I received an ARC of this book and was so excited as I love Jodi Picoult’s writing. This is the first book I’ve read about Covid and it’s kind of surreal to be reading about the early days of the pandemic again. Jodi Picoult’s storytelling does not disappoint and I love how she weaves facts about the Galapagos, art, and the brain in with this story. This book may be triggering for those directly impacted by Covid, especially if you've had a loved one die.

4.5 stars, rounded up.

NO SPOILERS

Wish You Were Here is the first novel that I have read that touches on the Pandemic.. a time of which we are all weary, that we all thought would be over by now and yet, here we are.

Finn's descriptions of how life is as a physician during the Pandemic brought me to tears. I can hardly bear to even imagine the impact and lasting scars our medical community holds.

Wish You Were Here was beautifully written. There were times when I became frustrated with Diana, but I think Ms Picoult showed the complexity of the situation and her characters well. There were definitely some turns that I did not expect and I'm honestly not sure what to think.. but either way, it was most definitely a book worth reading, that I had trouble putting down and in fact would wake up in the middle of the night and open it up to begin reading again.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Publishing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m pretty sure I have read every non-young-adult Picoult novel; she is an auto-read for me whenever she has a new book coming out. I put the book on hold at my library as soon as it’s listed in the catalog (usually a few months before publication). I did exactly that with Wish You Were Here, but I was lucky enough (?!?!?) to get an eARC from Random House and NetGalley!

Wish You Were Here… Wow. Jodi wrote this during the (still ongoing) pandemic, and reading it brought me right back to the beginning (March of 2020). I will admit, it was difficult for me to read a lot at a time. I have anxiety and the pandemic hasn’t been easy; reliving the worst days through the novel also wasn’t easy. That being said, if you know Jodi Picoult, you know she does her research. Through this novel, the perspectives and experiences of doctors, nurses (and really all healthcare professionals), and Covid-19 survivors are in the forefront and real and heartbreaking. Also, her firsthand experience (and further research) of the Galapagos provides such rich descriptions and vivid scenes.

The characters were so developed and well-written, so much so that I wasn’t at all expecting the turn the book takes. Diana O’Toole (up-and-coming at Sotheby’s) is expecting her boyfriend Finn to propose on their upcoming dream vacation to the Galapagos. However, the global pandemic makes it impossible for Finn, a resident at a New York City hospital, to go. He encourages Diana to go on the trip without him, and she finds herself on an island that is shut down for 2 weeks, with little connection to the rest of the world.

The characters in the story show such growth and change throughout; I think the same can be said for many of us. The pandemic, being on lockdown, losing loved ones -- it has forced many of us to rethink our priorities and what we want out of life. Take the time to read Wish You Were Here, and reflect on what you’ve learned about yourself during the pandemic. (Expected publication: November 2021)

I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult and every book of hers tackles a different topic and hits all of your feels so I am not surprised she went right for a pandemic book. To be honest, I went into this with a big “ugh a pandemic book”. But, it was so much more than that and so much deeper than a pandemic book. You need to read this one.

I really wasn’t sure I wanted to read a story about this damn pandemic. It’s overtaken everything and made us mental cases. But I do love this author and figured I would give it a try. Very well written, very well researched. It was good to read about Diana’s doctor boyfriend and what he was going through dealing with COVID-19. What a crazy twist about half way through! I totally enjoyed this story as the ending is perfect!

“Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. This trip of a lifetime will evolve her into someone completely different.”

Wish You Were Here is an excellent novel by Jodi Picoult. I was written about and during Covid but not in the way you expect. I read this in less than 24 hours and could not put down. It is some of Picoult’s best writing and a story that pulls you in. I know that many readers will think ugh this is about Covid, but it is so much more. Picoult has written a novel that champions the front line workers as well as getting deeply in the mind of the main character Diana. Picoult does an excellent job of getting into the minds and emotions of the main characters and brings them full circle. The author’s notes are a must read, The help you to not only understand her motivation to write this novel but also how she got so much of the detail perfectly right. Picoult put a great deal of time into her research of Covid, frontline workers, art and the Galápagos Islands.

