About this book
"The story’s message, that people should choose joy even (and especially) in difficult and painful times, seems tailor-made for this moment. A timely, uplifting read about finding joy in the midst of tragedy, filled with quirky characters and comforting warmth."—Kirkus (starred review)
From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel full of heart and hope.
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.
With Katherine Center’s sparkling dialogue, unforgettable characters, heart, hope, and humanity, What You Wish For is the author at her most compelling best.
About Katherine Center
Katherine Center is an American author of contemporary fiction. Center was born and raised in Afton Oaks, Houston, Texas. She graduated from St. John's School and from Vassar College. She won the Vassar College Fiction Prize while a student. She received her M.A. in fiction from the University of Houston, where she was the co-editor of the literary fiction magazine, *Gulf Coast*.
Center is the author of several books, which she has called "bittersweet comic novels." Her first novel, *The Bright Side of Disaster* (2006), was optioned by Varsity Pictures, and her sixth, *How to Walk Away* (2018), was a New York Times bestseller. Center's 2019 novel *Things You Save in a Fire* was a New York Times bestseller. Her 2022 novel, *The Bodyguard*, debuted at #11 on the New York Times bestseller list.
Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katherine_Center)
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