4.5 stars rounded up

Diana and Finn have plans. They are on track to be married by 30, done having kids by 35, move to the suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder.

They are about to leave for a two week trip to the Galapagos when Covid rears its ugly head and Finn, a surgical resident at the hospital, is called to stay and help with the incoming wave of infections. He suggests that Diana go on their trip solo. Reluctantly, she does. She arrives in the Galapagos just as the world shuts down.

And that's all I want to tell you about the plot because I was NOT prepared for the turn it took and it was fantastic.

I love Jodi Picoult's work. She has a way of melding interesting topics with heavy subjects, and raising controversial topics in a way that exemplifies empathy and humanity. Wish You Were Here is no exception.

I was worried about reading about the Covid pandemic because we're all still living it, but I was pleasantly surprised with the careful and considerate way it was handled.

I think ultimately I'm going to land on 3.5 stars, but I have a lot of mixed feelings on this one. Picoult tackles the pandemic head on (and I think many readers might not be ready for this one yet). I like the different perspectives on the early days of the pandemic, and how it impacted people in different ways. I enjoyed the first part of the novel (although the entire book is pretty slow moving), but I definitely struggled with the rest of the book (and part of it may well be that I'm not ready to relive the worst parts of the pandemic yet.....and not even relive since so much of it is ongoing). I think the character development was fine, but I never really connected with any of the characters. I appreciate the growth of Diana throughout the novel, and the ultimate message that her journey sends to the reader. I don't think this is a bad read, but I also won't be shouting from the rooftops on this one.

This book is classic Jodi Picoult. It sucked me in so deeply that whenever I wasn’t reading it, I was thinking about it (I also maybe stayed up way too late one or two nights because I couldn’t put it down.)

I had to prepare myself to read this knowing the subject matter. I was worried it would be too soon, and in some ways it still was. It’s hard to read about those early days of the pandemic, when there was so little we knew, at a time when on average 1,000 Americans are still dying every day. Even still, the story kept me engaged and made me think. I especially appreciated the author’s note for giving context to how she went about writing the book.

I wanted a little more closure - don’t we all? - but otherwise I really enjoyed this. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for the early copy. All opinions are my own.

Jodi Picoult is a prolific and massively talented author, but I'm not sure I've ever read one of her 26 other novels. And I'm not sure why. However, when I saw this title on NetGalley I was intrigued by a book that looks at our year of Covid, aka 2020. For many -- especially those who lost loved ones during this horrific pandemic -- it might be too soon to read Wish You Were Here. It is an unsparing depiction of the start of the pandemic and the changes we all experienced. I was fortunate though as no one close to me suffered extreme bouts, and I was curious to read an author's perspective on the world we lived through (and continue to live through).

We start by meeting Diana O'Toole and her fiancé, Finn Colson. Diana is just about to turn thirty, and her life is exactly on track. She has her dream job as an associate specialist at Sotheby's and is deeply in love with Finn, who is a surgical resident at NY Presbyterian Hospital. They have their entire futures planned out, but it's early 2020 and God laughs when man plans (per an old Yiddish proverb).. So it is for Diana and Finn. They are just about to leave for a vacation to the Galapagos, where they will celebrate Diana's big birthday, when the hospital cancels all leaves due to Covid. Finn suggests that Diana go ahead anyway since they prepaid for the hotel. She does, but it doesn't go well.. First, the airline loses her luggage. Then, when she finally lands at her final destination, Isabela Island, she finds out that hers was the last ferry to the island and now there is no way back to Ecuador, much less New York. Worst of all, the hotel they had booked is closed and shuttered.

Diana is left to rely on the kindness of strangers, and she is fortunate to meet an old woman who introduces herself as Abuela (Spanish for Grandmother). Abuela kindly leads Diana to her to a small, vacant home/apartment and tells her to stay. It's important to note at this point that Diana speaks virtually no Spanish (although Finn does), and she has neglected to pack a Spanish dictionary in her backpack. The island is desolate and the few small businesses that exist are closed as they are in the rest of the world. Soon though Diana meets two people who, along with Abuela, will be her only companions while she is stranded. The first is Gabriel, who -- thank God -- speaks English! Gabriel is a bit older than Diana and is a former tour guide. He also happens to be Abuela's son, and the apartment where Diana is living used to be his. The second person she meets is Beatriz, a teenager who also thankfully speaks English. Beatriz is troubled, and when Diana first encounters her, she is cutting herself. Beatriz is Gabriel's daughter, and she's stranded on the island because her private school has closed.