I have so much much more to say about this book but I feel like any other details will spoil this amazing book. I have enjoyed most of Jodi Picoult’s titles but this is exceptional and possibly her best novel. Thank you to Ballantine Books and Net Galley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publication is expected on 11/30/21

4.5 stars! I think it’s important to know that the subject matter deals with COVID and the pandemic but beyond that, go into this book blind. The twist literally blew my mind; I read it and re-read it, then had to talk it through with my husband because I just couldn’t believe a non-thriller had stopped me in my tracks like that. Jodi definitely has a way with words and I feel honored that I got to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for my honest review - it will be available 11/30/21!

3.75

This is the first COVID novel I’ve read and it did bring back a lot of difficult memories which makes it hard for me to rate as well as review. I can tell Jodi Picoult did her research and I learned a lot about the medical side of covid and covid care, and was very moved by that part of the story. Removing myself from the emotional side of things, the story was good! I enjoyed Diana's journey, both professionally and personally, and really enjoyed her time on the Galapagos Islands. It was easy to keep reading and I was interested and invested in the outcome. My favorite part of the book was the twist in the plot I didn't see coming- and also really liked the ending! I remain a big fan of Jodi Picoult and will continue to read anything she writes.

Thank you to netgalley, Random House Publishing Group, Ballantine Books, and the author for my advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.

What I liked:
•I wasn’t sure I’d be ready to read a book centered around the pandemic. But while there were difficult to read details, and it was in the background at all times, the story was about Diana’s experiencesthat were riveting!
•Beautifully descriptive settings in the Galápagos Islands and New York City
•characters I wasn’t sure I loved or disliked ~ I like when an author makes you think
•the secondary story of Diana and her mother in a memory care setting
•it’s a JP book, so an expected, yet totally unexpected twist!
•fast paced easy reading
•the author’s note at the end is worth reading!

What I didn’t like:
•not much. Great story.
•tell me more at the end!! Please.

Thank you to @netgalley @jodipicoult and @randomhouse for this advanced copy.

3.75 COVID stars

Diana and Finn are the couple that have their whole lives planned out. She’s working in the art auction field and Finn is a surgical resident. They’ve saved for four years for a dream trip to the Galapagos and departure day is just about here.

This book is set in the recent past and coincides with the COVID-19 outbreak that hits NYC very hard. As a resident, Finn must stay at work as things worsen with more patients, deaths, and frustration over how to treat the symptoms. There’s no way he can go on vacation. However, they will lose all their deposit money, so he convinces Diana to go without him.

As you might expect, it’s not a fabulous getaway for Diana as the island shuts down once she gets there and she has trouble communicating with Finn back home. She befriends a few locals and tries to make the best of things. In fact, she starts to really love the island life and isn’t sure how she will ever get home.

Jodi Picoult has done a masterful job writing about experiences with COVID from the medical side of things and it’s heartbreaking to see what the hospital staff experience.

There’s much more to this story, but I can’t figure out how to review any of it without giving it all away. This one still has me thinking about it as I thought it was a unique story. However, it won’t be a tale that everyone is ready to read if they’ve been severely impacted by COVID.

Don’t miss the terrific author’s note at the end.

I love Jodi Picoult's books and recommend everyone read them all but this one in particular didn't envelope me like her other books. I understand and appreciate that Jodi's ability to research the topic was limited and that the topic she chose is still being pondered by so many and with that in mind, this story, like her others, does make me think about things from a different perspective. There is a twist folks that is very unexpected that makes this book stand out which I am not going to dive into here but read the book if just for that :) Jodi Picoult, Diane Chamberlain, John Hart - you all are still my favorite authors.

The last Jodi Picoult book I read was The Book of Two Ways which I didn’t particularly enjoy. That said I saw great reviews for this book and wanted to give Piccoult another go. Unfortunately o get similarly and this one just wasn’t for me.
The book follows Diana who decides to head to the Galápagos Islands at the beginning of Covid and ends up getting stuck on one of the islands. All the while her Surgeon boyfriend is stuck in New York dealing with the horrors of Covid.
Diana meets a young girl and her father while stranded and forms a bond and “changes” while there. Anything beyond that would be a huge spoiler.

