All the books I've read by Katherine Center have been fun and entertaining. They have relatable characters and great dialogue. This novel was no exception. I loved the character of Sam and her friends and colleagues. The romance was also sweet. This was an enjoyable read with a positive message! Great for fans of Jojo Moyes.

This book was brilliant in ways I just can’t describe. It’s poignant, heart-warming, funny and full of great joy. I absolutely adored all the characters, especially the main protagonists, Sam and Duncan. There’s even a whale rescue. If I say anything, it’s this - READ THIS BOOK.

I am a fan of Katherine Center and will read whatever she writes. First off, I love this cover, and it matches the inside (supporting the idea that sometimes, you can indeed judge a book by its cover). There is a theme of joy throughout this story and how to intentionally choose and cultivate it in your life regardless of whatever else might be going on in your life.

Both of the main characters, Samantha and Duncan, have had some personal experiences that caused them to be apprehensive about committing to joy and expecting long-term happiness for themselves. This is the second time they have worked together. Sam is amazed at the changes in Duncan since she last worked with him 4 years ago. He had been the poster child of joy and is now the poster child of safety in the school setting She is still drawn to him and wants to understand what caused him to so dramatically change. While she was trying to support him, she also received some support. It was a lovely journey.

This was more philosophical than some of the previous books I've read by Katherine Center. I know that it has been said that if Brene Brown wrote fiction, it would resemble a book by Katherine Center, and I really felt that here. There was some almost-therapeutic language in the book- it was relevant for the characters, but thought-provoking for me as a person as well. I liked this book as much as I have liked her other books, but this did feel a little different. I am looking forward to having this book on my shelf, and I do recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It was a pleasure to read this!

I really enjoyed reading this story. Samantha breaking down Duncun slowly is so much fun. the person who she thought he was and what he has become and what she will do to bring him back was so much fun! I really enjoyed this story. This author is becoming one of my favorites.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

Sam had been abandoned by her father and found herself parentless after her mother's death. She longed for the love and safety of a "real" family and thought she had found that with Max and Babette, the founders of the Kempner School where she worked. However following Max's untimely death, her whole world was shaken up. Max was gone, Babette was grieving, and Sam's former crush, Duncan, was the new principal. But this wasn't the Duncan once adored by all, and Sam wasn't fond of this new version. She was determined to help him restore his own joy before he ruined her school.

I discovered Katherine Center via Things You Save in a Fire, and I have gone on to read more of her books for one simple reason - they make me happy. I am guaranteed the warm and fuzzy feels from Center's books, and once again, she has filled my heart with warmth and joy.

Sam was a fantastic! Though her past was riddled with sadness, she kept pushing herself to seek happiness. She could have moped around and felt sorry for herself, but instead, she put on her clown socks and became an active part of her school's community. She made friends and some became her de facto family. She seemed to have a lust for life, however she deemed herself "broken" and denied herself love, all of which broke my heart.

She may have thought she was broken, but she kept choosing joy. This was a beautiful idea that came up, time and time again, in this story. The idea that we can choose joy, and that we have to fight for it sometimes. All of Center's books seem to have something that really speaks to my heart, and this time, it's this concept, which was so encouraging and uplifting.

Enter Duncan, a blast from her past, who also thought he was "broken". My heart was already brimming with emotion, but enter two "broken" people, and it was spilling over. I loved seeing them come together, as Sam searched for the Duncan she knew. Like Sam's "truth", his made my heart ache, but Center mended it by helping these two find some peace with their past, as they forged a friendship and more.

As always, Center left me with all the feels. I laughed, cried, ached, and was filed with delight. Yes, an absolute feelsplosion. I am so happy I had the opportunity to read this stunning story of love, loss, healing, and pain, which reminded me to actively choose joy.

So many readers adore the books by this author that I feel almost as if no review is necessary.  All loyal fans need to see is her name on the title of the book.


This is the third book that I have read by this author.  My favorite is still How to Walk Away, although What You Wish For is certainly an enjoyable read.


