REVIEW: Hello Stranger by Katherine Center

In Hello Stranger by Katherine Center, Portrait artist Sadie Montgomery starts off her day on cloud nine after finding out she’s a finalist in a huge art competition. Then it all falls apart. As she’s running a quick errand, she goes to cross the street only to wake up in the hospital. Worse yet, she’s told she had a seizure, and the culprit was a brain cavernoma. Something that will require surgery–*brain* surgery!–sooner rather than later. Once Sadie is talked into doing the procedure right away and all seems to go well, it’s during her recovery process when she realizes she can’t see anyone’s face. Not even her own in the mirror. All Sadie can see is individual features mixed up with no rhyme or reason.

‘I glanced up into the mirror to check my reflection…
And what I saw made me gasp.
My face, my very own face, the one I’d had and known and lived with all my life…it was nothing but puzzle pieces, too.’

After finding out the face blindness may or may not be temporary, Sadie starts investigating ways to still complete a painting in time for the competition. Not an easy feat while feeling wonky as she recovers from brain surgery. With the help of her bestie, Sue, an awesome neuropsychiatrist, Dr. Nicole, and a kind neighbor guy, Joe, who puts the capital H in Helpful, Sadie searches for her new normal. (Hopefully her *temporary* new normal) And it works. Kind of. She realizes that there are plenty of methods and ways to attack her art project. Just like there are many ways to look at her predicament. And maybe if Sadie lives in the moment, enjoying everything she still has–not what she lost–she might just find even more joy than she thought was possible.

‘No matter what else might happen with this painting, the process of making it was bliss. That counted for something.’

Katherine Center proved once again why her books are a must-have. Delightful characters, intriguing subject matter, sweet romance, lovely friendships, and backbiting family members, Hello Stranger had everything a reader could wish for.

‘That might be the truest thing I know: The more good things you look for, the more you find.’

Content Warning: View Spoiler »Panic attack detailed, bullying, suicide attempt (secondary cast). « Hide Spoiler

Have you ever “met” a character in a novel and not only instantly clicked with them but also would love to befriend them in real life? Sadie Montgomery from Katherine Center’s newest novel, Hello Stranger, is that person for me. Life threw a whole lot at her over the course of this story. But even though Sadie did feel down about the situation and was rightly frustrated with every new curve ball knocked her way, she kept her wits about her–and she kept searching for answers. Something you’ve gotta respect.

I found the whole premise behind the storyline fascinating: Sadie, who paints portraits for a living, becomes face-blind after a series of events, leaving doctors unsure if she would completely recover. I mean…what a setback, right? Particularly since Sadie had just found out she was a finalist in an art show that was a Very Big Deal. One that could make her career. So, as she continued forward, trying every technique possible to successfully complete a painting for the show, it brought up a whole host of issues and questions for her–and for us readers. One of the bigger questions being: How was Sadie going to accurately capture her subject’s features and personality when each facial feature was in the wrong place like a jigsaw puzzle?

It was a long arduous process for Sadie. Both in figuring out how to paint with the new obstacles in her life, and also when it came to if she should pursue a romantic relationship with someone. Because along the way, Sadie met a few guys who all took an interest in her–the guy in the grocery store, her dog Peanut’s new veterinarian, the Good Samaritan who saved her from getting run down in the street when she had a seizure, and a most helpful man who lives in the same building. Lots for Sadie to sort out. And it was the ‘aha moment’ at the end when a couple of things clicked into place for her that Center’s storytelling ability was fully apparent–and left my heart soaring for Sadie.

QOTD: Have you heard of face blindness or know anyone who has it?

Book Info:

Publication: Expected Publication: July 11th, 2023 | St. Martin’s Press |

Love isn’t blind, it’s just little blurry.

Sadie Montgomery never saw what was coming . . . Literally! One minute she’s celebrating the biggest achievement of her life—placing as a finalist in the North American Portrait Society competition—the next, she’s lying in a hospital bed diagnosed with a “probably temporary” condition known as face blindness. She can see, but every face she looks at is now a jumbled puzzle of disconnected features. Imagine trying to read a book upside down and in another language. This is Sadie’s new reality with every face she sees.

But, as she struggles to cope, hang on to her artistic dream, work through major family issues, and take care of her beloved dog, Peanut, she falls into—love? Lust? A temporary obsession to distract from the real problems in her life?—with not one man but two very different ones. The timing couldn’t be worse.

If only her life were a little more in focus, Sadie might be able to find her way. But perceiving anything clearly right now seems impossible. Even though there are things we can only find when we aren’t looking. And there are people who show up when we least expect them. And there are always, always other ways of seeing.