Review: What You Wish For by Katherine Center

Samantha Casey is a school librarian who loves her job, the kids, and her school family with passion and joy for living.
But she wasn’t always that way.
Duncan Carpenter is the new school principal who lives by rules and regulations, guided by the knowledge that bad things can happen.
But he wasn’t always that way.

And Sam knows it. Because she knew him before―at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him―but she was invisible. To him. To everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan, of all people, gets hired as the new principal there, it feels like the best thing that could possibly happen to the school―and the worst thing that could possibly happen to Sam. Until the opposite turns out to be true. The lovable Duncan she’d known is now a suit-and-tie wearing, rule-enforcing tough guy so hell-bent on protecting the school that he’s willing to destroy it.

As the school community spirals into chaos, and danger from all corners looms large, Sam and Duncan must find their way to who they really are, what it means to be brave, and how to take a chance on love―which is the riskiest move of all.  

My Review: 

When your fears control your life, take control of your fears and live each day to it’s fullest.  This book taught me so many lessons.  The main one is to find joy in the little things in life.  And the way this year has been going, we all need something to be joyful about.

Samantha moved to Galveston, Texas, where she was working as a school librarian.  She loved everything about the school, especially the people who ran it.  They were like family to her.  But when Max suddenly passes away and a new principle is hired, Samantha never expected it to be the man she had a crush on, Duncan, from her old job.  But this version of Duncan was not the man Samantha remembered.  He was not the fun-loving guy anymore.  The new Duncan was a stickler for rules and security.  He wanted to change everything everyone loved about the school.  But the reasons he wanted to do so were something he didn’t talk about.  When Samantha finds out Duncan’s secret, she sets out to bring him out of his shell and enjoy life once again.  And along the way, Samantha learns to live and enjoy life again too.    

With unforgettable characters and a story line that pulled me in from the very start, I had a hard time finding a place to pause my reading.  And then there was the setting of the book, Galveston, one of my favorite places to visit. This story took me through a wide variety of emotions while reading it.  The saying “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is fitting for this book.  I would definitely recommend reading this one.  

Thank you to St Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.