I liked the setting of this book, both the Texas location and the vibrant, joyous school where narrator Sam is the librarian. This novel is primarily about Sam and Duncan with attention paid also to those around them.  The two knew each other in the past when Sam had a crush on the flamboyant, exuberant Duncan.  Sam is now at a new school and guess who the new principal is?  (I'm sure that no guess is needed).  But why is Duncan so different?  Will he and Sam connect again?  Even if you feel you know the answers, this book is a good one to laze around with on a summer's day.  Its message of taking as much joy in life as possible, despite life's difficulties, is an affirming one.


On NetGalley, there are 1576 reviews and counting with readers all liking the book.  These are the biggest numbers that I have seen on the site.  I think that readers who buy this book will enjoy it too!


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

A solid ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ book with an engrossing plot, heartwarming and real characters with flaws and all, cutesy love story, and well-placed humor to lighten some of the harder parts. Thoroughly enjoyed and a pretty quick read for those needing to escape for a few hours.

What You Wish For is such a cute contemporary story full of positivity. Katherine Center most definitely knows how to write relatable, fun loving characters that just make it so hard to put her books down.

I absolutely loved the slow burn relationship between Sam and Duncan. Some of it was cheesy and unbelievable but I didn’t love the story any less for those brief moments.

Overall, I highly recommend this one. I fell in love with this author’s writing last year and most definitely will pick up whatever she writes next!

Thank you in advance to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

I really love Katherine Center as an author, and I would say that this book did not disappoint. It was a great balance between laughter and romance and kept me interested throughout the entire book. I finished the book within 2 days, and really enjoyed it. The characters were relatable and were easy to connect with.

While the storyline was a bit lacking at times and a bit cheesy or corny, the boom still put a smile on my face at times. Some lessons on life can be seen in this book and may stick with a reader for a while. Not my favourite book by this author, but looking forward to the next.

Samantha Casey is school librarian for a private school in Galveston, Texas. Passionately devoted to colorful, fun, and expressive, Sam could not be any different than new-to-the-school strict and rules-bound principal Duncan Carpenter. Years earlier, Sam knew Duncan in another school when she was colorless, dulled-down, and controlled and he was flamboyant, joy-filled, and colorful. As Duncan enforces discipline with an onslaught of regulations intended to enforce safety and security, Sam is the person designated to challenge him and encourage him to see the world as the school community does. The time they spent together challenges them to face their deepest fears and greatest longings. Far from being a straightforward romantic adventure (albeit an exceptionally well-written and joy-filled one), this story is trademark Katherine Center is speaking directly to the reader's heart, encouraging whole-hearted embrace of confounding, baffling, marvelous life in all its mess. I loved spending time in Sam's world, now cannot wait to visit Galveston, and enjoying the complex and believable characters. A wonderful read -- never wanted to leave this story world!

Samantha Casey loves her job as school librarian at Kempner Elementary, she loves the kids and she loves her co=workers. When tragedy strikes, leaving the faculty reeling, no one is sure how they will manage to move forward. Then Duncan Carpenter is hired to be the new principal. Samantha knows him from her former job....a job she left because she had unrequited feelings for him. Samantha's first instinct is to pack up and run...until he shows up and is nothing at all like he used to be. Now he is threatening the very core of what their school is and has always stood for. So, she has to choose between running away or staying to fight for what she believes in.

I loved this book. I say that with every book I read from this author, but this one really resonated with me, partially because the main character had epilepsy, which my daughter also has. I loved Samantha's spunk and tenacity. Her fiery spirit made me smile, and the parts about the seizures made me cry. If you are looking for a really good story to get totally immersed in, then I think you should grab a copy of this book, settle down in your favorite reading spot, and enoy the rest of your day.

Thanks to #partner @NetGalley for the digital ARC of Katherine Center's What You Wish For in exchange for an honest review. The book will be published on Tuesday, July 14.

Katherine Center’s What You Wish For is devoted to the pursuit of joy. That doesn’t mean it’s always a joyful novel--in fact, it opens with a tragedy that broke my heart. What it does mean is that Center is exploring, on every page, what we can do when it’s tough to be joyful, when our lives seem to be out of our control, when the world seems to be against us. How do we find joy then?

Elementary librarian Samantha Casey has not led an easy life, but she’s finally found her happy place. She loves Kempner School, which is pretty much an educational utopia. She has a best friend, Alice, who is both incredibly nerdy (math t-shirts!) and insanely cool. By moving to Galveston, she’s escaped the horror of an embarrassing and unrequited crush on Duncan Carpenter, a brilliant teacher and free spirit from her last school. And she has Max and Babette Kempner, the founders of the school, her mentors, and her (unofficially) adopted parental figures.

