Started: April 5th
Finished: April 14th
TSM Rating: 5/5
A couple years back while perusing the fiction section of my favorite used book store, I came across three Katherine Center novels. I’d never heard of her, but the book covers were beautiful and the the blurbs on the back were interesting so I picked them up. They sat in my TBR pile until last September when I devoured all three of them in about a week and a half.
What You Wish For falls into the same category. The beautiful cover matches the beautiful story. Center has this way of building these characters with major tragic trauma and leading them down this path to joy. She understands that coming out on the other side is a constant journey and a choice. She conveys life in all its three dimensional complexities.
What You… tells Sam and Duncan’s story of finding their way back to joy and love after very different traumatic experiences. They both respond by trying to exercise as much control over themselves and the world around them as they could. Even Sam, who had learned to look for and live in joy as much as she can, still holds herself from the one thing she truly wants — Duncan.
For his part, Duncan lived through one of the most traumatic experiences in the America. He locks away all the joy and fun that is so innate to his being that he becomes a completely different person.
Their journey to joy is filled with bumps, but Center guides them through with the help of a few friends and meddling family members. If you didn’t know, What You Wish For is connected to Happiness for Beginners. Duncan is the younger brother of Helen for Happiness.
Read them both, then read all of Katherine Center’s other books because no writer leaves me feeling a little more hopeful at the end of her books than her.
The Saucy Mama 