This was my first Katherine Center book, and I was intrigued by the story description. Overall, though, it wasn't a great read for me. The characters were enjoyable, but the plot felt a bit too preachy, which meant the themes didn't resonate with me. The story ended up being rather forgettable.

I struggled a bit with this book. I felt like the first 2/3 moved really slowly and then the last 3rd was where the action happened. I loved Duncan and his character and his story and how he became who he was. I wasn’t a big fan of Sams - she kinda jumped from being in love with Duncan to not wanting to be with him and we learn why toward the end of the book and it just seemed a bit like Sams background was a bit of an afterthought. I honestly didn’t like how she reacted to Duncan toward the end but no spoilers here. I did however love that the entire message of this book was joy and finding and capturing joy again - even if it’s juggling a “watermelon” or blowing bubbles.

Such a heartwarming story with a beautiful message to readers! This is my first novel to read by Katherine Center but it certainly won't be my last! What You Wish For had layered characters with a great storyline. She took me on an emotional rollercoaster ride with heavy subject matter but offset it with some wonderful romance and a message to choose joy in life! This is the perfect book to read given our current situation right now in this pandemic. I would highly recommend.

Samantha Casey is a school librarian in Texas who loves her job and the children she helps but, life wasn't also this happy for Sam. Her school is well run by principal Max who is loved and respected by all. When Max dies unexpectedly, the community is devastated but, things seem to get worse when Duncan Carpenter, the new principal, arrives as replacement principal.

Duncan is a shocking change, a rules and regulations enforcer. He knows bad things can happen in schools. Sam knows Duncan from a previous school in California and this isn't the same man she had a secret crush on. Can Sam's influence make Duncan come around?

I liked the way this story unfolded. Sam was a sympathetic character and I enjoyed getting to know Duncan (although I wish we learned even more about the old Duncan). The secondary characters were well written too. This is another story where I expected a light, fluffy read but, there were definitely some heavy topics to this novel as well. Fortunately, they did not overpower and take away from the joyful moments of the story.

The audio book was read by Therese Plummer who did a great job. The audio download was provided to me by MacMillan audio via NetGalley for my unbiased review.

(audio download - 4/5 stars)

I adored Things You Save In A Fire so when this book became available I requested it right away. I didn't look this up but I believe Therese Plummer was the narrator for her previous book as well. I loved that. I gave me a familiar feel yet it was all new. I loved the narrators voice and her ability to change it for the different characters. This book was lovely! Katherine Center is a gem in the writing world. I look forward to her next work of art.

This book was perhaps not for me, or maybe just not for me now. I went into it knowing not much about the story and I have not read the authors previous book which seems to have high praise.
Parts felt too predictable, and I questioned a lot of the choices made in the book by the main character. This is a sweet book and at times was just too sweet for my tastes, that said I’m sure it would provide a great escape for many readers during these uncertain times.

I received a digital copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Fun, uplifting, and light-hearted.

This was a great listen that took me out of my day to day and into a world of Galveston and a librarian's life. Sam was a relate-able character, although at times I didn't quite get why she was so fixated on Duncan. The dialog and Sam's self -talk are super funny.

Sweet story. Lots of timely issues discussed. But I didn’t love the story. The characters were a little over the top. But this book was a great getaway from all the craziness that is going on in the world.

This was a decent book with many touching moments. A young teacher with health and family problems is happily working at her dream job. Enter an old coworker coming to the same school she is working at. With a completely new (and not nice) personality. The storyline was extremely predictable and I found the characters to be pretty annoying. However, there were many heartwarming moments about the various struggles the characters were going through. This made it a pleasant escape from today’s crazy times. Overall, I enjoyed listening to the audio version of the book.

What You Wish For introduces us to Samantha and Duncan, who’s lives intertwine once again, after a tumultuous ending years earlier. While Center’s books often include a love story, they also include the most important relationships we can have, the ones we have with ourselves. While all of her books have similar themes of personal growth and self-compassion, they are all stand-alone reads and don’t need to be read in any specific order.

Center has the unique ability to build multifaceted characters that we can connect with and also root for as they encounter relatable obstacles and challenges along the way. Her characters are quirky and unique and always have more depth than you initially assume and…and also leave you reflecting not only on the themes of the book but also about how they relate to your own life.

This story was perfect for a fiction audiobook because it is fun and energetic but also not too complicated to follow along with. The narration was wonderful and the characters came alive through Therese Plummer. Highly recommend!

