Whenever I see the cover of a new Katherine Center book, I smile. They are bright and cheerful, yes, but I also know there will be complicated characters who look for deeper meaning, deeper gratitude and deeper joy than from any other author. What You Wish For doesn’t disappoint.

Set in the historical and beautiful city of Galveston, Texas, What You Wish For is the story of school librarian Samantha Casey. Sam has a history of running away from problems, not the least of which was a paralyzing crush on colleague Duncan Carpenter. She finds a home at the charming private school on the island, and fits in until the day she experiences a return of her childhood epilepsy. Instead of running away again, she takes the advice of her mentor and recreates herself with joy.

Then her mentor dies, and none other than Duncan Carpenter comes to take his place. Only Duncan has changed too, and not in ways that Samantha can understand.

This book examines serious issues: bullying in school, creativity versus protection, school safety and the way people are marginalized for characteristics that don’t define them. Katherine doesn’t disappoint her readers. She lets her characters charge ahead boldly and with flowers in their hair. You will want to applaud.

This book was provided to me by NetGalley. It will be released on July 14, 2020.

I loved this book! As a former schoolteacher, I really enjoyed that the majority of the story took place in the school or with the school close by. It was a warm-hearted story with characters you could root for. The only negative I would say is that it felt a bit predictable, but I still found myself racing to finish to find out what happened.

I’m a bit surprised at how high of a rating this book has. I got to page 100 and decided to stop. I felt like I was reading a 15 year old teenagers diary about her obsession on a crush. The main characters mental health is questionable and my favorite character was a third grader.

I could not put this down. This is such a great story of how people change based on life circumstances, but also how they don't really change deep down. Sam and Duncan are both lovable in their own way, but I really liked Sam's character from the beginning. This book shows us to never give up hope and to not give up on the people we love.

Everything Katherine Center writes is wonderful. Her characters are flawed, which is my favorite thing about them. I admire the principles in this title and how standing up comes at a price. The evolution of the characters is the primary story and it was well told.

If Katherine Center writes a book, I am there for it. And you guys, this is a good one!!!! I don’t even know where to start. First of all, the main male lead in this book was apparently in Happiness for Beginners, which I haven’t had a chance to read yet. So you definitely don’t have to read it to read this book at all.

Without giving anything away, this book touches on different illnesses, both physical and mental. It deals with a very heavy, prevalent subject matter, and you get a love story. But not the light, steamy kind I usually read.

This book made me laugh, and cry, and the whole message of the book is something the world needs right now more than ever!!!! To find joy in life, no matter what sorrows you have been through. To come together as a community. The school and community that surrounds Sam and Duncan sounds incredible and I want to be there right now!

Bottom Line: I highly recommend you read this book!! Especially right now!

**I received a copy of What You Wish For from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are of my own.**

I received this as an e-arc in exchange for an honest review. I had really high hopes for this book. I had just finished reading Things You Save in a Fire and was blown away by Katherine Center’s writing. This book was good but nothing compared to that book. As an educator, I found the school setting unrealistic and idealistic. I wish it worked that way in real life but it really doesn’t. Also, the romance didn’t really do it for me. It felt a little lackluster in my opinion. I also thought the “choose to make your own joy” was a nice idea but not exactly realistic for all people, especially those who suffer from depression, mental illness, etc. That idea really rubbed me the wrong way. Lastly, there was an over abundance of rhetorical questions that the main character proceeded to answer. Ugh. Overall, was I a bit disappointed? Yes, but the book was a pleasant read nonetheless. (See what I did there?) 2.5-3 stars

Sam Cassidy loves her job as librarian in the cute and eccentric elementary school she ran to after falling for a fellow teacher at her previous school. The staff are the best and Principal Max and his wife, Babette, accepted her like a daughter.

Then Max died and everything changed.

Babette’s neurotic son-in-law becomes head of the board and immediately appoints a new principal about as different from Max as it was possible to be- oh, yeah, he’s also the man Sam had fallen for in her previous life.

But this Duncan Carpenter wasn’t anything like the funny, sweet guy she remembered. This Duncan Carpenter wanted to bleed every drop of personality out of their precious school. He installed security gates, locks, metal detectors, and painted over their bright colorful artwork, turning their whole world gray.

He had to go.

Then Sam learned Duncan’s deepest, darkest secret and suddenly getting rid of him became so much harder to do.

This is my first book by this author and I am so glad I picked it up! Filled with insightful, heart-wrenching moments it will live on in your thoughts for a long time after turning the last page. I will definitely be reading more from Katherine Center.

“I voluntarily read an ARC of this book which was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.”

