Jodi Picoult does it again - writes a book with a topic that you think you know so much about and then shows you new insights and information. I am always affected by Picoult's work, and what people learn about each other and themselves is the true genius of her writing.

I wanted to read it straight through but then I also wanted it to go on for much much longer.....

The characters were real and grounded to me, I thought the topic was relevant and I am grateful for the chance to read it early!

Thanks NetGalley and Ballantine Books!

This is a winner. It tackles the pandemic the best and reminds you why she is a master writer at taking hard topics and making all perspectives relatable.
This one I loved . It’s a story. Of hope and redemption!

Having read Picoult's body of work, I understand how easily readers might anticipate the next ethical dilemma, but Jodi transcends genre. In her last outing, "The Book of Two Ways," she began to explore the fabled past of Egypt and tied it to the possibility that there are other possibilities, not always the sad or happy but logical ending.
In "Wish You Were Here," we meet a young art expert working at a storied auction house, and her physician significant other, Finn. They are on the cusp of the pandemic, unaware of the explosion about to disrupt their plans and lives. Diana decides to take their trip to the Galapagos, all the while conflicted about the guilt over leaving Finn, but wondering why he let her go.
Diana arrives on the islands to learn she is stranded due to the lockdowns, and is dependent upon the kindness of islanders. We read about her adjustment to living a spartan life, her constant frustration at being unable to communicate with Finn. Diana develops relationships with a troubled teen and a charismatic and mysterious father who shows her the natural wonders of the islands. Diana endures the frantic frustration of isolation, worry about her loved ones, and she also enjoys the slow process of self discovery. I won't conclude, no spoilers, but it is not the formulaic ending you're already imagining. Picoult gives us wonderful characters, (Diana has a fabulous best friend), There is incredible research into subjects like long haul Covid, the neurology of coma patients, the biodiversity of the Galapagos, the opulent starch of art auctions, forgiveness, and dementia. I am always profoundly affected by Picoult's work, and what people learn about each other and themselves is the true genius of her writing.

I have been a big Jodi Picoult fan for many years! This is novel 23 for me.
I know Ms. Picoult isn’t afraid to tackle tough controversial topics. She is a great storyteller and certainly does her research!

This story starts with Diane O’Toole, an associate specialist with one of the largest brokers of art collectibles and her boyfriend Finn Colson, a surgical resident at New York Presbyterian Hospital.
Diane has her life planned, she will marry by thirty, have her family by thirty-five, additionally will be able to speak fluent French, traveled cross-country on Route 66 and she will be very successful in the art auction world.
She is near thirty now but is sure Finn will propose while vacationing in the Galapagos ~ yes the archipelago where Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was formed.

However, on the eve of their departure, Finn announces that with an abundance of caution regarding the coronavirus he has to stay at the hospital ‘All hands on Deck’ as the hospital is fearful of more cases. He states she should go as they have saved four years for this vacation and they will lose their fees.
~ She reluctantly goes.
The virus has other ideas and the island is soon on quarantine. However, we follow Diana’s experience on the island.

I was nearly 2/3 into this story and thought hmm perhaps this isn’t going to work for me. These characters are not all that likeable. I was reluctant to read more about the traumas the coronavirus has caused. I am reading this story the summer of 2021 and I am definitely a changed person from the person I was prior to the summer of 2020. I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about Covid 19 especially since the ‘Delta Variant’ is causing problems this summer……. But figured since I have been a longtime fan, I may find this better than Egyptology (True Egyptology is interesting but wasn’t a fun story.)

I checked some of the reviews ~ all of which were awesome. Then I saw one mention sliding door type story. I have read several, parallel universe/ Groundhog Day type stories and have always found them very interesting.
So I hung in there.
I cannot say I enjoyed this. It is unique and definitely makes you think. I believe book clubs are going to have some very lively discussions.

I always read the “Author’s notes”. I knew Ms. Picoult would have some interesting things to say!
She didn’t disappoint!

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Books for this eGalley. This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for November 30, 2021

"Nobody is guaranteed tomorrow--I realize that viscerally now--but that doesn't keep us from feeling cheated when it's yanked away."

Per usual, Ms. Picoult writes with amazing symmetry, seamlessly weaving time hops and plot lines with ease.
I never know what plot twists will be coming my way when I read one of her novels and she has a way of writing that keeps my mind from wandering and trying to guess it before it happens.

Wish You Were Here, is, at its core, a novel of hope, redemption, change, and a praise for the human spirit. It is amazing to see in print and through someone else's eyes, what the world has gone through and witnessed in 2020 and 2021. But, despite the setting, you could literally insert another fictional name for this virus and it would still ring true.

