I sometimes find Jodi Picoult's books a little tedious due to all the research she encompasses within the pages. I find her writing to be brilliant and emotionally challenging though. I was apprehensive about reading Wish You Were Here because I wasn't sure that I was ready for a book predominantly about Covid but, wow! The job she does in helping to understand what seriously ill Covid patients, their doctors, nurses, family members, etc go thru is exceptional. I was completely thrown for a loop with the twist in the book but it made for such a compelling story. I did have some emotinal difficulty while reading because in 2021 I lost my grandfather to a lung infection (not Covid) and my grandmother was placed in an assisted living home due to Alzheimers so many of the things that Diana goes through within these pages closely resembled part of my own journey with my grandparents this year.

A book that makes you wonder about the power of the brain and how it is influenced by being ill, literally at death's door. It deals with the Covid crisis especially touching those who resided in NYC.

Diana had her whole life planned out with marriage, home ownership, children and even a dog to complete the picture. It was a dream, one that would be shattered when she goes onto a vacation in the Galapagos with her boyfriend Finn, a surgical resident in a NY hospital. When Covid hits, Finn is required to stay working in the hospital knowing the worst was in the future, but Diana went to the Galapagos alone. When the island shuts down, Diana gives up the opportunity to leave and stays on the island.

She is befriended by a native woman and her grandson, Gabriel and his daughter Beatriz.
We discover the wonders of the island through the aforementioned two, as well the problems of being quarantined both on the island and in NYC. Without the internet, the people are left adrift in an ocean of the unknown (which in a way might be a good thing, with social media, TV, and other outlets scaring us hourly.)

The book had a slow start and although it did need a pretty wide stretch of the imagination, it did finally hit a stride so that the reader can ascertain the truthfulness of the author's assessment of the crisis. In some instances, the book was difficult and readers who are tired of Covid 24/7 might shy away from this one.

However, it was entertaining and well laid out as Picoult books often are..

Thank you to NetGalley for making this book available to this reader.

Wow. Not sure I was emotionally ready for this story, but I am so glad I read it! Diana is a NYC Art Seller and gets stranded in the Galapagos due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She's stranded there for months, away from her long time boyfriend (who she hopes will be a fiance soon) as he fights from the front lines as a Doctor.

Picoult does an incredible job writing the story of the start of the pandemic, and helped me better understand the experience those working in the medical field faced, as well as those infected by covid.

The book takes some very unexpected turns, but the epilogue was what I needed to read after the last 20+ months. It gave me hope, and reminded me nothing is forever and tomorrow is not promised. Maybe someday we'll be out of this.

Wish You Were Here gave me my first book hangover of 2021. Not only does a lot of the central issue-COVID19- ring so close to home, making me fully understanding of the main character’s situation, but the plotline really kept my attention and helped ease my wanderlust. I love to travel, so going to the Galapagos with Diana was a way for me to live vicariously- but also, as someone with very realistic dreams, I can understand her confusion at the end of the novel about her time spent there. I also really connected to the relationship aspect, and the artistic side. Overall, it was just another Picoult novel that makes me gush about why she’s one of my favorite authors, and why I recommend her to everyone. I’ll certainly be spreading the word about this one!

This is the second Covid-era novel I've started, and the first I've finished. I think it's a little soon ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, but that doesn't mean I wasn't fully engrossed in the story. There is a lot I can't address without spoiling the novel, but let's just say there is some coronarealness.

We meet protagonist Diana O'Toole when she's living her best life. She's on track with her personal and professional goals when the virus begins to shut things down. She gets out of NYC before the pandemic fully hits, leaving her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, behind before either of them can fathom what life will be like for him, working nonstop against devastating odds. "[Healthcare workers] don't give a fuck about the Empire State Building [lit up red and white this week for healthcare workers], or about people banging pots and pans at 7 P.M. Most of us won't ever see or hear it, because we're in the hospital trying to save people who can't be saved. What we want is for everyone to just wear a mask."

It's hard to identify with Diana at first. She's not the most likable narrator, making rash decisions and enjoying a tropical paradise, "Suddenly it feels juvenile and entitled to be upset about not staying in the hotel I booked, or being hungry. There is no way in hell I'm going to complain to Finn." Um, yeah. Good idea. Not that she really has a clue, as the internet connection in paradise is wonky.

Wish You Were Here is my first Jodi Picoult novel, despite or because of her being so prolific and successful. But you know what? She can write. I admired rich language like "arthritic tubes of acrylics and the palette with layer after layer of dried moments of inspiration."

This part is not super relevant to the book, but I have to mention it--a covid patient fantasizes about having a job in a palace where her job is to interview courtier cats.