The bulk of the book takes place in the Galapagos and focuses on Diana's time with Abuela, Gabriel, and Beatriz. It's here that Ms. Picoult takes the reader on a virtual tour of the island, which is absolutely captivating. However, my favorite part of the novel is the communication between Finn and Diana, which comes in the form of emails he writes her and postcards she sends him. Finn's emails are nothing short of heart-breaking as he describes the hell he is living at the hospital. As much as I lived and read about the pandemic, I never cease to be amazed at the experience of first responders. This look back at the early days of Covid is so compelling and brought tears to my eyes.

Wish You Were Here has a humongous twist at about the 60% mark, and this is a no-spoiler zone, so I'll stop my review here. This is a powerful novel, and I'm so very glad I read it. And yet, it left me feeling so very, very sad at how one year changed all of us in so many ways. The story of Diana and Finn is a microcosm of a year we will never forget.

My thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. Wish You Were Here is scheduled for publication on November 30, 2021. Be sure to read the Author's Note and Acknowledgments.

Just WOW! It’s hard to write a review for this book without spoilers. So I’ll just say it is a well researched, well written and well imagined story. It’s about the pandemic, but so much more.

I haven't had a lot of experience reading Jodi Picoult but the ones I remember had characters faced with a choice like The Pact or The Storyteller. I would find myself looking at two sides of an issues and see the pros and cons of both.

In this story Diana works for Sotheby's and wants a promotion by the time she is 30 and marry her long time boyfriend, Finn, who is a surgical resident. They are planning a trip to the Galapagos and then COVID hits. Rather than lose money he encourages her to go alone. I found it improbable that a doctor with an idea of what was going to happen would send the person he loves thousands of miles away. When she lands on Isabela people are leaving because it is the last ferry out and the island is on lock down so she can turn around and go home but she doesn't. She says that she is the type of person who hates going to eat out alone or go to a movie because she wants to share everything but she choses to stay on a locked down island with little access to the outside world and she doesn't speak the language. I laughed out loud when she ran out of books on her Kindle!! She is taken in by an older woman and befriends her grandson, Gabriel, and his daughter, Beatriz.

Things I didn't like: (1) Kitomi Ito and her husband, Sam, is a very thinly disguised John and Yoko. (2) Let's throw in a bunch of Spanish phrases and not explain them because the author must think we all speak Spanish. (3) There was a bit of politics thrown in and digs at the handling of the pandemic. I am on the same side as she is but maybe I don't want to know the political leaning of the author and perhaps it is just too soon and to raw to relive the beginning of the pandemic again. We are still wearing masks and people are still getting sick and the memories of wiping down the groceries and not leaving the house for weeks at a time, getting 3 months to a gallon of gas is still too fresh. (4) I didn't like the twist. It pissed me off.

Other than that the writing is good. She really brings to life the island of Isabela and the wild life, the volcanos although I didn't feel a big draw to Gabriel and Beatriz.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House Ballantine for providing me with this book.

In March 2020 at the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Diana embarks on a solo vacation to the Galápagos Islands after boyfriend Finn is unable to join her because he's needed at the hospital. Once there, the island (and world) enters a lockdown and she's unable to leave. How will the time apart in two very different worlds (paradise and chaos) alter their relationship?

"Finn is drowning in reality and I'm in a holding pattern in paradise... Be careful what you wish for."

In some ways, it felt way too soon to be reading about the COVID-19 pandemic… but yet, I couldn’t stop either because it was so timely and relevant. I found it therapeutic and even validating as it pinpointed many of the thoughts and feelings I, too, had throughout 2020 and even now well into 2021 such as these:

"There is a profound difference between knowing your situation is temporary and not knowing what's coming next... It's all about control, or at least the illusion of it."

"When you can't see light at the end of the tunnel, it's hard to remember to keep going."

As always in Ms. Picoult's books, there was an unexpected twist that made me gasp. Overall, this story was not at all what I expected (but books by this author rarely are), and it was equal parts shocking, emotional, joyful, tumultuous, thought-provoking, and hopeful. Everything the pandemic has been in real life was masterfully captured by Picoult. Lastly, I'm guessing this book will be polarizing with readers either loving or hating it. I personally loved every second of it!

