Book Review: Hello Stranger - Katherine Center

 

 

“Hello Stranger” is by Katherine Center. I’ve read a few of Ms. Center’s other books - so I kinda know what to expect. I must admit, while reading this book I received some devastating news, so I was not always in the right frame of mind to read and concentrate. I thought this book began strongly - our main character, Sadie, is an artist who wins placement in a prestigious art contest. She collapses and it’s discovered that she has a medical condition that could be fatal. She has an operation and develops “face blindness” - which is devastating as she’s a portrait artist and has a few weeks to create her final art piece for the contest. All that I found extremely interesting - how does one create art with face blindness (I actually looked up examples online) and how does one try to draw something when you cannot see it but it needs to look real. But then the side stories began miring down the main focus - from an insta-infatuation, to family issues, all the way through becoming enamored with someone in her building. The side stories became too important for a good chunk of the book and, for me, they detracted from the main focus. I found the family resolution to be a bit juvenile However, some of Sadie’s observations did make me laugh. I’m giving this book a 3.25 rating, down to a 3 star review. There’s promise in the story (and the cover of the book is adorable!), but the side stories didn’t hold my attention — and I really needed a book to distract me from my life for a while.