Tuesday, July 14, 2020

What You Wish For: an inspirational story to find joy in everything


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

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