I’m a big fan of Katherine Center’s books! I enjoyed this one, but didn’t love it as I have some of her others. The characters were well developed, quirky and entertaining. The story has an overall light-hearted romance theme with a few deeper real-life references. This wasn’t a “can’t put down” novel for me but it won’t stop me from picking up whatever Center writes in the future.

Katherine Center has amazed me yet again! Enter Samantha Casey, resident school librarian extrordinairre! Sam and her friends that make up the colorful cast of characters that fill the pages of this delightful book. Sam's world is thrown for a loop when someone close to her dies, a long time crush turns back up completely changed. Center's quirky cast comes together to solve their world's problems in a somewhat realistic, yet honest way. This book is guaranteed to leave you with a smile.

Like many others, I was looking for a heartwarming escape read, in the world of Covid-19 where I am consuming too much cable news and a long run of historical fiction books. This novel is certainly a fast read, and did offer some well-needed perspective about choosing joy. Samantha Casey, the angst ridden, lovelorn librarian whose long lost love ends up as her school's new principal is a somewhat endearing character but also more than a little self-absorbed. And the lessons from the school's founders Max and Babette about taking risks, choosing purposeful happiness and seizing the best life has to offer was repeated so much I felt myself wanted to say out loud, 'Okay I get it! Be happy! Live in the moment!' A quick little happy read, but it was just a little too Hallmark sappy for me. Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved so many thing about this book. I like that the MC has a disease that isn’t talked about a lot, but that is so real to so many. The romance was beautiful. The male lead had such a great journey and the development was spot on. Well done, if a little choppy occasionally in the pacing department. I can always count on Katherine Center for an immersive read.

Katherine Center has been crafting heart-felt, heart-wrenching, & binge-worthy stories for the last couple years, and 'What You Wish For' is the Perfect addition to that collection!

I have to say, that this story was extra special to me, as the main character, Samantha (Sam), is a Children's Librarian in a small town...something I am working toward myself. It's always fun to put yourself in the place of the main character and live their life as you read. Throw in a sweet, though troublesome, romance, and I'm hooked!

The main characters of the story were beautifully, and believably, written. They felt real, and I could easily picture them in my own life as people I already know. The story of our love interest Duncan, how Sam knows him, and what he's become were so perfectly executed. Without giving too much of the story away, Duncan, once a fun loving teacher, has done a complete 180 and is suddenly a strict, overly cautious stranger to Sam. Watching how these two characters relate and interact was frustrating and heart-melting all at the same time.

Had this been a physical book, instead of read on my Kindle, I would have (at its finish) closed the cover, hugged it to my chest, and cradled it for a solid 30 minutes as I enjoyed the warm feeling rolling around in my chest.

This was a solid 5 Star read for me. A HUGE Thank You to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for sending me this digital copy to read and review.

I was so eager to read What You Wish For, as soon as I saw the cover I wanted to dig myself in this book and I was so glad that I had the chance to read this amazing story

it is a light read that will make you laugh, and giggle at all times The characters will definitely captivate you and make you want to know more about of each of them.. there is angst, there are tears, joy and so many laughs that make this wonderful book very enjoyable..

What you wish for is the story of Samantha a young woman who was lost, she had a few things that made her feel somehow a shame but people who really love her, embrace every single aspect of her even if that makes her look and show a side that is not that beautiful and peaceful as she would want..

Ducan was a very funny and charismatic man until something took that away from him, changing him into a whole new person, closed off and definitely less fun. Samantha is in shock to find how different Ducan is, she doesn't remember him this way, what happened to Duncan why is he so angry and afraid all the time? why is he changing everything on the peaceful grounds of Max school and legacy?

What you wish for was an amazing ride, I really enjoy getting to know every character, finding out why they were the way they were, what circumstances made them become so closed off or even afraid to speak their emotions out loud and at the same time, it was beautiful to watch all those walls surrounding them coming down and embracing the moment.

The secondary characters were super awesome giving and adding so much more depth to the book and the main characters. I really enjoy Tina, Clay, Babette. Alice, Marco all of them were wonderful.

A story of survival, second chances, hope, and faith, light, and joy everything that makes this story so beautiful was present.

I really recommend this book, it is a book that will leave you with a big big smile.

This book was pure joy- perfect book at the right time. Love, loss, finding hope through tragedy and chosen families.

4.5 Stars

This is a little gem of a book! Katherine Center's previous novels feature heroines who battle personal or physical challenges, but always find a way to live their lives with hope, resilience and love. This sweet story is no exception.

