Book Club Buzz: WHAT YOU WISH FOR by Katherine Center

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August 17, 2021

WHAT YOU WISH FOR

by Katherine Center

St. Martin's Press

817/21

Fiction

Paperback, 368 pages

School librarian Samantha Casey loves her job, the students, 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. She knew him before—at another school, in a different life. Back then, she loved him—but she was invisible—to him and everyone. Even to herself. She escaped to a new school, a new job, a new chance at living. But when Duncan arrives as the new principal, it feels like the best thing that could happen to the school—and the worst thing that could 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, 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.

"This charming, often lighthearted novel touches on serious issues and celebrates the power of joy to trump fear and despair.”

-People

Dear Reader:

What You Wish For is a story about choosing joy on purpose—not just despite life’s sorrows, but because of them.

Set on Galveston Island in Texas, the place where I write most of my books in a sunny little beach house by the Gulf, What You Wish For is a special story for me. I grew up coming to this historic island, and it’s got a particular magic about it: it’s haunted by a long history of hurricanes and tragedy—but it’s also buoyed by a hard-earned resilience. It’s the perfect setting for these characters to struggle, play, fall in love, and figure out what really matters.

I hope you love visiting this island town as much as I do!

Katherine Center

WHAT YOU WISH FOR

Book Club Menu and Recipe

If you’re going to have Galveston-themed drinks, you should either drink ice-cold Shiner Bock beer (the National Beer of Texas) or margaritas. Any margaritas will do—but, for hot summer nights watching the ocean, we like ‘em ice cold with salt on the rim.

One of my favorite restaurants in Galveston is a building with a giant crab on the roof called Gaido’s. It’s right on the Seawall, overlooking the Gulf, and it first opened its doors in 1911. My mom grew up eating there with her grandmother, and now she takes my kids for a treat. Seafood is obviously a favorite in an island town, and you cannot go wrong with Gulf shrimp and crab cocktails. I grew up crabbing in the Gulf as a kid and dipping the boiled crab legs into that spicy-ketchupy-horseradishy cocktail sauce.

The yummiest Tex-Mex/seafood mashup I know of comes from a beloved restaurant in my hometown of Houston. It’s a pico de gallo and avocado-infused seafood cocktail called Campechana—invented at the iconic Goode Company Seafood in 1986. Here’s famous restauranteur Jim Goode’s recipe. You won’t believe how mouthwatering this is. My gift to you! You’re welcome.

Make it, chill it, and be sure to get lots of chips to eat it with. The salty crunchiness with the chips, the cool softness of the avocadoes, and the sweet tanginess of the seafood in its tomato-y sauce. Just—as Houstonians know—as good as it gets.

-Katherine Center