“Joy is important. It’s one of the secrets to life that no one ever tells you. Joy cures everything. Everything emotional. Joy is an antidote to fear. To anger. To boredom. To sorrow.”

In What You Wish For, Samantha fled a situation to start over because she didn’t want to face what may happen. Specifically she fled Duncan Carpenter. She is now a librarian at a school in Galveston Texas. She found a new family in the schools founders. They supported her and helped her discover a part of herself, that was there all along, it was just hiding behind bland colors and fear.

Now several years later, Duncan survived his own trauma and fled the place that changed him. He ends up in Galveston Texas, as the new principle at Samantha’s school. But he is not the same man that Samantha knew, he is now someone different.

Katherine Center you had me swooning, grieving and cheering for the people of the Kempner school in TX. For the small town trying to move past the loss of Max, the one that guided them all. But everyone soon realizes, Duncan isn’t the only one that needs saving, the school will too with all the things he is trying to change. This story is one of loss and love. Grief and joy. Friendship and pain. But finding the courage and joy to push forward and continue anyway.

I loved it. I marked pages, wrote down quotes. I immediately wanted to change my letter board to one of the quotes from the book.

“... you can decide to do something joyful. It’s not about fixing all your problems, you’ll never fix all your problems. The point is to be happy anyway. As often as you can.”

This was the best surprise when I received this book in the mail from St Martins Press. I cannot thank you enough for this ARC copy. Plus this cover (like her others) is everything.

A quick read that will put a smile on your face! Although I was not a fan of the main characters at the beginning, they do grow on you. However, the supporting characters were fantastic from the start. The storyline was a bit predictable and there were some plot points I didn’t love but in the end it is a great feel-good novel.

There was an awful lot to like about this book. I enjoyed the school that Max and Babette created. I think that every kid could find a way to learn in an atmosphere like that. I also appreciated the seriousness of Duncan’s past experiences and how they shaped his perspective in his new school. I thought that the journey of Sam was less successful. A major part of her character was not mentioned until later in the story. Then it all of a sudden became this huge part of her. It felt a little contrived. I would have appreciated it more if that had been a bigger issue in the beginning as well. As a result, I didn’t feel like I got a good grasp on her until more details were shared. It was as if sections of the book got moved around in editing, and something that should have been earlier was moved to later. The subplot of Max and Babette’s daughter, Tina, and her son Clay also wasn’t fully recognized throughout the story. It was in the beginning and then a catalyst for the climax near the end. But that’s it. I guess it all felt a little disjointed overall. The pieces were all there; I just wish they had been put together a little bit tighter. Still, I liked Duncan’t journey the most and would love to have worked for a principal like him when I was teaching. Rounded up to four stars for the unique climax that was a little screwball but a lot of heart.

What You Wish For by Katherine Center was such a joy to read.

Sam lives in the carriage house of Max and Babette on Galveston Island in Texas. She is the librarian at the school that Max and Babette started. Her best friend is Alice, a Math nerd and Tina (Max and Babette's daughter) hates her. Everyone loves Max and when they find out that Sam is planning his surprise birthday party they all chip in. It is a night to remember and then tragedy strikes.

I won't give away any more than that. This author tells a wonderful story. There is not one character that wasn't fleshed out. And the story flowed just the way it should! This was my first book by this author and I can't wait to read her backlist.

Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

At first I wasn’t liking Sam, she seemed too immature and then the story took a better turn, especially when she undertook ‘project Duncan’. One should adopt the ‘always look for joy in their day’ that Max instilled in Sam, the world would be so much happier. I look forward to more from Katherine Center.

