What You Wish For

From the New York Times best-selling 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 hellbent 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.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press 

“This charming, often lighthearted novel touches on serious issues and celebrates the power of joy to trump fear and despair.” (People Magazine, Book of the Week)