What You Wish For by Katherine Center is the story of
Samantha “Sam” Casey, a school librarian at the Kempner School, who hides from
the world an embarrassing secret. Very few people know that she suffers from epilepsy
but her boss and parental figures, Max and Babette Kempner, helped her see joy
and create joy in her life. When Max suddenly dies, he leaves big shoes to
fill. The staff at the school do their best to carry on until Kent Buckley, the
Kempner’s son-in-law and school board member, announces he has hired a new
principal and it is someone Sam knows! Duncan Carpenter was the guy she liked
at a previous school when she was a mousy, quiet staff member and he was the exuberant,
fun-loving teacher. But the man who arrived looks like Duncan, but he sure
doesn’t act like Duncan. He begins by making major changes at the school and
Sam will not stand for it. She immediately goes into action to get Duncan to
leave or get him fired. What caused Duncan to change so much? Can Sam get to
the bottom of it and show Duncan that the school doesn’t need his changes?
I LOVED this book. This amazing story grips you in from the
opening chapter and never lets you go until the final sentence. I loved Sam.
She was vulnerable and introverted. Even though her tendency was to hide from embarrassing
moments, she found the strength to be front and center when the situation
called for it. I also loved Duncan. When he is first introduced and he is not the
man Sam remembered, I knew there was a reason behind his behavior. Sam and
Duncan’s personal stories are heartbreaking, and I wanted to reach through the
book to hug both of them. I loved each of the beautiful people who made up the
staff at the school, even Sam’s quirky, math-obsessed friend, Alice. Katherine
Canter provides a story with lovable and relatable characters to tell a story
of survival and finding joy as joy is the cure to many negative emotions and
situations. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll find that creating joy in your
laugh helps chase away the negativity that surrounds you. Great advice for the
world we live in now. I highly recommend What You Wish For!
What You Wish For
is available in
hardcover, eBook and audiobook
No comments:
Post a Comment