Today I’m sharing my review of What you wish for by Katherine Center. She is one of my favorite authors. Her books bring me so much joy. I loved both How to walk away and Things to save in a fire so I was very excited this book.
Synopsis
Samantha Casey loves everything about her job as an elementary school librarian on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas—the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school suddenly loses its beloved principal, it turns out his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter—a former, unrequited crush of Sam’s from many years before.
When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he’s nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He’s become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety. Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security—and turn it into nothing short of a prison—Sam has to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that’s become her home is gone for good.
Why did I choose to read this book
Katherine Center is one of my favorite authors so she is an “auto-read” for me. Her new book just came out this month!
Rating
3.5 Stars (I Liked it)
My Thoughts
This is not my favorite Katherine Center book. Her books bring me joy, they usually cover heavier topics but give you some hope at the same time. I think she took the joy concept to the next level in this book but unfortunately it was too cheesy for me. The main themes of the book include healing, making your own joy and finding the best on each day.
I love Katherine’s writing! Its one of the reasons why I’ll keep reading her books. She has a way of writing characters that have depth, are lovable and full of joy. I loved getting to know the main character Sam but I loved the secondary characters more (Babette, Alice and Clay). I want to be friends with them! I had some issues with how the main characters handled some situations but I can’t talk about them without spoiling the book. I don’t think the love story went as deep as it could have been.
The story covers some heavier situations that unfortunately we hear of very often and I appreciate how Katherine addressed those situations in the book (check the content warnings). I think some people will connect more with the characters than I did and I can see how some people would love this book. Even though this wasn’t my favorite book of hers I’m glad I read it and I am looking forward to more from her!
Characters
I’m starting to put together graphics that include all the characters for each book I review. I find this helpful for books that have a lot of characters. It is hard to keep up sometimes! I’ll include these going forward in my reviews.
Content Warnings
Gun violence, PTSD, death of a loved one, parental abandonment, seizures
Who I recommend this book to
If you are looking for a lighter read you may like this one. It is an easy read and will make you feel good at the end. However, if any of the topics mentioned in the content warnings trigger you, you may not find this to be a light book.
Get the book!
Did this review of What you wish for convince you to read it? You can get the book from Bookshop.org here. Please consider ordering it from a Black owned independent bookstore. This list of Black owned independent bookstores accepts online ordering.
Definitely want to read some Katherine Center novels!