Trigger Warning: Cutting/Self Harm

These quotes also spoke to me:

“I did not miss the irony of the fact that the parent I missed desperately was the one who was no longer in the world, while the parent I could take or leave was inextricably tied to me for the long haul.”

"A painting, though, is a partnership. The artist starts a dialogue, and you finish it... And here's the incredible part—that dialogue is different every time you view the art. Not because anything changes on the canvas—but because of what changes in you."

Location: NYC and Galápagos Islands

I received an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

This book has been getting rave reviews so I was excited to get approval to read it early! It definitely lived up to its expectations. Reading about early pandemic days was really tough, since it's so fresh in our minds and was such a scary and uncertain time for everyone, and I'd suggest skipping if you or a loved one had COVID.

The vivid descriptions of the Galapagos made me feel like I was there, and I also really enjoyed learning more about different subsets of the art world. I loved Diana's character, and I thought her difficult, complex relationships with certain loved ones were very relatable. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I thoroughly appreciated the unexpected twist and recommend reading the author's note at the end as well. Overall, this was a heavy book with enough heart and twists to make me keep reading.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me get my hands on this early! Definitely recommend!

Compelling and pertinent.
Unexpected.
I read this book in about 24 hours. It was a page turner with an unexpected twist. I don't want to say much about the synopsis other than the story takes place in the beginning of COVID. The storyline was fascinating. Heavy at times. Definitely worth a read.

***Copy obtained from Random House via Netgalley***

I can imagine that this topic would be tough to portray, as it is front and center in everyone’s lives. Picoult wove a beautiful story by intertwining two separate realities. It was a fast read for me, which is typical for me and all of this particular author’s books….so good I hardly put it down. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

I love all of Jodi Picoult's book and I was excited to get approval to read this one in advance. This book did not disappoint! There were some tough spots while reading about the difficult aspects of living in the Covid pandemic. It's all still fresh in our minds, like an open wound. But then for some parts I was thinking - wow, we did really feel that way or do that in the beginning! I'm glad she wrote it so future generations can understand what we were going through and how we felt. I loved the characters and the story itself. There were several twists and turns that I did not see coming which made it even better. I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to others. Thanks so much to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for an advanced copy!

This book was just so good. I know I will be thinking about it long after I finished. I certainly didn't believe I was ready to read a book that involved Covid-19 - not yet and maybe not ever. But yet, there was something so beautiful about this story. You get sucked right into the Galapagos islands and can imagine how that would have happened to someone, getting stuck on an island in the middle of the lock down. The characters were deep and flawed and just real, which is what made the story so good. Highly recommend!

I was excited to get approved for this book. I did have some apprehension about reading a novel based around Covid since living though has been reality enough; I didn’t need to read a fictional book about it. I gave it a whirl and Picoult handled the myriad of Covid related topics with finesse. She did throw in several curves and loops that gave me a start also jabs that I expected. It’s a good book and A look back on a year of crap through the prism of fiction, which is understandably difficult.

First off, I would like to say this has a major trigger warning as it is set during the beginning of the pandemic when Covid first hits the United States. I have used books the past 18 months to escape from reality and don't particular want to read about something that consumes my life every day in a negative way. So if you are the same or just auto-buy books because you love a particular author, I wouldn't recommend you read this book or I suggest looking into it before diving in.

I should have looked at the summary more thoroughly before requesting and that is on me. Quite frankly, I saw the author's name, loved her previous work, and wanted to read her new one asap. But even the summary is misleading. If the pandemic was just in the background to set up the story and used as the foundation, I could stomach it more, but even the emails from her boyfriend every so often throughtout the first section were triggering. And although it was an accurate depiction, as a nurse I didn't want to read about it. I wish that was all I had to read about it though. I would have enjoyed it so much more if it stayed like Part One. Unfortunately, it takes a turn for the worse halfway through, and without giving away any spoilers I will just leave it at that. I understand what the author was trying to do and can appreciate that. But it's not something I want to experience personally.

Picoult has a special talent for writing to where you are being entertained and educated with such beautiful style. I always learn so much when I read her books. It's clear she does her research. She writes with such eloquent descriptions. I can easily picture the island Diana is stranded on while the world shuts down allowing her time to rediscover herself while she struggles with events in her life completely out of her control. You become immersed in the world she is writing about it and I enjoyed what she did with this book on that aspect. If I was reviewing based on that alone this book would be a winner but the content is where it falls short for me.

**Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me an advanced copy of this book and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion. I am posting this review to my Goodreads account immediately and will post it to my Amazon & Instagram accounts upon publication.