I really wanted to like this book. No, I wanted to fall in love with this book. First of all, I indulged in the audiobook. Second, it was touted as a book about finding joy even in difficult times (perfect for our current climate, yes?). And third, our main character is an educator, and the teacher geek in me loves a good teacher story. I don´t know what I initially missed in the ¨joy in the difficult times¨ description, but obviously I did not expect times to be as difficult as they actually were.

The delightful main character, Sam, is surrounded by trauma. From her early rejection in childhood to a health condition that inhibits her relationship choices, Sam strives to live the joyous life. Things are complicated when the school's new principal -- and Sam´s former colleague -- Duncan Carpenter arrives, challenging the school´s beloved traditions and values. He contradicts everything Sam knew about Duncan in the past, but discovering why he has changed so drastically may force Sam to confront some of her own fears.

As a teacher, this book was a difficult read for me. At the heart of the conflict lies a character in the aftermath of a school shooting, the descriptions of which are pretty detailed. On the one hand, there is this light-hearted main character who is bubbly and enthusiastic; on the other hand, there is a very emotional story of the school shooting. There was something that felt unbalanced and at times forced about the combination of the two. I am confident that it is my position as an educator that creates this unsettling feeling, and I know many others are enjoying the novel. It just wasn't the best match for me.

However, the audiobook experience was fantastic. Narrator Therese Plummer added a delightful voice to this story. At times, her expressive reading created the feeling of conversing with a friend over a cup of coffee. I will definitely explore more audiobooks read by Plummer. Her narration was so good, in fact, that I feel like the audiobook is worth recommending despite my otherwise lackluster experience with the storyline. I will also continue to read Katherine Center novels since I normally enjoy her writing style.

One final point: a hidden gem in the audiobook was author Katherine Center´s essay ¨Read for Joy.¨ This is definitely an essay I plan to share with some of my high school students, not only to share one writer´s story about her writing journey, but also to communicate the power of reading and writing.

I received an advance copy of this audiobook from Macmillan Audio through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

Like the rest of Katherine Center’s books What you wish for is also full of heartfelt emotions and feelings. But I guess the over expectations got me this time, because the story was vaguely predictable. The characters were good, suited the story and the audio narration made by Center & Plummer made the story more interesting. Honestly, the audiobook made reading through this one easier. The narration was good with apt modulations. Overall a good one to enjoy, but not Center’s best.

3.5/5

Thank you Macmillan audio, Netgalley for the audio ARC. This review is my own and is not influenced in any way!

3.5 stars. First I want to say thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me an eARC!
I LOVE Katherine Center and this one was good, but not my favorite. This one is about a woman who is a librarian in an elementary school. She had previously worked with a guy named Duncan who was the definition of a fun guy. He was a crazy teacher that everyone loved. Now he's back and he's the principal but he is MUCH different. One of my biggest complaints is how the character was SO extreme on both ends. It made him feel unrealistic and hard to buy in to. I also struggled a little bit with the hate to love relationship, but that is a me issue because I always feel like the transition from hate to love is a little abrupt. In this one, the majority of their bonding happens when one of them is sick and I love that trope, so the transition wasn't as bad as other books I've read. My only other complaints are that some of the things that happened in the school were so unbelievable it added to the inauthenticity that I was feeling from the characters. This also had a character who was a saint and EVERYBODY loved and the whole town gathered around and nobody had a bad word to say. I hate when someone is so perfect. I LOVED the little boy in this book and thought he was so sweet! I also loved seeing Max's wife and the tension in that family and felt it was very relatable.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book but expected more of Katherine Center.

SPOILERS AHEAD:
Sam has epilepsy and I loved seeing that representation and how she never felt normal because she never knew when a seizure would happen. The chronic illness discussion was so good, in my opinion. Max, her somewhat adopted father, is the principal in the beginning and he's so perfect everyone loves him. He dies at his 60th bday party of a blood clot and its a whole town tragedy. To fill his position, Duncan comes back into town and he's a total Miss Trenchbull and wants to make everything gray, put bars on everything, have lock downs, etc. Before he always wore crazy clothes and was so extreme the other way I couldn't reconcile the 2 people in my head. We find out that he was involved in a school shooting so thats why he's so hardcore, but I just think it was a little over exaggerated. He has to undergo a surgery to repair some scar tissue and Sam takes care of him and he admits his love, etc. In the end, the little boy goes missing while at school and they find him rescuing a whale. It was a really sweet scene that brought everyone together.

I have never read or listened to a book by Katherine Center before coming across this ARC for What You Wish For. This book was the perfect read/listen for a little pick me up during this time. It was a great reminder that all things in life do not come easy yet we need to keep our head up, look for the good and keep moving forward. The narrator kept the book engaging and added to the “feels” of the story.
I look forward to reading or listening to more books by this author.