All of this changes in a moment, in the first scene of the book, when Max, the beloved principal of Kempner School, dies. Suddenly, that firm foundation Sam had found shifts, and she’s left to try to scramble her way back to security, especially after the unexpected reappearance of a very changed Duncan in her life.

Katherine Center does here what she does so well in each of her novels: she creates a world for her main character and then shakes it up. Readers get to watch what happens as the character tries to find firm ground again while realizing that false comfort won’t work.

What You Wish For, with its school setting, checked all my boxes: I loved the discussions of the place of joy and color in a school (and in a life) and the focus on reading what makes you happy (former English teacher here!). I was so happy to see Duncan, a secondary character from a prior Center favorite, Happiness for Beginners, reappear. I reveled in Sam’s struggle to love and connect with others, particularly her consideration of when that connection is worth the risk inherent in reaching out.

I absolutely loved Max, who is wise and kind and the principal and dad we all wish we had (I think I marked every single thing he said in the book!). Most of all, I was hungry to see a character who realizes that finding joy can be difficult but that the search is definitely worth it. That’s a message we all need always, but particularly right now.

I really enjoyed Katherine Center’s Things You Save in a Fire, so when I saw this one I eagerly requested it and it did not disappoint.
Samantha “Sam” Casey is the librarian at a quirky, fun elementary school in Texas. When the beloved principal dies unexpectedly, they bring in Duncan Carpenter, who used to work with Sam at another school years before. Sam had a huge crush on him and nervously awaits the fun, goofy man. But even though it is the man she knew, he’s nothing like his former self - he’s serious, cold, and obsessed with implementing extreme safety measures. Together with the school board president, Duncan is hellbent on turning their sweet, carefree school into a cold, colorless “prison”.
What happened to the Duncan she knew and crushed on? What could’ve caused him to change so much?
With themes of surviving loss and trauma, as well as the intricacies of allowing yourself to be vulnerable, this book had more of an emotional punch than I expected. I read it very quickly, I had to know how the story resolved itself, and I wasn’t disappointed.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center is a story that captures you. Katherine Center’s books are well written with quality characters who are interesting and well thought out. There is an interest level of the storyline that pulls you in.

Samantha Casey has always felt she was the key element in breaking up her parent’s marriage with her epilepsy. That guilt and fear never left. Now as a librarian in a new school in Galveston, Texas, she has found her mojo. The school is full of light, beauty and learning. Her library is out of a dream and the owners of the school have almost adopted her. She is feeling happy and loved and then the owner died.

Duncan Carpenter is the new principal hired after the beloved principal and owner died. Samantha had known him from the past and had a crush on him. Now knowing he was coming with his colorful fun personality, she was nervous. Only when Duncan came, he was different - all grey - all safety - all hard edges and no fun. It is up to Samantha and the other teachers of the school to help Duncan find himself and to save the school.

What the story is really about is joy. Finding and working for joy and then understanding joy is fleeting, yet cumulating. What You Wish For by Katherine Center is a wonderful story that leaves you smiling.

This book was enjoyable and I really liked it. I did find certain parts of the plot really unrealistic, but I just went with it and enjoyed the story. I loved all the main character's relationships, with Max and Babette, her friend Alice, and her students! This wasn't my favorite Katherine Center novel, but still enjoyed it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this advance copy.

I really enjoyed this book, as I did her previous book. The plot moved slowly at first and I was a little frustrated when characters didn't do some things, but it all came around in the end. I loved that the main character was a school librarian among all the other teachers.

I have loved everything that Katherine Center has released recently and this is no exception. Sam is a beloved school librarian that has a tendency to run when life gets too complicated. She has finally found a little nook in the world where she has made a home and found a “family”. She is content and ready to start a new school year when tragedy strikes and her first instinct is to flee.

As the school community bands together to save their beloved institution and what it stands for, Sam struggles to stay grounded. Katherine has a way of taking some heavy topics and bringing them to light in a very readable and understanding way.

This was another great read! It is very well done.