The main character, Samantha "Sam" Casey, is a librarian at a small, non-traditional elementary school in Galveston, Texas. She loves her job and the tight-knit school community immensely, especially the relationship she has with the husband-wife founders, Max & Babette. When something unexpected happens to Max, the school board hires new principal Duncan Carpenter to make big changes and implement stricter rules. The school community is up in arms and Sam is completely stunned. Duncan Carpenter was her secret crush and a much-loved teacher at her old school in California. How did he end up in Galveston, and why is he so completely different from the playful, happy man she knew before?

As Sam interacts with this new no-nonsense version of Duncan, she finds strength within herself to stand up for what she feels is right and motivates her friends to maintain their focus on the students. Just before winter break, however, Sam discovers Duncan had made one change that hit too close to home: he had painted over something she and Babette had worked on all summer. Her feelings towards him turn dark until a chance meeting with Duncan, his sister and her family on the beach one day. She sees glimpses of the old Duncan and her feelings for him return in full force.

Before winter break is over, Sam agrees to give Duncan a ride to/from his outpatient surgery and help him get settled at home. While a little loopy from the anesthesia and painkillers, Duncan lets the truth spill and Sam learns much that he had kept hidden from her both emotionally and physically. His strict school policies and demeanor begin to make sense to her now. Sam is falling hard for Duncan, but she has her own hidden issues which make her feel unworthy of love.

Putting aside her feelings, Sam, Babette, and Sam's best friend, Alice, put a plan together to bring the old Duncan back by "joy-bombing" him. They put a list of daily tasks together aimed at getting Duncan to open up, to relax, to feel feelings and to try forgotten things. He agrees to all the crazy things on the pretense that Babette has the power to fire him if she so chooses. They start out small, but build up to Duncan and Sam going out on Friday nights. When one of their Friday night activities includes an amusement park, Sam is coaxed into riding a roller coaster with Duncan. When realizing there is no shoulder harness, Sam is frightened and confesses the one secret that has dominated her life since childhood. The moment, while embarrassing to Sam, only serves to strengthen their relationship.

As the school year progresses, life around school improves until a particularly nasty board member surprises the entire school community with news that their beloved school will no longer exist as they know it. A new, technologically advanced school will be constructed, but with none of the charm, character and history of the current campus. The school community is devastated, and Sam is irate that Duncan seemed to be in on the awful plans. Can Duncan earn back Sam's respect? Will their friendship survive? And, what will happen to the school?

Now that, fellow readers, is where I leave you. You must read this book. It's just what the doctor ordered right now and may be exactly the spark you need to find your own joy during these crazy times. While we can't control all the things happening in the world right now, we can control how we respond to it. And, of course, a good story is the best way to focus on something other than the news!

A big thank you to St. Martin's Press for the ARC!

*sigh* This is the perfect book to read if you're needing a quick literary pick-me-up. Let's be honest- these are unprecedented times right now, with many isolated at home and desperate for an escape. This, my friends, is the book that I recommend you sit down with and I don't think that you'll be disappointed!

Sam Casey is the librarian at a school determined to keep the joy in learning. She loves her library and her school and her little students and everyone is devastated when they lose their beloved principal. Enter Duncan, hired to take his place. Sam used to work with Duncan and is thrilled because he was one of the most fun teachers that she knew. Unfortunately, the Duncan that comes to her school is nothing like the Duncan that she knew. This one isn't fun and is determined to turn her beautiful school in to one resembling a prison more than a school.

As Sam attempts to uncover the Duncan of old, it's hard not to fall in love with Katherine Center's characters as well as the school that she has created. This book was such a joy to read- sweet and sentimental without becoming over-the-top, with a potential couple that I was rooting for the entire time. I devoured this book in a few days and I'm glad that I did. WHAT YOU WISH FOR is an absolute must-read and an asset to Katherine Center's brand.

As a huge fan of How to Walk Away, I was excited to get my hands on What You Wish For. Set in Texas, Samantha is a librarian at an incredible school and is very much satisfied with her life. All that changes when an old crush and colleague moves into town to become the school’s new principal.
This was such a sweet story and what many readers are going to need this summer when it’s released. The characters are wholesome and compassionate. The story is light with romance and self-reflection.
Thank you to Net Galley for the copy!

I received an eARC of What You Wish For by Katherine Center from St. Martin's Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!

I give this book 4 stars. When I received the email to download the book, I couldn't click on it fast enough. It's overall a good read. There is a tragic event that takes place, so that may be a trigger for some. I would definitely recommend this book!

I've loved all of Katherine Center's books and this one did not disappoint. I adored the main character. As a teacher myself, this book was very relatable. Great storyline and great characters!