I hate to admit that this was the first novel I’ve read by Katherine Center, but it won’t be my last.
Sam (short for Samantha) is the librarian at a private elementary school known for top teachers and a lot of heart. Unfortunately, the founder, principal, and essence of the school, Max, dies suddenly and is replaced by uber-safety focused Duncan Carpenter. But Sam knows Duncan from her last teaching job — a job she had to leave to get away from her unrequited feelings for him — and she remembers him as a fun-loving, willing-to-try anything person, which he most definitely is not anymore, as he keeps taking away everything that makes the school what it is.
The main message in this book is that no matter how hard or scary life is, you should keep trying to find joy since that’s what’s really important in life. You shouldn’t close yourself off from the potential to be happy just because bad things have happened to you. And I think — especially right now — it’s a really important message.
There’s a requisite love story (which is much more real and complicated than most love stories in this genre,) but there are also really strong, positive female friendships, which is missing in so many books like this. This isn’t a fairy tale romance novel, which was so refreshing after reading a lot of books with a lot of damsel-in-distress clichés.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.