Wow! There were so many elements to this story that I already want to read it again, just to catch what I might have missed. The extent of my artistic knowledge can be traced back to Bob Ross videos, so I actually learned a lot about styles, techniques, media, and the like. Beyond that, though, I really liked the main character Sabine. She was so vulnerable yet determined. It was hard to watch her struggle through difficult days, and even more difficult to see her make decisions that would impact her life. I wanted to mother her!

This book make me consider what really qualifies as creativity. Pushing past personal limits can strengthen resolve, and we get to see this in Sabine.

I usually like to go into a book without knowing too much about it. In the case of What I Want You to See, I think that’s very important. The summary gives WAY too much information, taking away from the suspense that I craved. Still, I very much enjoyed this book. There were some terrific moments that clearly placed a fork in Sabine’s road. I loved the author’s writing style, which was descriptive without being tedious. Definitely planning to give this to my daughter to read! I hope to see another book featuring the characters of What I Want You to See.

What I Want You to See

by Catherine Linka
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: February 4th 2020

Genre: Young Adult

Synopsis:

Winning a scholarship to California’s most prestigious art school seems like a fairy tale ending to Sabine Reye’s awful senior year. After losing both her mother and her home, Sabine longs for a place where she belongs.

But the cutthroat world of visual arts is nothing like what Sabine had imagined. Colin Krell, the renowned faculty member whom she had hoped would mentor her, seems to take merciless delight in tearing down her best work—and warns her that she’ll lose the merit-based award if she doesn’t improve.

Desperate and humiliated, Sabine doesn’t know where to turn. Then she meets Adam, a grad student who understands better than anyone the pressures of art school. He even helps Sabine get insight on Krell by showing her the modern master’s work in progress, a portrait that’s sold for a million dollars sight unseen.

Sabine is enthralled by the portrait; within those swirling, colorful layers of paint is the key to winning her inscrutable teacher’s approval. Krell did advise her to improve her craft by copying a painting she connects with . . . but what would he think of Sabine secretly painting her own version of his masterpiece? And what should she do when she accidentally becomes party to a crime so well -plotted that no one knows about it but her?

Complex and utterly original, What I Want You to See is a gripping tale of deception, attraction, and moral ambiguity.

About the Author

Catherine Linka is the author of the young adult novel WHAT I WANT YOU TO SEE as well as the dystopian series A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS and A GIRL UNDONE. A GIRL CALLED FEARLESS was an ABA Indie Next Pick and won the Young Adult Novel Award 2014 from the Southern California Independent Booksellers Association. A frequent speaker at writing and teen conferences, Catherine received her MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts and worked as a young adult book buyer for an independent bookstore for seven years. Prior to pursuing a career in publishing, she studied international politics at Georgetown University followed by a master’s degree in business at the University of North Carolina. Catherine is married and lives with her husband in the San Gabriel foothills. Visit her at www.catherlinelinka.com.