What You Wish For

Thank you #netgalley #stmartinspress for my free advanced copy! This will be published in July. I was so excited to get an advanced copy of this because last year I loved Things You Save in a Fire. I loved this story. The themes of resilience and dealing with trauma in different forms were so timely right now. The characters have (many) flaws, but the author does a good job of showing the reader the depth of the main characters and the reasons for their attitudes and decisions. Throw in a little romance and it was a great read perfect for the weekend and reading on my porch. There was laughter, a story that held my interest and lots of feels.

Fun And Quirky, Touches On Serious Issues. Center does an excellent job here of showing how behavioral extremes - from both directions - can be the result of serious mental trauma. And she does it in a mostly very fun and light manner, only getting truly serious in a few key scenes before going back to the mostly light and playful side of things. If you're a fan of the author's previous work, you'll definitely want this one. If you're new to the author, this is a solid first book to try out. Very much recommended.

I had high hopes for this book because I loved Center's previous book, Things You Save in a Fire. Unfortunately, this one was not as good. In fact, I almost stopped reading it in the beginning because I just did not like the main character and what, in my opinion, was her ridiculous behavior. However, the second half of the book is better, so I am glad I stuck with it.

In this book, Sam is a school librarian who was once obsessed with a fellow teacher, Duncan. So much so that she moved halfway across the country to avoid her crush. She finds out very early on that Duncan is now coming to her new school. When he arrives, he is not the same person he once was, and Sam struggles to come to terms with that and to save her precious school from his proposed changes.

The thing that makes this book a mere three stars for me is the character of Sam. She is just too silly and childish for me. I mean, is it really necessary to move out of state just to avoid seeing the guy you have a crush on? And then to decide you have to move again because he is now at your new school? It just seems a bit ridiculous to me. Duncan is a little more realistic a character, but he too annoys me at times. He has experienced something traumatizing, but his drastic change in character seems over the top.

I also found myself frustrated by the portrayal of the school itself. As an educator, I know that many of the things that happen in this book just don't happen in real schools. I won't go into detail due to spoilers.

All that being said, there are things I like about this book. I like the message that people need to choose joy and that joy helps to overcome difficult situations. I also like the emphasis placed on reading and education. There are some good themes in this story.

I wish I had liked this more than I did. I will still read more by Katherine Center because I know I like some of her other writing.

Sam is a school librarian (!) in Galveston (!) and she loves her job (!) in an alternative school (!) So many elements in this story that I love.

And then her school's founder dies suddenly and is replaced by her secret crush, an amazing teacher and human being, Duncan. But something has happened to Duncan. He's lost his Joie de vivre; he's completely obsessed with school safety at the expense of art, creativity, and joy.

The school must get rid of Duncan before Duncan destroys the happy school so many have helped build. But Sam still finds herself drawn to Duncan. Can Duncan be saved?

I couldn't stop turning the pages. I love how the Dallas Morning News calls Katherine Center's stories “satisfying in the most soul-nourishing way.” Perfect.

This story didn't hook me right away. It started a little slowly I felt, and the main character's meddling, though well intentioned, irked me a bit (perhaps because I can meddle sometimes myself). But I'm glad I stuck with the book because a third of the way in, it just... blossomed, unfolding into one of the most compelling, original stories I've read in the last while. The depth Katherine Center gave her main characters was extremely satisfying, the conflict between them (for the most part) felt real and compelling and the final scene was electric. Terrific read, a tear-jerker.