🌊An emotion-packed story beautifully told🏫🌅

What You Wish For was, for me, a compelling plot with stand-out characters, not the least of which was young "Brainerd" Clay, precocious marine life expert extraordinaire. Set on the Texas island of Galveston, it conjures up the image of a safe, loving, close-knit community. Yes, there is a bad egg who stirs things up and Duncan, a newcomer who seeks to expiate his own feelings of guilt and fear by forcing them into an age of prison-like high security and dismal surroundings. But school librarian Samantha and her dear friends and colleagues fight the good fight to keep color, nature and joy in their and their students' lives. Along the way grief strikes, some innocence is lost, and love sprouts in spite of the obstacles Sam and Duncan stack against it.

There's some inspirational messaging here and, to paraphrase just a few of the points that struck me most:
- Choose joy on purpose;
- Joy and sorrow walk side by side; being alive means risking one for the other; and
- Make a choice to value the good things that matter.

With stirring messages like that and such delightfully complex characters, this story hooked me and never let go.

I did wish that Duncan's traumatic secret, hinted at throughout the first half of the book, had been revealed sooner, but I really can't say that the wait was not appropriate in relation to the bigger story's progression. The details of his harrowing experience when finally revealed are graphic but in no way gratuitous and they need to come out to fully understand his actions once he arrives in Galveston.

This was my first time reading a Katherine Center novel. Based on the quality of this work, I will definitely be looking to read more.

Thanks to publisher St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of the book; this is my voluntary and honest review.

This is such an engaging story, filled with memorable characters in the setting of a creative and progressive elementary school. There are lots of issues to build the plot upon, including coping with grief, trauma, and medical conditions. But the sheer hopefulness and joy of simply living one's best life shines throughout its pages.

4 stars for What You Wish For by @katherinecenter. She does it again, folks! Don’t mind me wrapped up in all the feels over here.

Sam is a fun-loving librarian at a school in Galveston, Texas. When the school tragically loses it’s beloved principal, they are forced to find a replacement. Who is it? None other than Duncan, former coworker and long-time crush of Sam’s from her previous school. Yikes. Except when Duncan shows up for his first day, he’s nothing like the goofy Spongebob tee wearing, juggling, dancing, over-the-top guy she knew at her last job. He’s serious, stoic, and hellbent on turning their precious school into a glorified prison. What happened to Duncan? And why is he acting like a drill sergeant who doesn’t even recognize Sam? How can she save their special school and most importantly, her heart?
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In typical Katherine Center fashion, she weaves a beautiful story full of broken people, hope, love and most importantly JOY. While I still think Things You Save in a Fire is my favorite book by her, this comes in at a close second.

Don’t miss What You Wish For, hitting shelves THIS TUESDAY 7/14/2020!

I absolutely love Katherine Center's writing. It's touching and real and you can't help but feel what her characters are feeling. And this was no exception. 2 people in what seems to be an impossible situation, and yet love and hope prevail.

Sam is a small-town school librarian who absolutely loves her job. She loves her town, her school, her library and all of the people in those places. Then the school principal (and her fatherly role model) spontaneously passes away and leaves a huge hole in all of their lives.

The school board brings in a new principal and it's someone from Sam's past. She'd had a crush on Duncan at her last job and knew it would never go anywhere so she left. And now he's coming to her town and she just knows she'll have to leave again. But the Duncan that showed up at the school was definitely not the Duncan she fell in love with.

He showed up guns blazing (literally and figuratively) and turned the entire school against him. Gone was his warm, goofy personality. He had turned into a drill sergeant and Sam can't figure out what happened to him.

It's so heartwarming in its honesty about what happened to both of them. I smiled and teared up throughout this entire book. But I loved it. I love that it teaches you to seek joy in life rather than waiting for joy to find you.

Enjoyed this read although not as much as the other books from this author. I didn’t feel like the characters were as easy to connect with as her previous books. The story line was unique and overall I am glad I read this. Thank you netgalley for the advanced read in exchange for an honest review.

“My beautiful, magical beloved library…home of a million other lives. Home of comfort, and distraction, and getting lost – in the very best way.”

5/5 stars!

What is it about Katherine Center’s book that just hit the spot for me? Every time I think “I doubt it will be as good”, it always is? And to my surprise, this is my most favorite Katherine Center book yet!