This book was average for me. I felt very lukewarm about it during and after I finished reading. I wasn't dying to know what happened next because it was pretty predictable. Katherine Center books get a lot of buzz and this one just fell flat for me. Maybe my expectations were too high. I feel like she tried to make her lead character diverse by giving her epilepsy but throughout the story she was ashamed by it and I didn't like that, it just further fed into the notion that people with disabilities should hide them and be ashamed. The book just felt juvenile to me.

The audio narration was great - I didn't have any issues with the audio component.

This one is a sweet and syrupy read. The main character is passionate about her job as a librarian at a school. I loved school as a setting, but it wasn't very realistic. Most of the characters were likable and Alice and Clay were favorites. The second half of the book was better than the first half once things became known. There was theme about finding joy in living and that was fun. The author also created the main character with having epilepsy and I appreciate inclusion like that. Overall, a good and predictable romance! I listened on audible and thought the narrator was excellent.

Samantha Casey is not the only person who is devastated by the sudden death of the beloved principal of the elementary school where she is a librarian. Samantha was very close to the principal and remains close to his wife Babette. As a matter of fact, Babette is well respected at the school as well, and pretty much everyone thought the job would be passed on to her. Samantha is more than shocked when she hears the announcement that a teacher she knows quite well - Duncan Carpenter - is taking the job.

Well, this is problematic for Samantha. The two have a bit of a past. Samantha once had a huge crush on the fun-loving guy. Who she sees now is a different man altogether. He is far too serious, intent on change as to the way the school is run, and is especially intent on safety precautions. To the dismay of the rest of the staff, other changes are in order. These changes will be sure to upset the staff as well as the students.

Samantha is still crushing on Duncan, even though he is not the man she remembers. She really wants to know why he is such a different man and is determined to get to the bottom of things. For some reason this book read kind of young to me. Actually, I had to check the genre because with Samantha's behavior this felt like it was written for a younger audience. I get that with Samantha's job as a librarian for younger children, she has a gentle soul, but again, seemed rather young throughout the story. In some ways, however, I was able to relate to her and the story did end up on a very sweet note.

However, the narration really helped to make this book more enjoyable as it was narrated by Therese Plummer, someone whom I have had the pleasure of listening to in Kelley Armstrong's Casey Duncan series and Brenda Novak's Evelyn Talbot series. Since I tend to binge listen to series I have grown quite comfortable with Therese Plummer's excellent narration. For me, this always ratchets up the enjoyment value of the books I listen to.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press, McMillan Audio and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Have you ever read or listened to a book that just reaches in your heart and just moves you. Katherine center and very select few do that for me. I loved things you save in a fire and this did not fall short. It was just as amazing as the last. Having Therese Plummer reading it both times was a awesome choice, Because she did a amazing job Narrating it. I'm going to go back read her other or books. My preference listen to them. Lol I think she will be a automatic author for me. I loved the story and the characters and the plot was amazing. You are your own worst enemy. Don't be afraid to enjoy life. 5 star for me. Definitely recommend as well top 10 read for me of the year.

This review is from the ebook. Thank you for the ARC. Love Katherine Center's books. I have read just about all of them. This one for me started off a little rocky. I thought for sure I wouldn't like let alone finish this book. But I did and I loved it. There were times I just wanted to reach through the pages and shake Sam and say "Wake up". Loved all the characters in the story. Even the ones you don't like. As I said before all books have to have at least one character you don't like. Well that was Tina's husband (his name escapes me at this time). I'm done gushing since there are so many reviews.
Loved the narrator. She did a great job with each character.

In her newest novel, What You Wish For, Katherine Center brings us to Galveston, Texas and introduces us to colorful and joy-full Sam and the Kempner School… and her crush, Duncan. As Sam struggles with her feelings for Duncan and the man he became, we learn the harrowing truth of why he is that way. Despite it all, Sam continues on her quest to help Duncan remember who he used to be and hurdles some roadblocks of her own in the process.
The narrator, Therese Plummer, talks a little fast when you start the book, but it’s easy to get used to. In all honesty, it’s like listening to your bestie tell you a great story! Plummer nails Sam’s excitedness and emotions from the get-go!
Overall, I thought What You Wish For was a sweet story, but I did have trouble getting into it. I felt like we were never going to get to the meat of the story, but, once there, I couldn’t put it down! I thoroughly enjoy how Center’s books center on a struggle of the protagonist and then focuses on how to overcome that struggle with laughter and love.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to listen to the audiobook of What You Wish For in exchange of an honest review.