What You Wish For is the first book I’ve read by Katherine Center, and it pretty much knocked my socks off. By turns funny, sad, introspective, and joyful, it was like opening a box of chocolates and realizing I actually liked all the different flavors. (Which never happens, there’s always something weird, right?) And like a good box of chocolates, I devoured this book in just one day.

Sam Casey’s idyllic life in Galveston, Texas, gets upended when her principal/friend/surrogate father passes away abruptly. Max Kempner founded and ran the private elementary school where Sam works as a librarian, and he was the heart and soul of both the school and their community. When Max dies, he leaves a large hole both at home and in the school, and while everyone else is still reeling from shock, his hotshot son-in-law Kent (who is Chairman of the school board) seizes the opportunity to make some changes at Kempner Elementary.

To institute these changes, Kent brings in Duncan Carpenter, a ‘rising star’ from Baltimore whom no one else knows. Except Sam starts to wonder… she knew a Duncan Carpenter when she was teaching in California a few years before. But she’s sure it can’t be the same guy - not only would this be too coincidental, but the Duncan she remembers (and who Sam had a major crush on) was a goofy, fun-loving teacher who started traditions like Hat Day and Friday dance parties. Duncan’s character was far closer to Max’s than Kent’s so she can’t imagine that her Duncan Carpenter and the new principal will be one and the same.

As it turns out, he is and he isn’t. While Duncan did work with Sam in California, he’s no longer the man she knew then. Instead of wearing crazy ties and colorful pants, this man shows up in a gray three-piece suit. Instead of shaking hands and introducing himself to his new staff, this man makes a speech about ‘revolutionizing’ their school and then walks away. Instead of praising the beautiful murals around their building, this man announces he will be painting all their walls gray in order to improve visibility. This new Duncan has abandoned his penchant for mischief and play in favor of an obsession with school safety and security. And sadly, with all the school violence in the news in recent years, it’s not hard for the reader to guess why.

While Sam doesn’t catch on to Duncan’s traumatic past as quickly as I did, she does feel certain that something of the old Duncan must be in there. Although the faculty is doing everything they can to resist Duncan’s strictures, Sam slowly starts to befriend the lonely man. She starts visiting his office to complain about his rules, at which point their conversations turn toward other topics like Sam’s clown socks. They start to build a rhythm, and their chemistry together is obvious. It only gets stronger when Sam learns that Duncan was involved in a school shooting, which is at the root of his new security vigilance. Armed with this understanding, Sam and two close friends develop ‘Operation Duncan’, a plan to help Duncan remember who he used to be and find joy in life again.

In a year as difficult as 2020, I especially appreciated the way the author is able to address the dark realities of the world while also emphasizing the joys of life. Sam struggled with epilepsy as a child, and its recent resurgence in adulthood. When she has her first adult seizure, it has a profound impact on her - at first making her fearful and insecure, but with wisdom and assistance from Max, she is able to use that seizure to propel her into a new way of interacting with the world. The Sam we meet dresses colorfully, acts silly, and makes a conscious choice to embrace positivity in the face of doubts and fears. While her struggles are different, certain things she says clearly strike a chord in Duncan. He will never fully return to who he was before the trauma, but with the help of good friends and a therapist, Duncan is more capable of balancing the need for security, and free expression.

If I have a complaint about the book, it would be that Duncan’s old self is a little over-hyped. Sam remembers a lot about him since she had a crush on him back in the day, but each time she calls up a new list of his exploits they get more outlandish, to the point that I wondered how anyone could possibly have time to do everything that the old Duncan did. However, it’s a minor flaw that made me smile even in its absurdity, and in no way detracts from the story.

Ultimately, What You Wish For is a charming, uplifting book not only about love, but also about choosing joy in the wake of tragedy and hardship. It’s a good read any day, but especially right now.

Buy it at: Amazon, Audible, or your local independent bookstore
Visit our Amazon Storefront

This was my first Katherine Center book and I am now fan. I definitely need to check out her other novels ASAP!

The writing was beautiful and the storylines were page turning. Some of it was a little predictable, like the storybook ending. Sometimes these endings make my eyes roll, but I liked it here.

I loved Sam, a quirky librarian who loves her job? Yes please! Was not a fan of Duncan at first, be he inevitably grew on me.

Thank you to the author, publishers and netgallery for the gifted arc of What You Wish For, in exchange for an honest review.