trips!! But Sam isn't the mousey teacher she was before. Now she is actively seeking to take this guy out. But in doing so, she lets him in. And she finds out she has judged him too quickly and too harshly. 

Will we find out who the bad guy really is? Will Duncan finally notice her? And more importantly, will he run when he finds out her secrets? Or will she run when she discovers his?

Very Well Done! Highly Recommend!

NetGalley/ July 14th, 2020 by St. Martin's Press

I really liked this book. It's kind of perfect. Is it predictable? Sure. Is it cheesy? Mostly. But you don't read Katherine Center's novels for any other reason than they are just bright rays of sunshine-y book goodness. I recommend this book to anyone who doesn't care to be depressed by the books they read. You can't help but pull for the main characters. Seriously. I love to love books, and this one not hard to love!

I have enjoyed the last two (only other two) books by Katherine Center that I have read. What You Wish For was no exception, and it may have been my favorite of the three. As a teacher, I'm a sucker for a good book about a teacher set in a school environment, and this one fit that perfectly. I loved the banter between the main characters, and the dynamic relationships that the author developed throughout the story. I found myself wishing I was a teacher at the private elementary school that Samantha, the main character, worked in! Katherine Center did a good job of writing this book in a way that conveys the message of leaving behind the hurt you may have faced, and choosing joy!

I absolutely loved this quote from the end of the book: “Life doesn’t ever give you what you want just the way you want it. Life doesn’t ever make things easy. How dare you demand that happiness should be yours without any sacrifice—without any courage? What an incredibly spoiled idea—that anything should come easy? Love makes you better because it’s hard. Taking risks makes you better because it’s terrifying. That’s how it works. You’ll never get anything that matters without earning it. And even what you get you won’t get to keep. Joy is fleeting. Nothing lasts. That’s exactly what courage is. Knowing all that going in—and going in anyway.”