By Katherine Center.
How well do we really know the people we’re crushing on? That’s the question for Samantha (Sam) Casey when she encounters Duncan Carpenter, the weirdly cool, fun-loving, lobster pants-wearing guy she knew (and secretly adored) years ago in California. Now he’s the new principal of her primary school on Galveston Island (she’s the librarian). He’s wearing a suit. He’s scowling. And she can’t stand him. Can this even be the same man?
We follow along as Sam struggles with this new Duncan while he systematically converts her bright, colorful school into a gray, prison-like place for safety’s sake. It’s difficult for her to fight the gray pallor that’s settled over Duncan and threatens to completely overtake the school. But she doesn’t give up on him or the school. And then, finally, she gets a glimpse of the old Duncan she fell for once upon a time. The thing is, that lighthearted man is buried under layers of fear, guilt, and heartbreak.
When a hint of color finally breaks through, Sam realizes that Duncan’s former smiling self may still be reachable under his new, serious façade. And she goes for the win, setting off a chain reaction in the process that leads to a balance of security and fun for the school and a full-color romance between her and Duncan.
(Published in 2020 by St. Martin’s Press, an imprint of St. Martin’s Publishing Group.)