Diana's trials and tribulations throughout the beginning of and the entirety of the pandemic, are heartbreaking and raw with emotion. You feel for her as much as you would a loved one which really hits a little too close to home. The realization that we are all, as a whole, experiencing the same pain leaves you feeling a bit drained.

All in all, Wish You Were Here hits it out of the park. And it may just be the novel we all need right now.

Jodi never fails to impress me with her incredible writing on very real, very important topics.

I was a little bit nervous at first to read a book about Covid so soon after living through this nightmare pandemic but I’m so glad that I jumped in. Jodi explained so perfectly what it is like to be a doctor/nurse/anyone in the field during this awful time and at the same time did an amazing job at getting us inside the mind of someone who suffered from Covid. Additionally, the parts of the story set in the Galapagos were engaging, and really made me root for Diana.

The twist was unexpected and shocking but I loved where she took the story. Excellent excellent book that I’ll be sure to recommend to everyone I know.

Wow, this is a must read, Anyone who been living in the last year should pick this up and read maybe twice so you doing miss the important truths! live for today!

Jodi Picoult’s latest novel is born out of Covid-19. She wrote it during the pandemic, and it is set during the first few months of the shutdown. Diana is an associate at Sotheby’s and her live-in boyfriend, Finn, is a surgical resident. Just as they are about to take a dream vacation to the Galapagos Island (where Finn will no doubt pop the question), Covid breaks out in New York City. Finn, who must work extra shifts, encourages Diana to go without him. Perhaps she will escape the virus in the southern hemisphere. But no, just as she arrives at Isabela Island, the hotels and restaurants shut down. She is alone in a foreign country with a useless credit card and cell phone and without her lost luggage.

While Diana endeavors to navigate an exotic foreign land where she doesn’t speak the language and feels like “the last person on earth,” Finn composes emails -- that don’t reach her -- detailing life on the Covid front lines. (Today, as the tension and rhetoric increase in the US with yet another surge, Finn’s emails serve as a reminder of the toll taken on our health care professionals.)

While the two main characters struggle to survive their strange new worlds, Picoult offers poignant observations on art and isolation. For example, “A painting … is a partnership. The artist starts a dialogue, and you finish it.” The isolation theme reprises in absentee parents, in dementia, in misunderstandings, in the ICU experience. But isolation can also be a catalyst for change.

Picoult takes us on a thought-filled journey through the grim hallways of NYC hospitals during Covid, as well as the exquisite landscape and fauna of Galapagos. Who is the fittest? And what does survival look like?

Diana, a NYC art auctioneer, is ready to take the trip of a lifetime to the Galápagos Islands with her boyfriend Finn. The life she planned for herself is panning out perfectly: job, boyfriend, travels, and hopefully a proposal, suburban house, kids and a dog. But when the world shuts down due to coronavirus, she decides to head to the Galapagos without her boyfriend, who must stay behind as a surgeon in a NYC hospital. What she finds there is almost too good to be true, she becomes one of the locals, explores the sights she’s been longing to see, and befriends a family and helps them navigate their own problems. But what about the world she left behind? Is it still waiting for her, or has she moved on to a different plan? As the novel unfolds, Picoult explores the ways in which coronavirus has affected the world in so many ways, from ventilators to isolation to recovery and a return to normalcy. Diana’s story hits close to home, while exploring all the unknowns of coronavirus.

Jodi Picoult is a novelist known for tackling hot-button issues. Past novels have dealt with racism, abortion, organ donation, suicide, and more. Her latest book, "Wish You Were Here," tackles COVID-19 and features lockdowns, a nursing home, and even a character who is a medical resident treating ICU patients with the virus.

In the story, Diana and her boyfriend Finn are about to leave for their dream vacation in the Galapagos Islands. But right before they're supposed to leave, patients start showing up at the ER where Finn works in New York City. As a resident, he is told he cannot go on vacation - it's all-hands-on-deck to treat this new virus that is making people so ill. The trip is non-refundable, so Finn tells Diana to go anyway because rumor has it there will be a lockdown in the city anyway. Diana is reluctant (and surprised by Finn's decision to tell her to leave without him), but decides to go. As she arrives in the tropical paradise, the islands are put on lockdown and she's not able to get home. The story follows Diana's efforts to reach out to Finn in the US, but he's working nearly 24/7 and isn't answering his phone.

The story is interspersed with emails between the two, as well as postcards Diana is writing and sending back to the States. It's a beautiful story of loneliness, found family, and going from a traveler to a local. There's a twist that I didn't see coming at all, in true Jodi Picoult style.

