kjbreads's review
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Abandonment
susanpevensie's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Death
Minor: Vomit and Bullying
jenniferbbookdragon's review
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
A step above the romantic comedy and chick lit stories that have flooded bookstores and social media. Center explores family and friendship, trauma and healing, and how the stories we tell ourselves impact decisions in ways large and small.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content, Death, and Chronic illness
Minor: Bullying, Abandonment, and Mass/school shootings
gondorgirl's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mass/school shootings and Death
Minor: Bullying, Grief, and Medical content
snipinfool's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
CW: School shooting, death, grief
Potential spoiler in review
Samantha Casey felt like she had the best job in the world. She was the librarian at a small private school on Galveston Island. She lived in the garage apartment of the couple who started and ran the school. Max and Babette Kempner felt like second parents to her. Sam and many of the teachers met at the Kempner's on Friday evenings to make plans for both in and out of school. When Max suddenly died during the summer break, no one had any idea of what to do next. Max was the principal and handled the day to day running of the school. Babette was in mourning and unable to step into his place. The school's board quickly hired an outside person as the new principal as the summer was nearing its end. When Sam heard who the replacement would be, she was surprised but excited about the news. She had worked with Duncan Carpenter at her previous school. He was playful, charismatic, and the children adored him. He would be a good fit for the Kempner School. Sam's only concern was Duncan was the reason she left her last job and moved to Galveston. She had developed a crush on him and left to make a new start when he didn't seem to feel the same about her.
The Duncan Sam knew and the Duncan who was the new principal of the Kempner School were not the same. It was the same person, but he was not the fun, carefree teacher from the past. She didn't think Duncan remembered her from their previous school. Duncan started his first meeting with the faculty and staff pointing out how lax the school was relative to security measures. Security would be the number one focus for the year. New rules for school and classroom management were to be enforced immediately. Gone were the days of colorful classrooms and hallways. Gone were field trips and special enrichment projects around the school grounds. The staff were shocked by his dictates and extremely unhappy. Duncan wanted to take away much of what made their school special. Sam was baffled by his personality change. This was a man to used to wear ties covered in cartoon bananas, funny costumes, and juggle items from the student's lunch trays during lunch duty. Who was this new man? When she tried to talk to Duncan, he refused to discuss any changes to his new regulations. Sam and the rest of the staff tried to figure out a way to change Duncan's mind.
I enjoyed this book, although parts were difficult. I loved Sam's character. She loved being a librarian and spent all of her energy making sure her students were exposed to different mediums and points of view surrounded by a fun and comfortable place to read and learn. Duncan was a man forever changed by a horrible event. He wanted to continue what he loved to do, but he struggled to find a way that was not ruled by his fears. One of the strategies the staff tried in the book with Duncan was to remind him of joy and the feeling of being happy as he seemed to have lost that part of himself. Sam, Babette, and the rest of the staff worked to create joyful activities for the students and the staff. It went a long way in helping to heal the grief the students and staff felt over the loss of their beloved principal. It helped to remind Duncan that joy and happiness might help to keep fear at bay. Sam eventually talked Duncan into seeking professional help in addition to the other strategies. I felt Katherine Center did a good job with her character portrayals. The character's actions and reactions made sense within the story. Duncan was a character who was introduced in a previous book, Happiness for Beginners, which I have not read, but plan to soon.
Potential spoiler in review
Samantha Casey felt like she had the best job in the world. She was the librarian at a small private school on Galveston Island. She lived in the garage apartment of the couple who started and ran the school. Max and Babette Kempner felt like second parents to her. Sam and many of the teachers met at the Kempner's on Friday evenings to make plans for both in and out of school. When Max suddenly died during the summer break, no one had any idea of what to do next. Max was the principal and handled the day to day running of the school. Babette was in mourning and unable to step into his place. The school's board quickly hired an outside person as the new principal as the summer was nearing its end. When Sam heard who the replacement would be, she was surprised but excited about the news. She had worked with Duncan Carpenter at her previous school. He was playful, charismatic, and the children adored him. He would be a good fit for the Kempner School. Sam's only concern was Duncan was the reason she left her last job and moved to Galveston. She had developed a crush on him and left to make a new start when he didn't seem to feel the same about her.
