What You Wish For Book Review

December 10, 2020

Title: What You Wish For

Author: Katherine Center

Genres: Romance

Published: July 2020

Length: 320 pages

“Joy was the cure for everything. And the more I learned about how it worked, the more I felt like joy was cumulative. That it wasn’t about finding one big thing-but about collecting as many tiny pieces as you could.”

Book Summary

Samantha Casey loves her job as a school librarian at Kempner School. She also adores Max and Babette, the school's founders, she feels like she's finally found the family she's always longed for. But things started to spiral down when Max dies suddenly at his 60th birthday party. A new principal is appointed, and to Sam's horror, it is Duncan Carpenter, her former fellow teacher slash unrequited crush. Despite her expectations of what he will be like, she finds that he is not the person she used to know. Everything that Sam loves about her school is suddenly being systematically destroyed. Her life is thrown into an utter upheaval. Kempner is no longer the progressive, artsy, sunny school she knows. It's turning into a fortress. The butterfly mural at their school has been painted over with grey paint.

Review

This is my third book by Katherine Center, and once again, she has crafted a beautifully written story that brings serious issues to light while still emphasizing the good. In "What You Wish For", Center has created a fearless and outspoken character in Sam, who is determined to find happiness no matter what. I appreciated the themes of deliberate pursuit of happiness, self-healing, traumas, chronic health disorders, and education that Center brought into the novel. Sam's personal background is well described, and I found myself able to relate to her character. Her devotion to helping kids learn is admirable, especially given the hardships she has faced in her own life.

That being said, I do wish there had been more explanation about Duncan's healing process, particularly with regard to the romance. While we typically know who will end up together in these types of novels, the "process of how they get there" is still crucial. I also found the "semi-blackmail" that Sam attempted somewhat unrealistic and would have preferred to see a longer journey for Duncan to give in. However, despite this, many characters in the novel grew and found their voices, taking a stand in their own lives.

Overall, "What You Wish For" is a perfect read for those in need of hope. It tackles serious issues while still being an enjoyable and uplifting story. Once again, Katherine Center has not disappointed.

What I love from this book

Center centers "joy over grief" as the theme of this book. It's a great reminder for this hard time that we still have the power to choose joy over grief, that we have that option to choose the perspective that empowers us. This book gives a good dose of optimism and resilience.

Plot: 3.8 ⭐

Characters: 4.2 ⭐

Ending: 3.8⭐

Quotability: 5 ⭐

Overall: 4.2 ⭐