I will admit it is strange to read a fictionalized account of the current global pandemic - it felt very real and included references to things that actually happened, like the PPE hospital workers had to wear, the nightly banging of pots and pans in appreciation of first responders, mentions of the US federal government's inaction in the early phases, and even a Dr. Fauci reference or two. For any reader willing to "lean in" to the pandemic and read a fictionalized account of it, I highly recommend this novel.

Jodi Picoult's Wish You Were Here is a must-read book that puts the pandemic in proper perspective. Certainly better than any other medium has been able to accomplish. It is a book of great maturity and depth; it is well-written. In this book, the focus is not just on the pandemic but on those who have made tremendous efforts to save lives in the face of it. My attention was captured by this book; wow, what an excellent way to view the pandemic in context.

Without a doubt, the COVID-19 quarantine is the hardest thing I have ever gone through. I know that Jodi Picoult had a hard time with it too. She took this challenging time and turned it into an amazing book I was so happy to get and advance readers’ copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion, but the opinion is my own.
This book is fantastic. Jodi has outdone herself on this book. Her skill as a writer has matured and blossomed. It comes through loud and clear in Wish You Were Here. Set during the current pandemic, a young couple long awaited vacation is nearly ruined due to COVID. The twists and turns the story takes from here have to be told by Jodi, not me. I can only tel you that I was never disappointed. I was surprised, moved, and frequently wished it wasn’t just a story. Jodi, please break your mold and write a sequel to this. My heart needs more.
So much bad came - and is still coming - from the pandemic. This book is the silver lining. Thanks, Jodi, from a world of grateful readers!

Outstanding! Classic Jodi Picoult and absolutely caught my attention and I didn’t want to put down!

COVID. COVID burnout. COVID reality. COVID loss. Fear pain. Heartbreak we are all living in a new reality where the fleeting nature of life hits home daily. Jodi Picoult’s latest book may feel too close to home right now, however, we need this book. We need it now to remember the sacrifices our medical community made and continues to make. We need it to understand how a person recovers from this virus and its lingering effects. If reading this book causes people to rush out and get vaccinated, it deserves a million stars I will be recommending this book to one and all. As always, Ms. Picoult did her research. This book will stand the test of time and someday be considered historical fiction. Right now this contemporary fiction is reality.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I wish I would have read Wish You Were Here a few years after the Covid-19 pandemic has ended, because reading this book in the middle of a variant surge brought back all the fear and paranoia of the first months of 2020. Jodi Picoult is masterful at bringing you in to a time and place and then setting you in the position to internally debate; What would I do in this scenario? For some of us, our loved ones have been through similar experiences fighting this virus, and may have lost their fight rather than have to learn to live in the aftermath. This novel is just too real for this moment, and may cause more anguish than it heals for those who are directly affected.

Wish you were Here
BY Jodi Picoult
Publishing date November 30, 2021

I love Jodi Picoult books!
I got 86% through this book and the book disappeared from my NetGalley account. I am now in a pickel.
I have to wait until November!!! to finish the book... egads.
Anyway, this was a great book and I eagerly can't wait to finish it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

We will purchase it our library!
5 stars

this was NOT what i expected. I think we ALL related to this book (or will if you havent read it yet). It is so hard to describe since i never consider "coming of age" books to be for adults headed to 30 in a train! hahah.
this book is about the uncertain future of your life, your love, turning 30, COVID, loneliness, change and refreshing starts. The work is beautifully written that I had dreams I was actually there and now I want to get there!

As I began this novel I found myself totally disinterested in the story, characters, etc. Then came part 2 which brought us into vivid. I think it's too soon for me to read about an individual's suffering. That plus the odd interpolation of part 1 I found unbelievable and a bite
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️- thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Diana seems to have it all: a great job at Sotheby’s where she’s doing well, about to take an incredible vacation with her boy friend Finn and then Covid happens. Truthfully I didn’t know how I would feel going into this. I give Jodi Picoult big credit for writing this, but I wondered if it was too soon. With cases still on the rise and the trauma still so close to home did I really want to read a covid story? However, being a devoted Jodi Picoult fan I dove right in. I wasn’t let down. I learned something that I didn’t know, remembered the dark times that were starting to fade a little and put on lenses that I hadn’t seen through before. I read to escape and was skeptical about escaping to a world that may have not looked too different than my own and yet I did. Well done Ms. Picoult, you did not disappoint.

Perhaps my favorite Picoult book so far. Easily readable, great pacing, strong character development. Highly recommend!