The Duncan Sam knew and the Duncan who was the new principal of the Kempner School were not the same. It was the same person, but he was not the fun, carefree teacher from the past. She didn't think Duncan remembered her from their previous school. Duncan started his first meeting with the faculty and staff pointing out how lax the school was relative to security measures. Security would be the number one focus for the year. New rules for school and classroom management were to be enforced immediately. Gone were the days of colorful classrooms and hallways. Gone were field trips and special enrichment projects around the school grounds. The staff were shocked by his dictates and extremely unhappy. Duncan wanted to take away much of what made their school special. Sam was baffled by his personality change. This was a man to used to wear ties covered in cartoon bananas, funny costumes, and juggle items from the student's lunch trays during lunch duty. Who was this new man? When she tried to talk to Duncan, he refused to discuss any changes to his new regulations. Sam and the rest of the staff tried to figure out a way to change Duncan's mind.
I enjoyed this book, although parts were difficult. I loved Sam's character. She loved being a librarian and spent all of her energy making sure her students were exposed to different mediums and points of view surrounded by a fun and comfortable place to read and learn. Duncan was a man forever changed by a horrible event. He wanted to continue what he loved to do, but he struggled to find a way that was not ruled by his fears. One of the strategies the staff tried in the book with Duncan was to remind him of joy and the feeling of being happy as he seemed to have lost that part of himself. Sam, Babette, and the rest of the staff worked to create joyful activities for the students and the staff. It went a long way in helping to heal the grief the students and staff felt over the loss of their beloved principal. It helped to remind Duncan that joy and happiness might help to keep fear at bay. Sam eventually talked Duncan into seeking professional help in addition to the other strategies. I felt Katherine Center did a good job with her character portrayals. The character's actions and reactions made sense within the story. Duncan was a character who was introduced in a previous book, Happiness for Beginners, which I have not read, but plan to soon.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
missjeann's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Abandonment
Minor: Death of parent and Toxic relationship
troxelm's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mass/school shootings, Grief, and Gun violence
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Suicide attempt
abzster53's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Grief
cra25800's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved Katherine Center's "What you Wish For"! I was hooked from the first chapter. Samantha Casey, a school librarian, lives with a passion for her makeshift family. Although both of here parents are gone now, Sam lives with bright colors and a positive attitude inspired by her first crush Duncan Carpenter. Duncan was the principal at Sam's old job who love to have random dance parties and wear silly clothes. He loved the kids and laughter which Sam fell for and fell for hard. So much that when Duncan gets a girlfriend she leaves her job and moves away. Far away. Now, living in Max and Babette's side house life just the way she likes it. Max is the loved-by-all principal at Sam's new job, but when Max suddenly passes away things change dramatically. The school finds a new principal and quick. When introduced he has a familiar face. Too familiar. In fact, it is the one and only Duncan Carpenter. But over time, he changed. Now instead of the dancing, silly clothed, dad joke, juggling goofball that he was, he is a tie-wearing and strict-on-rules kind of guy. So strict that he is willing to destroy the happiness in this school. As the story continues Sam and Duncan must find out who they play in the story, what it means to be truly happy, and giving love a second shot may be worth it. I loved the story and the characters, but it did make me feel uncomfortable at times (because of intimate content). Throughout the story we learn about the feelings and past of the main characters. As the book continues we learn a lot of major things about Sam that I felt almost should have been introduced sooner. It felt almost like the author forgot that piece of information and quick threw it in the book to makes stuff interesting. Overall, I really enjoyed the story and how everything laid out. I would recommend for anyone into funny and romantic novels.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Cursing and Car accident
mrspelladvm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Death, and Chronic illness