Just the kind of book that we need right now with an overwhelming central message of 'Choose Joy on Purpose'.
Sam is the librarian for a whimsical school in Galveston, Texas. The founder of the school dies at the beginning of the story leaving the community reeling. Enter Duncan, a love interest from Sam's past because he was just so much fun and inspiring to be around. Unfortunately, this Duncan wears buttoned-up three piece suits and tries to paint over/fix what isn't broken about the school. Sam and the widow Babette decide to bring Duncan to life.
I loved Sam, Duncan and the whole community depicted here. There were some really silly, over-the-top situations and settings in this book but given the over-arching theme, I was down for it.
Thanks to NetGally and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in return for my honest review.

In “What You Wish For,” Katherine Center’s upcoming release, Sam Casey is a children’s librarian at an elementary school in Galveston, Texas, known for its creativity and tight-knit community. After the principal and co-founder passes away suddenly, the school culture Sam loves is threatened by new principal Duncan Carpenter. Sam worked with Duncan earlier in her career, and remembers him as a fun-loving and innovative educator, on whom she had a massive crush. But now Duncan is obsessed with improving school safety at the expense of the school’s unique charm. Sam aims to save the school, and maybe find love in the process, too. (*DM me for content warnings*)⁣
•⁣
This book was a bit of a mixed bag for me. It was a very sweet story, and I loved the focus on healing from past trauma and choosing happiness or “joy on purpose,” which is something most of us could stand to remember during difficult times. I also loved the descriptions of the school, and how it almost felt like a character in the story.⁣
•⁣
On the other hand, I felt like the first quarter or so of the book was quite slow and repetitive. This is difficult to discuss without sharing spoilers, but I was frustrated at times with Sam, the power that she let her crush hold over her life, and the message that this sends. Also, I never fully felt the chemistry between Sam and Duncan, perhaps because their initial meeting occurred prior to the book’s start.⁣
•⁣
This is the second of Center’s books that I’ve read, and compared to “Things You Save in a Fire,” this story lacked the same unputdownable quality and resonance. I’ve seen mostly positive reviews for this one, so I’m likely in the minority here. I’d still recommend picking this one up if you’re a fan of Center’s books, and I will definitely be reading more of her work in the future.⁣
•⁣
3/5⁣ stars
•⁣
Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for an advance e-copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. Available 7/14/20.⁣

[Review posted 6/25/20 to my Instagram account, @emily_lovesbooks.]

Sam is a librarian at a wonderful elementary school founded by Max and Babette, whom she also rents a carriage house on their property. When Max unexpectedly passes away at his 60th birthday party, the school is in upheaval as the new principal, Duncan, comes in with some radical new ideas that goes against what the former founder stood for. Sam, unfortunately, knows Duncan from her previous school. Sam loved him from afar and actually left her previous job to get away from him because she was so embarrassed by her unrequited love. Duncan takes the school from a careful, wonderful learning environment, to a school focused on security. His own tragic past shapes his decisions for the school, and Sam makes it her personal mission to save the school and Duncan. Great love story that shows how one moment can change a person completely and that all people are capable of redemption.

**Actual rating: 3.5 rounded up to 4**

The first book I read by Katherine Center was Things You Save in a Fire, and I adored it. I felt the author was a breath of fresh air in the contemporary fiction space, integrating unique points of view and creating characters that felt alive on the page.

I enjoyed What You Wish For, but it wasn't the same caliber as Things You Save in a Fire. Sam, a librarian at an elementary school, squares off with a former crush, Duncan, when he comes back into her life as the school's principal. The former goofball is now obsessed with school safety and tries to turn the school into a prison, taking away the colourful, playful environment the school had created.

The first third of the book was very repetitive. We get it, Duncan used to be super fun and loved to joke around. For me, the turning point of the book happens during the last third. Sam's personality really starts to shine (whereas before we only heard her fawning over past-Duncan), Duncan's walls come down, and the story has an exciting end.

Overall, this book is incredibly timely. The message of the book is to seek joy, even when facing fear. During this tough time, this is exactly the message we need right now. Be joyful, be colourful, and while you can't disregard fear, you also can't let it hold you back.

Sam is a librarian at a warm, beautiful school. When a new principal is brought in, he brings in a lot of changes which go against everything The Kempner School stands for. While Sam and her colleagues come up with a plan to stop these terrible ideas coming to fruition, she realises there's more to this story than she thinks.

If you are an educator, you will love this book. There's no doubt in my mind. Center has portrayed educators, children and schools so well that I'm convinced she was either an educator, knows educators or she has done her research so incredibly well. She portrays the school and it's founders as the heart and soul of this small community and the love they feel for each other comes across so well.

The main theme covered is the notion of joy not being something that we should wait around for, hoping it'll come to us but it is something we have the choice to choose. And we should choose it. Every damn day.

Thank you @netgalley for this arc.

