This book was delightful. It was a quick and uplifting read with likable characters. The descriptions of the school were so vivid and welcoming --- I just wish I could have gone to that school !! This is my second book by this author and I'm going to have to read her backlist as I've enjoyed them both!!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

I loved this book so much! Katherine writes such amazing stories and this one doesn’t disappoint. I loved the storyline and how it’s such a fun whimsical tale. My students can’t read something g like this but I will be buying this in July when it’s released and recommending it to all my friends! Thank you for the chance to read this early!

4.5 STARS! I thoroughly enjoyed "What You Wish For"! It was so good! I found myself rooting for both Samantha and Duncan.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LRKfOkEAYJw&t=61s
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Thank you to Katherine Center and Netgalley for the chance to review and read this great book!

Captivating read! I picked up this book Thursday and finished late Friday night. There are many deep messages shared in this book. I could so relate to the struggle between having a fun, carefree educational environment and a very guarded, safe educational environment. I instantly fell in love with the characters and could relate to their struggles. In the end, we all learned to choose JOY!

Katherine Center's books are always inspiring and engaging. I was really excited when I got an email about reading an advance copy of this book. As all her books are, it is a page turner and I read it in one day. I can't say that I liked it as much as her last book, but I still enjoyed it and will always look forward to reading her work. Thanks so much for the chance to read and review this book!

I loved this book! Such a great storyline. I was captured by it right from the jump and laughed and cried a few times throughout. Maybe there will be a part 2? Great characters too.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Samantha is the librarian at an elementary school in Galveston. She moved in with the school's founders when she started working 4 years ago and has since felt like a member of their family. In a tragic turn of events, the school principal/her father figure dies suddenly. She has mixed feelings when she learns the goofy, hilarious, kid-loving teacher, Duncan, at her previous school will be the replacement principal... someone she had a huge crush. When he arrives, he is nothing like he was before. Obsessed with school safety, he is slowly turning the school into a prison. Sam must learn to stand up for what she believes in to save the school, kids, and maybe even Duncan.

This was a very quick read and overall enjoyable. I found it to be very predictable. For much of the book, we know nothing about Duncan's past except that he used to be the fun teacher and now he is the complete opposite. I guessed his backstory about 10% in. There was a bit of a plot twist at the end that I did not expect.

The story was a cute contemporary romance, but I felt like Duncan was the only character with any bit of development. Sam had her backstory, but it didn't play a huge role into the plot until the end. The dialogue could get really redundant. There was one phrase that was written almost every 2 pages. This could have been a really great story, but I found the lack of character development and redundancy to get in the way.

I 'm glad I ran across this title to read, the author came up with a wonderful storyline that is very real in the world today. The characters in this are about to become your new friends. It kept me guessing and I couldn't stop reading it. Well done!

A nice romance and easy read. I love Katherine Center’s books but I felt this plot fell a little short. I wouldn’t hesitate to read another of her books. The epilepsy and school shooting could have made a much richer story. Sorry Katherine, I do love your writing but this one, not so much.

This was such a treat to read. Katherine Center always provides stories with characters that you would love to know in real life. This book is no exception. Sam and Duncan came alive for me and I was rooting for them throughout. Kempner was so vivid in my eyes - I wanted the chance to sit down in Sam’s library and read for hours. This is one of those stories that I didn’t want to end. When the world was in a bit of chaos and upheaval this book was the perfect antidote. I can’t wait to recommend it to my friends.

After I set aside my aversion to charter schools (since this was the setting of the book), I thought this was a really entertaining, uplifting story with funny moments, likeable characters, and some good messages that synced well with these trying times (search for joy). Sam is pretty sunny for a school librarian (because I know that days can be bad, really bad), but there were so many nice little details that revealed her personality, like the description of all the fun pens she kept at her desk for her students, that I bought into it. The romance was well done, and it will appeal to readers who like things chaste. Highly recommended.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ebook ARC of What You Wish For by Katherine Center. I have read two of Katherine Center's books before this, and she is now one of my favorite authors. I honestly didn't know what this book was about, but when I saw saw it was Read Now on NetGalley, I immediately requested it. I read this book in a day; I could not put it down.

Samantha Casey is a librarian in her dream school. She finally feels like she has a family and belongs. When the principal, who everyone adores, suddenly dies, he has to be replaced. The replacement happens to be Samantha's crush from her last school. She doesn't think she can handle it, until she sees how different he is.

This book was so good. This was the perfect book to read during this crazy time of uncertainty and self-quarantine for me.

Katherine Center does it again. This book became my favorite of all of the author's. Well written, fast reading, beautiful content, beautiful story and beautiful characters. Lessons of love and empathy at all times. The plot is curious, funny and fun. I laughed, I was angry too, I cried, but the love I developed for history was greater. The people are simple, the story is extremely real, which makes you immediately feel part of the characters. A well-crafted romance story with great taste and elegance. Many quotes, much learning. A lovely ending. My favorite phrase ~ "I bite and scrtch and claw my way toward happiness everyday". Well done by the author, excellent title, excellent . Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read it. All opinions are strictly mine.