Thanks, NetGalley for the digital ARC! And thanks to my sister, Danna, for the recommendation.

Thank you to NetGalley for this wonderful ARC. It has been a while since I have fallen in love with a Jodi Picoult novel and this one threw me a curveball that I did not predict. I love that Picoult tackles the pandemic and how it has affected health care workers and those who contract it. There is so much more to the story than COVID - friendships, mother/daughter relationships, trying to figure out who we are and who we want to be, love, etc. Well written and definitely worth reading.

What if you were supposed to take a bucket list vacation in March 2020 before anyone knew what the impact of COVID-19 would be on the world? What if your boyfriend was a surgeon and needed to stay back to help but told you to go without him? What if now you are stuck in paradise while the world is locked down and battles with the first wave of this new disease? That is how Wish You Were Here starts out. Although this book is literally about our post-pandemic world, I did not find reading it upsetting but please know going in that this is what it is about. It may be particularly triggering for New Yorkers and/or medical workers. The book took a turn part-way in and I'm glad it did. I rather enjoyed the latter half of the book rather than where I thought it was going (which felt predictable) at the midpoint. As usual, for the author, this is a well-researched book.

Hey all you cool cats and kittens! Tiger King was a generational staple of the shelter-in-place order and I would like to commend Jodi Picoult on including it in her book. Unfortunately, that’s the only part I will be commending. The story begins with Diana unnecessarily getting herself stranded on an island just as the COVID-19 pandemic hits America and then the second half of the book becomes so unrealistic and confusing that like many New Yorkers who noticed empty subways and minimal traffic around March 13, 2020 I just had to ask myself, “what in the actual hell is happening here?!” It’s certainly been a year of firsts and since I’ve never encountered a Jodi book I didn’t like, I guess it was bound to happen eventually. I’ll still gladly be making my way through her backlist, yet I just wish my Pfizer vaccine could have protected me from this one.

This book brought so many emotions to the surface for me and made me really look at things from a different perspective. I was initially mad when I realized that this book was set during covid as I had enough covid related experiences to be able to write my own book, but in a very strange way it helped me heal a little while also making my anxiety worse, so let that be a small warning if you're thinking of reading this book with any bad covid related experiences in the back of your mind. I truly enjoyed following Diana's journey and the ending. I'm glad I stuck with this book even when a plot twist made me want to chuck my kindle across the room halfway through. Thank you Jodi for another wonderful, thought-provoking read!

Excellent as usual, Jodi Picoult tackles a tough subject and does it well. This book is set early at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. The main characters are Disna and her significant other Finn. She shows both sides of the story, Finn's and Diana's. I totally was pulled right into the story fully. I could tell a lot of research must have gone into writing it. I think it made me really think about several decisions made and wonder if I would have done that or not. Complex story but not going to give away any spoilers.
Thank you to Net Galley, the Publishers and author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Jodi Picoult never fails to surprise her readers. The story is focused on a Gen Z couple Diana and Finn. Diana is working at Sotheby’s and Finn is a surgical resident at a hospital in New York City. They have their lives planned out and are scheduled to go on a trip to the Galápagos Islands when the Covid pandemic hits. The reader will be amazed by the different realities of the characters and how it changes their future. This is a well written story in the author’s unique style that will capture and hold the attention of the reader throughout the book.

I loved this book. The entire plot centers around Covid and the pandemic, so if you aren’t ready for that, put this book on your “not right now” list. Wish You Were Here made me feel better about my anxiety around the pandemic since it showed others feeling the same. The ending of Part I and beginning of Part II is not something I saw coming!! The ending was perfect and I wish I could read more about her story 🥲

I wasn’t sure I was ready to read a book dealing with COVID, or if I even wanted to, but this was a great read. Very quick to get through, tugs on your heart strings and it really made me wonder if anyone who has had COVID has been through this same type of situation. Well done!

The reader definitely needs to be ready to relive the early days of Covid through this book - Jodi Picoult does an excellent job of conveying the denial, uncertainty, and anxiety of March 2020. Diana and her boyfriend Finn are preparing to go on the trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos Islands, when Finn, a surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital is "strongly discouraged" from going, though encourages Diane to enjoy the non-refundable trip on her own. She does, her luggage is lost, and she gets stranded on an island where she doesn't know the language, and no cell service to communicate with Finn. Diana is befriended by a local family who takes her in, and eventually able to access her emails from Finn, detailing his endless days of treating ICU Covid patients. Picoult's clearly extensive research on this is impressive, but a very tough go. It's been a while since i read a Picoult novel, and always found them quick yet thought provoking reads, so the first half felt very unfamiliar, a little meandering and slow, wondering where it was going. Then the second half hit me like a ton of bricks- and more the Jodi Picoult pace and perspective I was expecting. While on the one hand, I'm firmly in the "too soon" camp for pandemic reads, I did not regret this read. An unexpected and memorable read that I suspect will stand out as one of Jodi Picoult's best.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is the best book I have read all year! This was a such a bittersweet story from the beginning. I did not want to put his book down as I could not figure out which way this book was going to go. Let me say that I happy and sad at the same time. The author's message at the end really tied it together. Again, pick this book up if quarantine had you question your priorities and question your future.