The timing of this book was perfect. There is tragedy in this book, but this book is about finding joy in life wherever you can, and being able to rise through and above the tragedy with the people you choose to love. It often takes me longer to read books instead of listening to them because I can listen to books while I take care of household tasks like doing the dishes or laundry, but with reading, I need to sit and read. So when I find a book that makes me sit down and just enjoy it from start to finish, it's a delight. Sometimes the neuroses of the MC got a bit much, but considering what she had been through, I could understand them, but more to the point, her friends would outright tell her when she was wrong, and I loved that. I don't want to reveal any spoilers in this review because I loved not knowing anything that that was going to happen in this book and just letting the pieces of information come out as the characters discovered them. But what I will say is that this book does not shelter you from the dark side of life--the tragedies and pain that can come when you open your heart--but it gives you a way to live life in spite of the pain, a way to make it just that much better. Even when things seem hopeless and out of control, the one thing you always have control over is how you're going to handle it all.

I absolutely loved this book that brought tears to my eyes, made me laugh out loud and just gave me a lift in general.

Thanks to #KatherineCenter, #StMartinsPress, and #NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This author writes in an easy to read, want to keep reading format. I honestly would rate this as a 3.5 stars but Goodreads doesn't allow it. I was sucked in immediately. And like I said I wanted to keep reading the the story because the author is a good story teller. However, the story was very predicable. I knew immediately what was going to be the cause of Duncan's issues. At some points there are just pages of over description. But the characters are likable, cheesy people that you can't help but love. Although they are conflicted-if we work hard to make ourselves better people and love-happiness prevails making this a good read.

When lives intersect or cross paths, again, you never know what will happen. Both characters are navigating a new road. Another beautifully written novel by Center!

Fun, realistically drawn characters are one of author Katherine Center's strengths as she introduces us to a sassy librarian, Samantha Casey. You see, Sam (aka Samantha) is mourning the loss of her close friend who also happens to be her principal. Before she can really adjust to the loss, another big surprise hits her hard and fast. Her crush....the one man that she crushed on so hardcore is now her new boss and his whole personality seems to have undergone a rapid transformation.

Gone are the bright funky clothes that Principal Duncan Carpenter used to wear. Now he is coming across as all business and has his rigid ideas in place of how he thinks things should be... only he was counting on having all these chemical sparks between him and the librarian.

This book carries a strong, solid message that has really touched me. I read voraciously so for me to take the time to say it touched me really means it touched me deep inside to the core. Choosing joy on purpose sounds like such a simple theme for What You Wish For, but it is interwoven in a beautiful story with rich, deep characters that linger long after I have read the last page. For me, that is worth much more than 5 stars! Well done, Katherine Center!!

I requested a temporary, digital advance reader copy from NetGalley to read and enjoy and my review is voluntary offered. As always, my opinions are my own.

When your fears control your life, take control of your fears and live each day to it’s fullest. This book taught me so many lessons. The main one is to find joy in the little things in life. And the way this year has been going, we all need something to be joyful about.

Samantha moved to Galveston, Texas, where she was working as a school librarian. She loved everything about the school, especially the people who ran it. They were like family to her. But when Max suddenly passes away and a new principle is hired, Samantha never expected it to be the man she had a crush on, Duncan, from her old job. But this version of Duncan was not the man Samantha remembered. He was not the fun-loving guy anymore. The new Duncan was a stickler for rules and security. He wanted to change everything everyone loved about the school. But the reasons he wanted to do so were something he didn’t talk about. When Samantha finds out Duncan’s secret, she sets out to bring him out of his shell and enjoy life once again. And along the way, Samantha learns to live and enjoy life again too.

With unforgettable characters and a story line that pulled me in from the very start, I had a hard time finding a place to pause my reading. And then there was the setting of the book, Galveston, one of my favorite places to visit. This story took me through a wide variety of emotions while reading it. The saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is fitting for this book. I would definitely recommend reading this one.

After loving Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire, I was excited to read What You Wish For. I enjoyed Center's writing, her characters, and was looking forward to this book taking place in a school setting. It took me about 30-40% of the book to fully get into the story. I found Sam's previous, utter obsession with Duncan completely unrealistic. Unless I missed some details, moving half way across the country over someone you have barely had a conversation with didn't make much sense; I expected them to have a more substantial back story with each other given how much it seemed that Sam derailed her life due to him.

I enjoyed the school setting and the devotion the teachers had to their students and their school. At times, the teachers come across more as caricatures rather than actual people. As a math teacher, I am always cautious about how math is represented in stories and I greatly appreciated the positive light that Alice's character shined on it (even if at times it seemed a bit random and not quite mathematically sound).

All in all, I would recommend What You Wish For. It was a quick and fun read that does have a good theme of finding and choosing joy in your life. I would rate this book 3.5/5 stars. but since I am relegated to whole numbers, I would round this up to 4 stars.