This was a quick read and I was really hoping to give it more stars, but there are parts of the story that are so far-fetched I nearly rolled my eyes. Samantha's obsession with a former colleague named Duncan seemed juvenile to me. When Duncan is named the new principal of the school where Samantha works, she is beside herself with worry. She seemed to be quite an unstable character despite working in a school where she is in charge of children!
The school safety improvement plot line was silly -- if this was one of "the best schools in the country" it would have already had many safety issues addressed. And NO educator suffering from PTSD would be able to have a position of authority without already going through some form of therapy and being cleared to work again.

I did enjoy seeing how Samantha and Duncan's relationship evolves and grows after becoming reacquainted...not always straight forward, they had to go through some messy and hard work in the relationship. This was the only realistic point of the book!

Overall, this book was just OK for me, but others might love it!

This is a story about a teacher named Sam, who works at a very artistic and progressive thinking school on an island in Texas. Upon the unexpected death of the school's beloved principal, the board of directors brings in a new principal, Duncan, a fun, wild and engaging former colleague of Sam's, who she had a huge crush on. Upon Duncan's arrival, Sam believes there is no one better for the job, and is concerned about a re-ignition of her feelings. However, upon Duncan's arrival, Sam realizes that any trace of fun is gone from her former colleague. Duncan is strict, reserved and obsessed with safety. He plans to make multiple changes to the lively school, none of which the staff agree to. Sam decides that changes will not be made to the beloved school without a fight, despite her re-ignited feelings continuing to grow.

I have mixed feelings about this story. At first I was drawn to it as a fellow teacher. I appreciate the very accurate details that the author gave regarding the multiple aspects of education that were mentioned throughout the story. I did enjoy the storyline. I had figured out why Duncan was obsessed with safety early on, but there were still twists and surprises. The love story between Sam and Duncan was sweet and endearing. However, I did find Sam slightly immature. She had a crush on Duncan for a long time and never said anything or did anything about it. However, him being with someone else upset her so much she left the school and moved to the Kempner school. Further, she undergoes a transformation. I thought the transformation within herself was great, but with the weird hair and clothes it was unnecessary. It is unlikely that a teacher will dress like that in my experience. I understood it a bit better when her history with epilepsy was revealed, however I still thought the immaturity around her crush was confusing. How can she have such strong and significant feelings while it was a crush from far away? Then, her crush re-ignites while she hates everything that Duncan is doing and standing for, all of the changes he is making at the school. I do understand that feelings can be confusing for a person, but Sam had so many mixed feelings for Duncan for so long, until it was revealed that he liked her back and they became closed. I thought the beginning of the book dragged a bit, but it did become more engaging the longer it went on. The whole aesthetic of the book, including the school and the characters, the setting was all great. It was interesting to read and imagine. I was happy with the ending, and with the trials and tribulations that occurred during the story. In reviewing, I would rate it a 3.5, but will give it 4 stars here.

Another beautiful, touching story from Katherine Center! We all have our flaws and live with them. Some of us hide behind them and it doesn’t allow us to live a full, happy life. Why do we push people away and run away from things that are good for us? Sam, a school librarian, the main character underestimated herself in every way. She felt small and unworthy since childhood. She ran away from her fear (a coworker she cared about but never thought she had a chance with-Duncan) , to work at a small school in a different city and seems to be doing better, until the past (Duncan) comes back to haunt her. How we deal with what life throws us can make or break us. This small community, along with Sam and Duncan help each other heal and to love life and each other.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with the eARC of this book.

I am sad to say that I did NOT like this book. I was so excited to read it because I loved Things You Save in a Fire and How to Walk Away and because I am a teacher myself. However, this book just fell flat. I didn't feel like I really got to know Sam as a character, beyond that she wore a lot of polka dots. While finding out Duncan's backstory helped make his personality make more sense, I didn't get why Sam was still attracted to him before she knew the backstory, while he was still being such a huge jerk at school. I felt like Center was trying too hard to make "quotable" passages about finding joy; it all just felt a bit forced and fake. The one good thing I can say about the book is that it did keep me flipping pages, but overall I feel it was poorly executed. I think part of the problem too was that the story felt really rushed- a lot of time passed in the book very quickly.

"Listen close: pay attention to the things that connect you with joy.” -What You Wish For by Katherine Center is a story about overcoming trauma and fear. I started it two or three days ago and breezed through it. It was a fast read and it was actually quite light hearted, regardless of involving various heavy topics. I felt it was therapeutic to read during this time of chaos and uncertainty. Katherine Center is an author that I just have to read every book she writes. They are relatable stories with realistic situations.

2.5 stars*

Unfortunately, this was not my favorite Katherine Center book and I loved “How to Walk Away” and “Things you Save in a Fire.” From the premise, I thought it would be a book I could connect to since I’m a teacher and it seemed like it would be a good plot. But I couldn’t connect to the main character and she was really annoying. Her character development confused me. The character completely quits her job and moves across the country because she’s obsessed with a coworker that she never even dated because he went on a date with another coworker. How is that realistic at all! For being an adult, Samantha was whiny and acted more like a teenager when it came to Duncan. The plot just seemed underdeveloped and I kept asking myself why do I care? as I continued reading.

I still love Katherine Center’s books but this one fell really flat for me.

This book was a 5 star read for me! I adored Katherine Center's How To Walk Away, and, honestly, I loved this book even more. The characters were very well written, and pulled me in from the beginning. The theme of fear and how we have to create joy to overcome it was beautiful, and poignant! This book is going to be such at success, and it comes at a time when the message of choosing joy has never been more needed!