Samantha Casey loves everything about her job at an elementary school on the sunny, historic island of Galveston, Texas--the goofy kids, the stately Victorian building, the butterfly garden. But when the school's beloved principal retires, he announces that his replacement will be none other than Duncan Carpenter--a former, unrequited crush of Sam's from many years before. When Duncan shows up as her new boss, though, he's nothing like the sweet teacher she once swooned over. He's become stiff, and humorless, and obsessed with school safety.

Now, with Duncan determined to destroy everything Sam loves about her school in the name of security--even trying to replace the building itself with a high-tech version that's nothing short of a prison--Sam has to find her voice and use it to stand up for everyone she cares about before the school that's become her home is gone for good.

Told with Katherine Center's unparalleled warmth, humor, and heart, this new novel proves why she is one of the fastest rising stars in fiction today.

Katherine Center is the author of four novels about love and family: "The Bright Side of Disaster, Everyone Is Beautiful, " "Get Lucky", and "The Lost Husband". Her books and essays have appeared in "Redbook", "People", "USA Today", "Vanity Fair", and "Real Simple" as well as the anthologies "Because I Love Her", "CRUSH", and "My Parents Were Awesome". Katherine is a graduate of Vassar College and the University of Houston's Creative Writing Program. She lives in Houston with her husband and two sweet children.