I honestly just think the character development as well as some details of the art world, Covid, and other descriptions just bored me. Not enough about the characters and too much about the art/Covid details. I didn’t particular feel for Diana and I found the story implausible.

I know a lot of people will love this one but think I’ve come to the conclusion that this authors style isn’t for me.

3.25 stars.

Thanks #nergalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Didn’t have that Jodi Picoult “flavor” that I’m used to reading in her books. The first part of the book was dragging and the second part was nothing but COVID and more COVID. I did however like the plot twist and didn’t see that coming!

The pros: I was impressed with the authors vast knowledge of art and of the research she must have done to write this story.

The cons: I believe I could have really liked this book if it weren't for the prolific, appalling language. It was really a turn off and will prevent me from recommending this book to anyone.

** I’ve been careful about spoilers, so it may seem at times I’m talking AROUND plot … but I have to admit I think the concern should be more about the plot than spoilers that give it away.

This wasn’t for me. I thought I would give Picoult a try, but I’m not her reader if this is her usual fare. I thought this was trite and poorly written, and clearly rushed/pasted together (in the acknowledgments she admits to writing this in land-speed record time).

For the most part I thought I was reading filler, by way of Wikipedia-style entries. She obviously read a lot about other people’s experiences with Covid, some stuff on the art world, some stuff on Alzheimers, some stuff on Darwin and the Galapagos (though she admits in the author’s note to having visited there pre-Covid), then she cobbled it all together and produced this. It’s a bit of a monster. I only finished because it’s an ARC and I feel obligated to review. Otherwise, I would have dropped it with the first chapter.

Let me say this about that first chapter, dated March 13 2020. It was cringeworthy for so many reasons. I think it’s because I lived in New York City for almost twenty years and wasn’t living there during Covid and felt heartbreak every single minute I saw news about what was happening. But also I was teaching at a university with many students who had just come back from their Christmas break, some from China and directly from Wuhan, so as far back as January we were getting news about a possible … world wide virus. I can remember asking my GP in JANUARY whether she was worried about this virus. Her eyes went wide and she said boldly, “Yes, I am very worried.” When your GP says that to you in January, by March you’ve read enough news to understand much of the badness, so Picoult’s MC caught me off guard.

Diana O'Toole was … a tool, and um, dumb. She was self-absorbed. She lives with a doctor who is saving lives by March and she’s oblivious. Again, this is the opening chapter, with a pseudo-Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and a vapid situation that had me cringing because I lived in the Dakota and rode the elevator with Yoko Ono on occasion. (Woah, I sounded like Picoult’s name-dropping MC for a moment.) The opening of Wish You Were Here is so anti Raiders of the Lost Ark -- possibly the most perfect opening of any story, one that is a trailer to the movie with a clear sense of character, goals, and atmosphere. Although, [the faux Yoko may very well have been a hint at things to come ... (hide spoiler)]

So I think if Picoult was trying to exploit the confusion of Covid’s quick sweep through New York, she failed at anything remotely close to that. I felt nothing for any of her characters. I draw more feeling from all the things I read and still do read about the pandemic’s reality. That’s where the problem lies. I think it’s too soon. It’s in poor taste to exploit this massive tragedy for fiction, especially if you haven’t got a point. Why fake Yoko Ono but rely on reality for the setting, then use neither to do justice to your story?

Okay, I’m venting and personalizing, but I don’t think you can write a book about Covid and expect your readers not to personalize. We’ve all been through the wringer, right? It’s kind of sacred, communal ground. Not sure it’s ripe for fiction. I kept asking myself, who is she writing this for? Someone who hasn’t lived it? That’s how I felt, but that’s me. Every reader will take something different from this I’d imagine. But there’s really not much here, to be honest. Nothing to takeaway that isn’t already a part of our collective trauma. I didn’t gain anything from this story about a self-centered MC, no matter what she went through. She seems to sacrifice nothing, to be honest. She’s embarrassingly typical and a product of the “me-me-me” movement.

Perhaps that’s the problem. This is such fluff in comparison to the reality of Covid, and it relies on some kind of anachronistic timeline that drove me crazy -- what people knew, didn’t know, thought and felt, etc.

No, just no. Not for me ...

