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thrillofthepage's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Suicide attempt
thelovelylibrarylady's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
Whenever I need a pick-me-up, Katherine Center's writing is what I find myself gravitating towards. Her stories have the best love interests who I find myself really rooting for, no matter what storyline she puts them in. Some people may find her writing cheesy, and I'll admit that this title especially may fall into that category, but I just love her books and I can't wait to read all of them!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Death
Moderate: Gun violence
sara_phoenix's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Samantha Casey is a school librarian that loves her home, loves her job, loves her friends, and loves her life. But when an former colleague, Duncan Carpenter, shows up to be the new school principal, everything she thought she knew is turned upside down. While I enjoyed the overall theme of the book that joy can still be found in the midst of difficult circumstances, I could not move past the fact that the main characters were very annoying. I finished the book hoping for some sort of redemptive quality in them to appear, but it never came, and the books conclusion was somewhat messy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Grief, and Death
westhemm's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Grief, and Death
emyjo's review against another edition
4.0
4.5/5 stars. What You Wish For was my first Katherine Center book, and I will definitely be coming back for more. This was such a pleasant read. Because I am a teacher who dreams of being a librarian, Sam Casey was a character I could very easily relate to. I loved following her journey to self acceptance. While I could see how some people would be frustrated by Duncan, I found him to be charming. I loved how this story progressed, and I was enthralled to keep reading to see how it would turn out. It takes a lot for me to love the ending of a book, but this ending did not disappoint. I can't wait to read my next Katherine Center novel.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
onkenzisshelf's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I thought it was such a touching novel and dealt with hard topics so well.
This book kind of covered it all. School shootings, disabilities, family troubles, death, etc. and unlike most books, this one handled every single one of those beautifully. I loved all of the characters and how strikingly unique they were. Center did a phenomenal job with her character descriptions and arcs. Every single character felt so real and alive and I loved who I was supposed to love and hated who I was supposed to hate.
Sweet Clay was one of my favorite characters, and I thought he was SO well done. A young kid dealing with the death of a loved one is touchy, but Center handled it beautifully. I loved how Clay was smart beyond his years, but at a price. I love how big his heart was and how he had a specific reason for doing everything and I loved how Sam figured that out.
The relationship between Duncan and Sam was confusing and frustrating and beautiful. I was so frustrated with Duncan not being the Duncan she remembered from her previous school and was torn apart when he started talking about changing everything. I felt like I was a part of that school family and that he and Kent were trying to destroy my home. That's how you know an author did a book justice.
Nothing but good reviews for this one. Definitely don't read if you have triggers relating to death or school shootings.
This book kind of covered it all. School shootings, disabilities, family troubles, death, etc. and unlike most books, this one handled every single one of those beautifully. I loved all of the characters and how strikingly unique they were. Center did a phenomenal job with her character descriptions and arcs. Every single character felt so real and alive and I loved who I was supposed to love and hated who I was supposed to hate.
Sweet Clay was one of my favorite characters, and I thought he was SO well done. A young kid dealing with the death of a loved one is touchy, but Center handled it beautifully. I loved how Clay was smart beyond his years, but at a price. I love how big his heart was and how he had a specific reason for doing everything and I loved how Sam figured that out.
The relationship between Duncan and Sam was confusing and frustrating and beautiful. I was so frustrated with Duncan not being the Duncan she remembered from her previous school and was torn apart when he started talking about changing everything. I felt like I was a part of that school family and that he and Kent were trying to destroy my home. That's how you know an author did a book justice.
Nothing but good reviews for this one. Definitely don't read if you have triggers relating to death or school shootings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Mass/school shootings
florencia's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
On the one hand, I rooted for the charscters and the relationship had good chemistry and made my heart hurt. On the other, the logic and reasoning of the main character is nonsensical:
She has an unrequited crush on her coworker? She quits her job, and leaves town and her life behind.
The same guy moves to where she lives now? She HAS to quit and move away from a life she loves.
None of it made sense. Also the backstory for the emotional conflict was not built up enough that I bought the final conflict.
In the end, I read it in one sitting but it left a lot to be desired.
She has an unrequited crush on her coworker? She quits her job, and leaves town and her life behind.
The same guy moves to where she lives now? She HAS to quit and move away from a life she loves.
None of it made sense. Also the backstory for the emotional conflict was not built up enough that I bought the final conflict.
In the end, I read it in one sitting but it left a lot to be desired.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mass/school shootings
sarahv's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I enjoy the writing style of Katherine Center. I liked the main character and the friends and town. I did find her description of the absurd outfits she was wearing a little distracting. However, I did not like the love interest very much. He is recovering from trauma as a teacher during a school shooting. The first day as the principal of the new school, he shoots off a fake gun in the building. He spends the rest of the book squashing all joy and treating the children and teachers like prisoners. He comes around in the end, but I found it hard to like him after that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Death and Grief
A past school shooting is one of the central plots of this book. At the very beginning of the book, someone dies unexpectedly of a stroke and the rest of the book the main character is dealing with grief.
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