WOOOOOOW.... WOOOOOOOOOW that is all I can say. So many twists and turns and I don't feel like I can accurately give you a summary without ruining something. So just trust me and pick it up! You may be thinking "no way no how! Its about covid! It's too soon!" and you know what? YOU ARE RIGHT? But I am here to tell you it may be too soon, but it is WELL WORTH IT. Did I have PTSD of the days of not being able to leave my house? Yes! But this book was so worth it. Jodi Picoult writes this story so well and I ate it up so fast! Honestly how she left the ending... I NEED A SEQUEL!

SO many mixed emotions with reviewing this book. Spoilers are not included in this review.

On the one hand, I loved Diana's character. I loved her experience in the Galapagos Islands and her journey to find herself and her purpose in life. It's a journey not everyone is able to make, but I thought hers was wonderfully written. The detail provided of the Galapagos was beautiful, and made the reader feel like they were there, right alongside Diana.

On the flip side, some of the Covid details were over the top for me. I truly felt for Finn's character and his front-row seat to all of the horrors of being a front line health care worker in the midst of the pandemic. My heart goes out to everyone in real life who had to deal with that. What bothered me were the discussions of spraying everything with Lysol, wiping down food bags (and food), the reliving of the sheer chaos and confusion that still exists today. We now know that none of that was necessary, but including that in the book gives it credibility and truth. I was also incredibly annoyed with the few points of political commentary scattered throughout. If I want to politicize ICovid I just have to turn on the news; I don't need it in my novels. It gave me the impression of an incredibly biased story, and I expect better than that from Jodi Picoult.

The incredibly brilliant plot-twist mid-way through the book saved it from any complaints or issues I had. THAT is what I expect from this author, and she did not disappoint.

Diane's life is going just like she planned -- dream job, #relationshipgoals level boyfriend whom she suspects will propose on their upcoming trip to the Galapagos. Then Covid hits. Her boyfriend -- a surgical resident -- has to stay, but insists Diane go on without him where everything that can go wrong does... or does it?

What can I say about this book... Honestly say I almost DNF'd this book. Not because of anything wrong with the story but because even though I knew what this book was about, I wasn't sure I was prepared to let Covid into my escape mechanism. But I'm glad I did. Wish You Were Here loses a star for me, because I didn't particularly care for the twist -- which I obviously won't reveal -- but Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors for a reason, and she was true to form in Wish You Were Here. Connecting with Diane, watching her grow, and realize that maybe life isn't about being perfectly on track and that sometimes it's okay if that track changes mid-course made this a worthwhile read.

Thanks to the publisher, Jodi Picoult, and NetGalley for the chance to read this ARC

While I did enjoy this book, it didn't hit in the way that Jodi P's books usually do for me. I don't know if it's because we are still so IN the pandemic, but it wasn't poignant and page-turning, it was more like a chore to read. I'm still a forever fangirl, but this one, including the twist, was a difficult pick for me.

I have generally avoided reading books that deal with the pandemic but the publisher sent me a copy of an eARC so I decided to give it a try. Jodi Picoult knows how to tell a story although I haven't read her books in a long time since they all seemed to have an agenda and similar plot structure. This one is different. Diana O'Toole has planned out her life and is sure that her long term boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose on their upcoming trip to the Galapagos. Finn is a surgical resident and when COVID hits NYC, he is called to stay behind to help. Both are trying to come to terms with the pandemic and their individual experiences. This book tackles a lot, not just the pandemic, but suicide, self harm, abandonment, and consequences of life choices. The characters are well developed and the writing is very relatable. I feel like it should include a "trigger warning", however, because she certainly does not hold back in describing the pandemic from a doctor's perspective. Some parts were definitely hard to read and may be too much for anyone who has had a first hand experience with COVID. Overall a good story with a twist I didn't see coming. It really makes you evaluate what is important in life and the effects of choices we make.

Jodi Picoult is known for writing book about "relevant" subjects. Wish You Were Here take place during the beginning of the Covid outbreak and the early days of the lockdown. The book is well-written and the characters are well-developed. Ms. Picoult quotes Covid statistics; ie. number of new cases, number of new hospitalizations, number of new deaths, I have been a fan Jodi Picoult's books for many years, but this one was extremely difficult for me to read. I found myself skipping over pages, but I did want to know how the book ended. The author's note is important to read as it explains how this book came to be written. I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!