This book is about Samantha, who works as a school librarian at the coolest, bestest school ever. But the school’s principle passes away leaving behind an irreplaceable hole. When Duncan Carpenter shows up as the new principle, Samantha remembers him from her old life, one where she was completely obsessed with him and deliberately left to escape him. But he’s different than she remembers, colder, sadder. He starts to tear apart everything she loves about her school. She makes it her mission to figure out what happened, how to fix it, and keep her school from falling apart. If she can keep herself from falling apart.

There is so much to love about this book! The small town has a beautiful cast of characters that add life to the town and make you care about the school at stake. I was absolutely invested one hundred percent in the people of the book. They made it so easy! It really made the whole book worthwhile to follow not just Samantha, but everyone as they try to recover together from tragedy.

Samantha is awesome though, she’s quirky, she’s funny, charming and sympathetic. I loved her from the beginning. Of course, it was easy to love someone as passionate about books as I. I loved how brave she was too. I thought it was the most amazing part of her character, the way that she is able to lead and teach bravery. She was someone I could really put my heart into.

Duncan was the perfect hero! Ahhh! I honestly love his journey. I for sure hated him when he arrived and hated everything he did, right along with Sam. But I did suspect a bit about what he’d been through from the beginning of the book and his journey completely makes sense and made me love him. I love how he had many sides to him and was constantly fun to read. Every scene between Sam and Duncan made me literally so happy.

I also think that this book was very considerate and gentle with the tragic topics it covers. I really commend the book for balancing the heavy with the humor and giving due respect to both. The book has a lot of sad times, but I never felt like any of it was done recklessly. I feel like everything had a purpose and the story really benefits from this.

This also just has some serious re-read value. There are scenes I loved reading and want to read again. This is a book that I wish I could read again for the first time. It’s also a book that would make a splendid movie, no joke.

Tl;DR: This book has so many feelings! You’ll fall for the town and heal with them. The romance is amazing. Can’t recommend enough.

E-galley from St.Martin’s Press and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All quotations and opinions are based off an uncorrected proof.

I have mixed emotions about this one. For the beginning half of this novel I was disappointed and frustrated with the overwhelming focus on the school. I was thinking this book might only appeal to teachers or schools administrators. There is also a large focus on school safety and balancing that with enjoyment of the school environment for kids. This issue could be hard on parents of school aged children. Towards the middle when Sam and Duncan are interacting more I felt the novel picked up but then focused too often and repetitively on their issues. They both have sad and heart wrenching back stories but I hate being forced to read about the same thing over and over.

The issue is never the author’s writing as she can be a brilliant writer but for me it was too focused on the school, these repetitive issues and things that didn’t really move the plot forward. For example the beginning of the novel paints a sweet but sad start that will be the reason that Duncan comes to the school. It focused on this for far too long and was unnecessary. I absolutely loved the author’s book How to Walk Away and that book is just so much better than I found this one so I recommend reading that instead. I would much rather read a plot or character driven novel than what I found here. The school itself seemed a much bigger character than anyone else. Even the Epilogue seems to disagree with the blurb as to who was important in this story. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Cute, but feels overstuffed at times. Like in her previous book, Center opens this one by putting the plot immediately into motion and it never really lets up; there is often little room for developments to breathe or the narrative to settle into a comfortable groove. Protagonist Samantha is given many defining characteristics, several of which do not entirely make sense until late in the book. That being said, I did like the bones of the story and the characters are often very charming. If some of these minor wrinkles could have been ironed out, this would have been a real winner.

