I really enjoyed Katherine Center's other books, but I unfortunately could not get very far into this one. The main character completely turned me off. I found her actions and motivations to be extremely unrealistic. She uprooted and moved out of state to avoid someone she had a crush on? She is hiding a medical condition because she was uninvited to a party when she was a kid? I don't think real life works this way, and maybe the rest of the book smooths out, but I could not identify with this person as a character at all.

This book hit all the notes that make a book enjoyable for me: interesting and well developed characters, humor that isn’t forced, intrigue, and an exploration of universal facets of humanity wrapped in an original plot. Like her other books, this one tackled some difficult issues in a realistic way, but tempered with a healthy dose of wit and warmth.
It took me a while to warm up to Sam. Sometimes it seemed her brand of quirky ventured close to the “Wait, what?” line. But her voice in the story was so honest it wasn’t hard to develop affection for her. And of course it isn’t too difficult to guess what turned Duncan from a beloved, laid back and entertaining elementary school teacher to a rude, buttoned up administrator- but the reader and Sam have to discover the details. The secondary characters, especially Babbett, her daughter Tina and grandson Clay are wonderful, and every story needs a creep like Tina's husband. The setting of Galveston is pictured so well it almost becomes another character.
This author has a special way of creating flawed but admirable characters who discover themselves and grow through dealing with difficult situations - and writing it in a way that keeps the reader turning pages, never knowing whether the next will prompt a chuckle or a tear.

This review contains SPOILERS!

Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors because she writes strong female characters. I was anticipating What You Wish For to be equally strong. Unfortunately, this book didn't land for me.

The main female character, Sam, is so obsessed with a man that she has a crush on to the point that she moves out of state rather than deal with the crush in a healthy way, and intends to uproot her life again when they are reunited. She is whiny, wacky, and tends to take over any situation she is in. I really wanted to find the character likeable, but I struggled.

The main male character, Duncan, suffers from PTSD from being a victim of a school shooting. Let me make this clear, I have been an educator for 18 years and have been though SWAT Team run-hide-fight and ALICE trainings where they teach you how to hide your students, how to baricade your doors, and how to fight back. I have been shot with air-soft rifles to simulate an actual shooting. I have been trained by paramedics on how to triage gun shot victims and how to patch a gun shot wound with a plastic bag and duct tape so that a child doesn't bleed out in front of you. IN NO WAY would a school principal who has been shot and is suffering from PTSD EVER bring a gun (even if fake) on campus and wave it around a staff meeting. I understand that Katherine Center was probably trying to show how unlikable Duncan is, but the way she went about it was completely tone deaf (and naive) to the world in which we now live. I found it offensive and egregious.

The second act of the book improved, and I was rooting for Sam and Duncan to get together. In the second act, the dialogue was more natural and the characters were more relatable, almost likable. I enjoyed seeing how Duncan began to feel joy again and how Sam's whimsy was what helped him. Their blooming love was sweet.

I recommend this book with reservations. Teachers and those suffering from PTSD may have a hard time reading it both because of its content and tone deafness. Personally, I'd rather rearead Things You Save in a Fire.

***What You Wish For is family drama, work drama and romance drama all presented in Ms. Center’s latest novel. The death of the school’s founder Max brings changes to his widow, daughter, and the school employees...not all of them welcome or welcoming. Librarian Samantha has a history with Duncan, the man brought in to take over running school and as the story unfolds they have conflicts, issues and secrets. I had a hard time getting into the story and it never fully engaged my emotions until nearly halfway through, to the point that I kept putting the book aside for a while before trying again. I voluntarily reviewed an advance copy of this book from NetGalley.

Katherine Center has become one of my favorite authors in the last six months and this is the third book of hers that I have absolutely burned through. I was not disappointed. What You Wish For tells the story of eccentric school librarian Sam and goofball teacher-turned-stickler principal Duncan as they clash and connect over the private school where they both work. Sam has worked there for several years when Duncan, a teacher from her old school who she crushed on for years, shows up as the new principal. However, he's nothing like she remembered and they continuously clash over his ideas for making the school safer at the cost of its individuality and creativity. As they get closer, however, Sam realizes the hurt that lays at the root of his strictness and she starts a mission to help him find joy in life again.

This book was phenomenal. It had poignant humor, emotional impact, hilarious dialogue, and fantastic characters. It's everything I love about contemporary fiction--funny and impactful at the same time. The characters are well rounded, Center brings you right into the world of private school teachers, and you can't help but care deeply about everyone. I highly recommend this book. It was a fantastic read.

Let me start by saying that I love Katherine Center! She's one of my favorite newer authors and How to Walk Away in a Fire and How to Walk Away. I will say this book What you Wish For doesn't rank as high as those previous titles but still very enjoyable. I felt like the story started sort of slowly and was harder for me to get into. The last fourth of the book really picked up and I was sucked in until the end. It was an unusual story and I loved that the setting took place in a school- the love story between the librarian and the principal. I'll keep being a Katherine fan for sure!

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

<u>What You Wish for</u> was a magical, emotional read for me, full of colourful characters who dressed like circus performers and who had no issue with spontaneous outbursts of pure Joy.

Having the courage to embrace life, to soldier on and do or find the things that bring you joy, despite all the misery and unhappiness that may still be hovering on your horizon, was a major theme in this novel. Duncan, the new school principal, had endured a horrible trauma which completely changed his happy-go-lucky outlook on life. Katherine Center truly impressed me with her excellent portrayal of a man suffering from PTSD. The main character, Samantha, comes to understand - after a death defying stunt of her own - that most of us have not experienced fear at the same level that persons suffering from PTSD have. Expecting PTSD sufferers to magically heal by "changing their attitudes" or "thinking about more positive things" is never going to be realistic. There is no quick fix solution. Some damage is irrevocable, and the person you knew before is and will remain forever changed by his or her trauma.

I have always had great respect for Katherine Center's emotional intelligence. Not only is she a gifted writer, but she understands what makes us human's act and behave the way we do - and then turns it into an unforgettable novel. I loved spending time with Samantha, Duncan, Alice - loved all those math jokes!, Babette and, of course, the budding young genius, Clay. Babette's "wake up" speech to Samantha - about how it takes courage to accept love and joy into our lives and how we don't always get to hold onto that joy and love - earned a standing ovation from me. I highly, highly recommend this funny, sometimes sad, but downright joyous story about people trying to overcome their life altering tragedies, and move back towards life..

Another wonderful feel good book by Katherine Center. Just what I needed this week in light of these insane times in our world. Thank you to NetGalley for the download copy!!! As soon as I saw I'd been approved for it, I quickly sent it to my Kindle and began to read.

This book is completely told in the voice of Sam, a quirky librarian in Texas working at a private elementary school. Sam left California because of Duncan, the guy she loved from afar but couldn't ever forget. So Duncan appears in her Texas school as the new principal except he's completely changed. He's no longer the hilariously funny and zany guy she knew; he's somber and stoic and almost mean. What has happened to Duncan and what can she do to save her school and Duncan?

I love Katherine Center's books because they always remind us to do better and to be better. They remind us that we can always look on the bright side and that you need to "find joy". This book was all about finding joy. "But that's the thing about joy. You don't have to wait for it to happen. You can make it happen". (quote from the book)

Pick it up when it comes out in July. It'll put a little smile on your face.

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.