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, and Jodi Picoult for letting me get an ARC of "Wish You Were Here" for an honest review!

This book was so well written. Nothing could've prepared me for the plot twist half way through this book. This was my first book from Jodi and it will not be the last. I love reads that I can't predict what's going to happen next. This did that and so much more. It makes you think about life and not taking anything for granted. it gives the reader a real-life glimpse of the aftermath of the pandemic. It was so relatable. It also was crazy to read about the long term effects that people who have been infected, still deal with.

Diana's real life and her "dream" world collide in this twisted, yet magnificent read. Bravo, Jodi! LOVED this!

"

GUYS AND GALS! PRE-ORDER THIS ONE FOR SURE! This novel will absolutely be one of my top ten of the year.

After being disappointed by the last release from one of my very favorite authors (see my post on The Book of Two Ways), I was so hoping I would love Wish You Were Here. And I SO do!

A perfect blend of romance, historical fiction, current events (the first novel I’ve read which incorporates Covid-19) – a classic Picoult book if there ever was one.

As usual, Jodi Picoult is a terrific writer. She wrote about a touchy subject with grace and the storyline was unique and engaging.

However with that being said I have two major things that didn't work for me personally.
(1) I think it's too soon to write about the Covid-19 pandemic. We are still living it, and it's something I've been personally affected by. Reading about this was a bit disturbing.
(2) As with her last few novels, sometimes I feel the author is giving too much background/history. This is a fiction novel. I don't want to skim over pages that make me feel like I'm getting a history lesson.

This is the first book I have read about the Covid 19 Pandemic. Jodi Picoult wrote it, so I was pretty sure it would be interesting. I was correct. The story begins in the early phase of the pandemic, right before the US went into lockdown. It was that period of time when we were all aware that there was a dangerous virus out in the world but none of us could have conceived of what was to come.
The story begins with Finn, who is a young surgical resident in a New York Hospital and his soon to be fiancé, Diana, who are planning a long awaited vacation to the Galápagos Islands. Like the rest of the world, plans were altered. Without giving away anymore of the story, I must say that I was totally engrossed in this book. Half way through the book, something happened that completely shocked me. I did not see it coming. You will have to read the book to understand what I am talking about.
I would totally recommend this book to all of the Jodi Picoult fans out there and to all others who will most likely become fans after reading this book.
Thank you to Netgalley for an early release copy of the book.

Jodi Picoult delivers some elaborate research and captures raw feelings in this global realization in this book. We have loved, lost, feared, and gained a real understanding of the important things in our lives, readjusted our focus and revamped the workforce and our definition of heroes. No one will ever be the same as generations before us warned, but we continue to persevere through a lockdown, isolation and resilience.

This book shares a fictional story of a young couple Finn & Diana planning their tropical vacation on the Galapagos Islands when the pandemic hits. Finn is a surgical resident needed at the hospital in New York and explains to her instead of them losing their money on the trip that Diana, an art broker, to continue without him. Heartbroken and discouraged, she continues her journey. With a few setbacks, her luggage lost and hotel closures, a kind family allows her to stay in their empty apartment.

While she is enjoying the scenery on this volcanic island, Finn is desperately trying to save lives. While she swims with the marine life, turtles, sea lions, and penguins, he swims in ventilators, gloves, masks and doom from every angle. Her guilt is catapulted into no internet connections, no phone service, no ATM's, no flights out and no grocery stores available. Any other time she would have welcomed the inconveniences, but not as the world turns in a different direction. She relies on the kindness of others to help her through and takes a step back to realize her life may be heading a different path than before.

Sadly, raw emotions of Finn are captured as emails seep through with clear visuals of his anguish and experiences trying to keep people alive. As a mother of three health care workers and a husband, who fights diligently once again to ward off this curse, this hit home. This book is not to be taken lightly as some of the experiences are real and the after effects are lingering, but she is genuine and sincere. She leaves us with a real glimpse in how it affected her and how the book came to fruition.

The twist at the end opened my eyes to a whole realm of emotions and from there I was definitely nose diving until the end. This is a real piece of work and while I have read many of her books and lost touch with the author, she awakened a whole new game of respect and desire to read more from this talented writer.
Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.