💫what you wish for💫
The protagonist of this book is Sam, a elementary school librarian who had a tough childhood. She loses someone close to her, the school principle, who was a father like figure in her life. The replacement principle turns out to be someone she knows from her past and used to have a huge crush on, but when he shows up to her school it’s like she never knew him, he is completely different. Throughout the book we get to know the new principle, Duncan, and some of the trauma he has experienced.
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I love the stories that Katherine Center writes, there’s always so much more depth to them than you think there will be. This story spoke so much about healing, making your own joy and finding the best in each day. There were so many quotes throughout the book that were so beautiful.
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My only criticism of this book is that the first half was pretty slow. The story is told in first person and through Sam’s POV and I think a lot of her inner monologue could of been cut out in the first part of the book. It took me a while to get invested in this one but then I loved it!
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Overall I liked this one! Not quite as good as things you save in a fire but better than how to walk away!!!
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What you wish for releases July 14th!!!! So definitely go snag yourself a copy. Thank you @stmartinspress for my review copy☺️
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TW: death, loss, school shootings

3.5 stars

What You Wish For is the third book I’ve read by Katherine Center and while I enjoyed it well enough, my favorite book of hers so far is still Things You Save in a Fire from last year, which I felt was a much better written and more emotionally resonant story.

This time around, the story revolves around Samantha Casey, a librarian at an elementary school on the island of Galveston, Texas. Sam arrives at the quaint little school a few years ago after spending most of her life alone in California. The school’s founder Max and his wife Babette are beloved figures in the community and despite having a daughter of their own, they welcome Sam into their school as well as their home, becoming surrogate parents of sorts to her. When Max dies unexpectedly, a man named Duncan Carpenter is brought in to replace him as principal of the school — it turns out Duncan is a former colleague of Sam’s from her previous school, but not only that, she also had a huge crush on him back in the day. The Duncan that Sam knew was sweet, funny, charismatic, and beloved by everyone (a personality very similar to Max), so despite her conflicted feelings, Sam tries to convince the faculty at the school that he is the right man for the job. But she soon finds out how wrong she is, as the Duncan who shows up is stoic, stiff, completely devoid of humor, and super obsessed with school safety, almost to the point of paranoia. When Duncan threatens to make significant changes to the school, Sam decides to oppose him and, working together with the rest of the faculty, a plan is hatched to save the school. At the same time, Sam finds out the truth of what happened to Duncan in the years that they lost contact — this revelation, along with a secret about her own self that she had been hiding, alter Sam’s perspective in ways that she didn’t anticipate.

This is a romance, so of course the love story between the two main characters— in this case, Sam and Duncan — will undoubtedly be front and center. Given the premise, I expected there to be a certain amount of predictability to the story, which is fine. What felt different for me with this book compared to Center’s previous ones is that there didn’t seem to be as much emotional depth to the story this time around. Yes, there were difficult subjects and issues the characters had to deal with, just like in the rest of her books, but I felt like much of it just scratched the surface instead of exploring more in depth. Perhaps it is because of this that I didn’t feel much of an emotional connection to the characters or to the story. While I liked Sam as a character well enough, sometimes she did behave immaturely, which did annoy me a little bit. In fact, with some of the scenes and dialogue, I kind of felt like there was a bit of a YA vibe to the story and the writing, which I wasn’t expecting — though it (thankfully) didn’t permeate the story, it did make the writing feel uneven in places.

Overall, this was a decent read — lighthearted, fun in certain places, a bit sappy in others. I also found this one to be a bit dialogue-heavy during some of the more emotional scenes, which had the effect of taking me out of the moment at times — another reason why it was harder for me to establish an emotional connection to the story. As I mentioned earlier, I like Katherine Center’s previous novel better, but this was one I didn’t regret reading. And of course, I definitely don’t mind reading more of her novels either!

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley.

What You Wish For is a love story, including romantic love but also community love, self-love, friends who are family love, love for nature and learning. This is my first Katherine Center read and I’m so glad it was my introduction. While the content is wholesome, there are still underlying themes of topics CW ………school shootings and the aftermath. Making this light read still something to think about especially with kids in school.