I received an electronic ARC of this very timely and relevant novel from Netgalley, Jodi Picoult, and Random House Publishing Group-BallentineBooks. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this novel. As always, Jodi Picoult brings us a tale taken right out of the newspapers and makes it understandable and definable. I am pleased to recommend her to friends and family.


New York City, March of 2020 sets us right at the beginning of the earth-shattering rumblings of the Covid 19 Pandemic. Rumors are rampant, the news changing day by day from Steven-King-scary to Mary-Poppins-positive. We didn't know what was really happening, who to believe, or what tomorrow would bring. Picoult gets it just right, the disassociation from the news, and deep-seated fear for family and friends, the uncertain continuation of work and school and home life that dragged us down deeper into despair every day. Our president telling us it is just the flu as refrigerator trucks are lining up at NYC hospitals to house the dead overflow the morgue and funeral homes can no longer handle.

twenty-nine-year-old Diana O'Toole had at the beginning of 2020 her life right on track. An Associate specialist at Sotheby's, her career was advancing as planned, Her housemate and lover Finn Colson, a doctor doing his surgical residency at New York/Presbyterian Hospital, has stashed a diamond engagement ring in his underwear drawer which he probably plans to spring on her on their annual vacation so her two children by the time she turns 35 are also possible. This year they will spend two weeks in Galapagos on the island of Isabela and it can't happen soon enough for Diana. She needs a break from work and responsibility. The nursing home housing her mother, an Alzheimer's patient for the last several years, has a 'no visitors' policy with the pandemic, and she can call her from the hotel on Isabela as she does from here at home. It is, for her, perfect timing. Finn, not so much. All the personnel at the NYC hospitals are pulling 60-hour shifts, and there is no way he would ask to get away, but the trip is all planned and paid for, and the airline tickets and hotel are not refundable. Finn encourages her to go on her own.

She arrives on Isabela on the very last ferry. No more going out, nor coming in, until the pandemic is under control. The hotel is closed, the bank, as are government buildings, and the library. ATMs have not been serviced since before the ferries stopped, internet reception, and cell phone coverage for the whole island are down, with no possibility of repair until the ferries are back in service. Diana hates to be isolated from Finn and her Mother, but she can do without all of the touristy things. She finds a small apartment, or rather it finds her, and she tries to make the best of the situation. It can't last long, after all. She didn't bring a lot of cash, but that is all the islanders can take without the bank or ATM. And she needs to be back at work in a couple of weeks, there are auctions to prepare for, art to be collected. Surely life will return to normal over the next few days. Or will it?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for sharing this title. All opinions are my own.

While normally a fan of Jodie Picoult's work, this one I had to set down (but hope to pick up again someday!) Did not finish! I realized I'm not ready to read book set during the pandemic.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exchange for an honest review.
I have always wanted to read a book by Jodi Picoult & I was finally given a chance to review "Wish You Were Here".
I really enjoyed this book,
the plot had an unexpected & an interesting twist, it was very relevant, relatable & heart-wrenching.
After reading this book, I decided to buy 1 of her earlier titles, "The Storyteller", to read at a later date.

This one different than I expected going in. But I enjoyed it.

I was also nervous reading a book about the Covid pandemic when we haven’t fully left it. But I think this was done in a way that touched on all the hard elements about those early days without making it too hard to read.

I enjoyed seeing how Diana came to discover new elements of herself and what she wants from her life after her life-changing experience.

This wasn’t my favorite of Picoult’s books, but there were some really great lines and the overall theme was lovely.

Oh man, I so badly wanted to love this book. Jodi Picoult is an auto-buy author for me. However, this story just didn’t work for me. I’m not sure if it was because the whole COVID storyline was a bit too soon. I had major anxiety at times while reading. It reminded me of the state wide quarantine and brought back so many emotions. I felt as though I was reliving 2020 all over again.

And that twist, oh man, I didn’t see it coming and I certainly wasn’t a fan of it. If I’m being honest, it made me not want to read the second half of the story. I’m sure others will love this book, but it wasn’t for me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.