Hello Stranger is my first Katherine Center book but definitely not my last! Sadie is a struggling portrait artist who finally got her big break. On the way to celebrate, Sadie has a non-convulsive seizure and wakes up in the hospital being told she needs brain surgery. After her surgery, Sadie is diagnosed with prosopagnosia, unable to recognize faces. She can see them with her eyes, but her brain isn’t transmitting the recognition information to her. As she struggles to relearn how to recognize faces, Sadie meets her helpful next door neighbor, battles her evil stepsister, and meets a cute veterinarian. But with a competition deadline approaching, what happens as a portrait artist if she does not recover her ability? 

Hello Stranger was such an enjoyable and well-written story. Sadie was very relatable and I really liked learning more about prosopagnosia. Prosopagnosia is very interesting because in developmental prosopagnosia, many people do not know they have it because they assume the world is that way for everyone! Sadie has acquired prosopagnosia so she immediately realizes. I enjoyed seeing how Sadie dealt with it as an artist and also how she used clues to figure out who people were, especially reading emotions when she found it difficult to look at their faces. In the end, I loved that she was able to accept herself and view her diagnosis as more of a superpower than something wrong with her. 

I loved Sadie’s dog Peanut!! I adored his diet of human food and his discerning gastronomic taste. The romantic escapades that Sadie goes through are great, though I don’t want to say too much about them and spoil them. Her neighbor Joe is one of my favorites, especially because he always tries to be helpful even when absolutely befuddled. Sadie initially does not tell him about her diagnosis, because she does not want to be judged and looked down on. I think it was very understandable that she was going through this cycle of grief/acceptance, even though as a reader I wanted her to just tell him already!!  

Hello Stranger would be the perfect book for readers who enjoy a well-written romcom, satisfying standalone, and a heroine who finds joy even in difficult and life-changing circumstances. 

Thank you to Katherine Center, St. Martin’s Press, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.