What You Wish For

Great book, was a good perspective on school shootings

What You Wish For focuses on Sam, a quirky school librarian who boasts pink bangs, an eclectic wardrobe, and an infectious love of books. She ensures that the school library is a welcoming place where all students feel accepted and safe, and delights in guiding them to select books they will enjoy. Sam's father left when she was eight years old, and her mother died when she was ten. She has found a home with Max and Babette, the founders and administrators of the school, who are more than employers. They are like surrogate parents and she resides in their carriage house. The couple are "beloved" -- "the kind of people other people just want[] to be near." As the story opens, Max is celebrating his 60th birthday in his typical fun-loving style, savoring every moment that he joyfully interacts with the guests. Until tragedy strikes.

Suddenly, the school needs a new principal and Sam is shocked when Kent Buckley, Max and Babette's son-in-law, who serves as chair of the school's board of directors while, ironically, virtually ignoring his own son, Clay, a highly intelligent third-grader, announces that Duncan Carpenter has accepted the position. Duncan was the impetus for Sam leaving her position at a California school and relocating to Galveston. She remembers how charismatic, joy-filled, and exuberant Duncan was -- characteristics that endeared him to students, parents, and colleagues. Sam fell hard, but Duncan never noticed her, instead dating another faculty member. Eventually, feeling completely invisible and knowing that Duncan was seriously involved with another woman became too difficult for her. She admits that she was the worst version of herself when she was around Duncan. But in Galveston, she has found her voice and become empowered to reveal her authentic self to the world, even though her long-dormant epilepsy resurfaced and caused her to discontinue driving. Still, seizures are rare and she recognizes the warning signs that permit her to get to a private space where no one can observe her as she endures them. As a child, she was tormented and ostracized by the children in whose presence the seizures sometimes overtook and embarrassed her.

Sam is stunned when Duncan arrives and bears no resemblance to the man she knew. His colorful clothes and silly socks? Gone. His infectiously gleeful approach to education? Gone. His happy, outgoing demeanor? Gone. The man who is introduced at the first faculty meeting of the year wears a drab suit and has a frightening disposition. He is obsessed with school safety, and determined to transform the historic campus that is decorated in bright colors and boasts a floor-to-ceiling butterfly mosaic in the cafeteria designed and painted by Babette with Sam's assistance over the course of an entire summer. Duncan plans to replace the school's security guard, install additional locks, cover windows, paint the walls gray, and essentially turn the school into a fortress. What Sam doesn't know at the outset is why Duncan has undergone such a dramatic personality transformation. But she is determined to stop him from remodeling the school and, in the process, destroying its spirit and traditions.

What You Wish For is thoroughly predictable, but that doesn't detract from its charm. Like Center's other protagonists, Sam is endearing and believable. Readers may recognize traits San shares with enthusiastic librarians in their own lives who inspired them to love literature. She is loved not only by her colleagues, but by her students, and since moving to Galveston she has been learning to love and accept herself. Duncan's arrival threatens to derail her progress as she becomes increasingly angry and frustrated by his grim determination to turn her beloved school into a lifeless, joyless institution, complete with a guard dog named Chuck Norris. Sam, Babette, and Alice conspire to not only stop Duncan's actions, but to turn him back into the affable, fun-loving man he once was. They embark on "Operation Duncan."

Fans of Hallmark movies will love What You Wish For, the theme of which is, according to Center, "joy on purpose." It is a story about overcoming loss and meeting challenges head-on while finding and relishing the delights that life offers. Employing her recognizable style, Center has created a memorable cast of characters, each eccentric and quirky in his/her own right, but never boring. In addition to Babette, the adored co-founder of the school and Alice, who is constantly attired in shirts bearing math-related quips, there is Kent Buckley. He's "the kind of guy everybody always called by his first and last name," who is perpetually talking on his cell phone using a Bluetooth device. He's intent on making a power grab and turning the school into a state-of-the-art model of safety, even as he makes his own wife, Babette's daughter, Tina, and son, Clay, miserable. He has ensnared Duncan to assist him. Young Clay, who wants to read for fun as well as knowledge, plays a pivotal role in the story and Duncan is the damaged man of Sam's dreams. Center's crisp, frequently hilarious dialogue and her characters' wry observations propel the story forward at a steady pace.

Center is adept at crafting characters who must overcome tragedy, hardship, or obstacles, and What You Wish For is no exception. In Sam's case, she must keep her unrequited feelings for Duncan in check, manage her epilepsy, and overcome the emotional damage the disease and losing her parents have inflicted upon her. Center reveals what happened to Duncan and brought about the dramatic change to his personality long after savvy readers will have guessed what transpired. Nonetheless, the manner in which Center weaves the revelatory moment into the story is flawless and moving, and the tale takes on an urgent tone at the point. As "Operation Duncan" gets underway, Center deftly illustrates that Duncan has reached a crossroads. The path he chooses can easily shape the trajectory of the rest of his life. Again, even though readers already know how he will ultimately choose, Center's expertly-crafted story is enjoyable and emotionally satisfying.

Center says that "sorrows don't cancel out the joy" and she actively strives to make her stories "funny and wry and wise." With What You Wish For, she has again achieved her goal. The one surprising thing about the story is the crisis that ends up bringing the community together in a united effort to do a very good deed. As a result, some characters finally make pivotal decisions, while others' beliefs are validated and they recommit to them. The incident ends up healing not only individual characters, but the community itself.

What You Wish For is a fast-paced, escapist romance -- the kind of book you read simply for the pure pleasure of reading. It's success is due to Center's intriguing, lovable, and empathetic characters, especially Sam and Duncan, and the sweet evolution of their relationship that will have readers cheering. It is about empowerment and making a conscious decision to seek out joy in one's life. It's an uplifting story about managing loss, sorrow, and challenges, and Center gives her characters an unabashedly happy ending. What You Wish For is an ideal easy read for a day spent at the beach or by the pool.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.

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.

Fun read, but not amazing.