Sam is the school librarian you wanted (hopefully had!) growing up, she genuinely cares about her job and the kids at her school. Sam is thrown off when the new principal arrives and it turns out to be a teacher she knew at her old job, but he’s had a complete personality change. Instead of the fun-loving, charismatic leader she knew and loved, Duncan has become stoic and serious, denouncing everything from school field trips to painted butterfly murals. Will Sam be able to bring out the man she used to know? Or will her plan to get him fired for turning the school into a prison proceed? You’ll have to read to find out!

When I started What You Wish For, I was nervous. I started to worry this would be a cheesy and predictable read. I’m glad I was wrong! While all the puns throughout could be classified as cheesy, I still laughed! The heartwarming scenes coincide nicely with the “Yes! Finally! You go girl!” parts. This quick, sweet read will warm up any chilly autumn day, light up a rainy day, or just brighten up an ordinary day.

Now on to read Katherine’s other books!

I always enjoy Katherine Center’s books. They are light quick reads that are the perfect escape. This one isn’t one of my favorites. The main character was hard for me to like/root for. Her behavior of uprooting her life for a guy she doesn’t even have a relationship with was a bit irritating. Once I got past that I did like the story. I like the idea of choosing joy. Cute story but just wasn’t crazy about the main character, Sam.
Thank you Netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

💕BOOK REVIEW💞⁣
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Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this digital advanced copy in exchange for an honest review! ⁣
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Thank you @katherinecenter for writing romantic books that I ACTUALLY LIKE. I’m not huge into the romance genre and then I read Things You Save in the Fire. This sparked (pun intended) some life into my cold black heart and I just HAD to read more of hers. This is only the second book I’ve read by this author and even though I didn’t love it as much as Fire (because seriously I don’t know what would compare), it was still fabulous! 💝⁣
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What You Wish For is about Sam, a librarian at a colorfully fun school on the shores of Galveston, Texas. When a new principle is hired Sam can’t believe who is it. Dustin Carpenter: a teacher from a previous school she worked, who she quietly loved from afar. He was everything! Fun! Quirky! But he’s different now; changed. He’s a strict rule enforcer in a suit & tie. Why this change? Can she help him become the man he used to be?⁣
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This story was about confronting your fears and learning to deal with what life has dealt you. I loved all the characters, not Kent Buckley though (ass!). The first half of the book was a smidgen slow for me- but I think it was only because cute Dustin hadn’t broken out of his shell yet. Plus I just loved that ending! 🐳⁣
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This book touches on a major sensitive subject that I can’t say because- SPOILER! So, message me if you want to discuss. I don’t want to give away a big part of the story! ⁣
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I just love @katherinecenter because her stories are believable and not smutty!! Thank you for writing a book JUST FOR ME! 😂😂⁣
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This book is available on July 14th! Yay! ⁣
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4/5 🌟🌟🌟🌟⁣
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#bookreview #igbookreview #whatyouwishfor #katherinecenter #arc #kindlepaperwhite #ereader #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #erinescapingreality #bookfriends #alwaysreading #flowersandbooks #booksandflowers #readallday #advancedcopy⁣

This just wasn’t the book for me and I chose to DNF it at the 10% mark. I rarely DNF books but I wasn’t able to connect with the main character at all, which normally wouldn’t be a cause for DNF but since it’s first person POV it’s hard to be in the head of someone you don’t really connect with.

Also, and this is 100% my issue, I saw school librarian and principal and was excited as I am a teacher, but then as I read I realized it’s a charter/private/independent school and as a public school teacher it’s hard for me to get into that part of the world of education.

I will read anything Katherine Center writes. Her writing style sucks me in, and I love how she writes about resilient women. This is the first book that I've read of hers that I'm not giving five stars to, and I think it's mostly because I'm comparing it to her other books. I liked Sam, but the plot didn't interest me quite as much as the others. I was still interested in finding out what happens and read it quickly, but I wanted a bit more from the epilogue. Overall, it was a fantastic read. Katherine Center just sets the bar impossibly high these days.