What You Wish For
Rating: 5 stars
Thank you to the publisher for providing the ARC through NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

This was a very emotional read for me, but I loved it! I liked how both Sam and Duncan are not your perfect cookie cutter characters. They both are trying to live their life in a way that they don't to depend on others. Sam was lucky to find someone who opened her eyes to live life with no regrets and joy. Her outer appearance changed, but her inner self was still holding back. She learned and accepted that color brought her joy. It allowed for her to things a little more brighter, but she was still holding herself back in trusting others with her illness. An illness that she was able to manage but caused her to close herself off from letting someone get close. It is not until she helps Duncan, who she had previously worked with and developed a crush on, that she begins to work on herself too. Duncan was someone who had lived life to the fullest and not until a tragedy happens to him is that he begins to not live life like he used too. Sam misses that old Duncan and takes upon herself and her friends to help him out. Sam learns that she too needs to change in order to finally be happy. Duncan proved himself to her that he was that person who she could depend on not running away.
Duncan was my favorite character. I would of liked to see more of those scenes of when he was tasked to do happy things with Sam.
I enjoy this author's writing style and I look forwards to more of her books.

A predictable story that dwells way too long on school librarian Samantha Casey’s infatuation with Duncan Carpenter, the new principal at her elementary school. Clearly the two have past history but sadly the author spends way too many pages on Samantha’s obsession and it was annoying. This is a light read, a decent escape but one that never quite pulled me in. Disappointed as I have tremendously enjoyed other books written by Katherine Center.

Well, I got insanely lucky and received an ARC for Katherine Center’s latest and, as usual, it did not disappoint. I just adore the way she writes her characters. She always elicits such emotion ... I rarely cry when reading books but she always gets me. And she writes a hero like none other. She writes relationships for real and makes the couple’s journey important and sweet. In short, I wish Katherine Center was my best friend.

WORTH THE WAIT! If you know me, you know I’ve been (not so) patiently waiting for this book for MONTHS. The pub date is my birthday, and I knew it would be fate.
Katherine Center never disappoints. There is always heartbreak and humor mixed into the perfect package. Sam is the coolest librarian I have ever heard of, living in a small island town off the coast of Texas. Sam works in a hippie school, run by her adoptive parents who are also her landlords.
After some horrible circumstances, Sam finds herself face to face with an old crush, Duncan. Duncan isn’t here for fun, and turns Sam’s world upside down.
There isn’t a slow moment in this book. You’ll fight for the characters, and want to experience the story with them.
Do yourself a favor, and read this freaking book!

This was a quick, fun read. Many of the characters felt a bit like caricatures people, and the end was a bit packed for my taste (similar to Things you Save in a Fire), but overall it was a good book. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

I almost don't know how to rate What You Wish For. I've been reading so many thrillers, full of gruesome body counts, so making the transition to a book with no murders, just a death by natural causes, seems a bit awkward to me. On one hand, it's an awesome change of pace but on the other hand, I think I almost died of a "too sweet and silly" overdose. I do think it was good to venture off the bloody reading path I've been on lately

Elementary school librarian Samantha Casey left her last school because she was lovingly obsessed with fellow teacher, Duncan Carpenter. Once he became engaged, she couldn't stand to see him anymore, despite the fact that they hardly knew each other and it shouldn't have mattered what Duncan did in his private life. Several years later Duncan is the new principal at Sam's Galveston school and she's sure she'll need to run again, because of her feelings. But the Duncan she used to know, funny, quirky, goofy, Duncan, is gone and instead, Duncan is stoic, dogmatic, and determined to take away everything this is loved at Sam's school. 

What ensues is Sam wondering if Duncan even remembers who she is, misunderstandings, a roller coaster ride, and a cute ten year old boy named Clay, who is interesting enough to star in a book all of his own. Oh, and there is Chuck Norris, Duncan's failure of a security dog labradoodle. Sam has a serious health issue that she knows will keep anyone from loving her and Duncan has something in his near past that has changed him from the wild dressing, sweetheart he used to be, into a heartless hunky body in a gray suit. Sam goes from planning to quit her job to making it her mission to have Duncan fired for all the changes he plans for the school. Both Sam and Duncan have lessons to learn about life before either one of them can find happiness and peace...and maybe a meeting of minds. 

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

I love Katherine Center’s work, and this book is no exception. I especially loved that she set this book in Galveston, our little beach town. So many of the places I love are mentioned in the book so it made it extra special when reading.

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced read in exchange for this review. I'm a huge fan of Katherine Center, and this book did not disappoint. This book was perfect to read during quarantine. Choose joy! What a powerful read about challenges we face in life. Highly recommend!

After her current principal suddenly passes away , Sam is pleasantly shocked when his replacement shows up at her school. Her new boss is Duncan, a blast from her past. He was one who had a fun zest for life, which was an attraction to her. However, he comes into his new position with a passion for school security and shows no interest in having any fun. In fact, he doesn’t even acknowledge Sam. Is she really that unforgettable? Before she destroys everything that she adores about her school, will she be able to break him down and remember what it was like to live life fully?

I am a big fan of Katherine Center. I can lose myself in the plot of her books and finish them in no time! Her writing, to me, just flows easily like I’m lost in a conversation with friends. This book was no exception. I enjoyed this book and found it to be a quick, joyful read. It was a great book to help escape this time in our lives! Thank you to Netgalley for providing me a copy for an honest review.