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!

Wow! If I could give this book 10 stars I would! At times this book was tough to read but at others I just couldn’t put it down. It takes place during Covid (which makes it hard to read while we are still living through all of this), but also tugs at your heartstrings all the way through. I literally could not put it down. I had to know what was going to happen next. There was a twist in the middle of the book I literally never saw coming and all I can say again is WOW! The only thing I’m going to tell about it is the main character, Diana, an art dealer, and her boyfriend, Finn, a resident surgeon, live in New York City at the beginning of the pandemic. Jodi Picoult has outdone herself! This book was AMAZING and I highly recommend it!

Wow! I'll start by saying that Jodi Picoult has definitely hit a home run here. Warning: This novel doesn't start out sounding like a Jodi Picoult novel, but stay with it.... please stay with it! What happens after the "surprise twist" about halfway through is well worth reading through the first part. There is much here about how we managed through the pandemic, and how hard it was for patients and doctors alike. But there is also much here about resilience, and living our lives with meaning. I loved the art therapy aspect that was woven through the whole book, and also the relationship with the main character's mother. Oh, and the importance of art!

Thanks to Netgalley, the author, and publisher for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this story so very much. I thought it would be too soon to read about the pandemic, but Picoult wrote the pandemic in such a memorable and heartfelt way, that I am so glad I decided to go ahead and read this now. About half way through the book, there is a HUGE plot twist, and this is not very common for a Jodi Picoult novel. However, it works very well and really makes the ending of the story so much more special after all. LOVED this book. Thank you so much for the early copy.

Wow, what an incredible novel! I absolutely loved this one and can't wait to recommend it to family and friends. Thank you, Netgalley for the ARC.

Not quite the usual page turner that I expected from Jodi Piccoult but a quick read nonetheless. In an all too real situation Diana O' Toole leaves for vacation amidst the breakout of COVID which shuts down the small island in the Galapagos just hours after she lands. While her boyfriend stays in NYC to man the hospitals, she is forced to find her way on an island where everything is shut down and very few people speak English.
As with all Jodi Piccoult books there is a big plot twist at the end. I will admit, that it wasn't my favorite and I would have wished for it to end differently.

Thank you Netgalley for an ARC of Wish You Were Here. I’ve read several Jodi Picoult books and I had high expectations for this one. However, I felt the book was a little dragging and I never felt a huge connection with any of the characters. It’s hard to review much more without spoilers. I think this book will age well and have a decent audience, but it was a 3-star book for me.

Brilliant! I wasn't sure that I was interested, or ready to read about Covid or the pandemic but leave it to Jodi Picoult to craft a riveting story about something that has affected so many people. This grabbed me from the first few pages.

Jodi Picoult does it again! I received this ARC from Netgalley & Random House, so a giant thank you to them!

I will put a giant TRIGGER WARNING on this, as it involves Covid and everything that has gone on in our world since March 2020. If you or a loved one were affected negatively & had a close call with the virus, you may want to hold off on this one until things aren’t so raw.

Like most of Jodi’s books, this one hits right to the heart of things. I love how she has taken to writing from a couple perspectives. It makes each read so much more interesting. I was immediately drawn into her character development and thought I had this book figured out. NOPE! Plot twist! I couldn’t put this down & it's tough to give a full 5 stars only bc gosh darn it, I want more!

The images she paints when describing life for front line workers is unreal. You can almost feel what it must have been like for them, but for those who weren’t working up close and personally with affected patients, it is almost impossible to fully grasp the physical & emotional toll.

I know that not everyone will be comfortable (or even able) reading this book, but at some point, I feel like it needs to be read. It helps shed so much light on everything that people affected directly and those not have experienced at some point throughout the last year and a half.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Jodi Picoult's latest work. I have read all of her books and enjoyed every one except The Book of Two Ways, So, I was very happy to read this one to see if she had fallen back into my good graces. I'm happy to say she did!

I know that a lot of people are saying that they aren't ready to read a book set during the COVID crisis, but I was. I was curious to see how she tackled it. I don't want to give away anything in this review, but I will say that Picoult gave the reader a very moving, insightful, and well-researched account of the effects of the pandemic from a variety of perspectives. The book starts on March 13, 2020. I think everybody can remember what life felt like at that time. There were so many unknowns and so much unchartered territory. The characters in this book face the pandemic from different perspectives, which are described in amazing detail. Each of them seemed real and believable to me.

Aside from the pandemic, as she always does, Picoult weaved other elements into her story - in this case beautiful depictions of the Galapagos and insight into the world of art sales. I was happy to learn about both of these.

We don't know how this period of time will change our lives, but this book gives us a glimpse into the possibilities. It was thought-provoking and emotional. I especially enjoyed the Author's Note, because I enjoy reading about how she comes up with her ideas, and her research fascinates me.

I'll admit the last few books I've read by her didn't really do it for me. Until this one. Holy smokes! What the heck happened???? I cannot review this book properly without giving anything away, and this book is best read going in blind. I will say it does involve the pandemic, nothing more. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!!!! Its completely renewed my faith in her books :D

Entertaining but not your typical Jodi Picoult book. I usually find them engrossing and hard to put down.. This one not so much but still enjoyable and an interesting perspective on the Galapagos. And then the mid read bombshell and turn around had me unable to put it down till the end. An interesting and somewhat harrowing view of covid as we hit the fourth wave and what happens when Life as you know it, well, is turned upside down.

I’m shook!! I’ve read a few books already involving the covid pandemic and each time I asked myself if it was too soon, if it was going to be entertaining or depressing or if I wanted to relive it. THIS was so differently done that it was like 3 stories in one that happened just because of covid. Informational as well as entertaining, it’s a story that I’ll be thinking about for quite awhile. And the ending was perfection! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this early copy for review.

Once again Jodi Picoult is on her "A" game. Her books never disappoint and this one is no exception. We follow the story of Diana O'Toole whose life is well on it's way to following the path she has long envisioned for herself. However, life has as a way of disrupting well-made plans and Picoult navigates us through Diana's ups and downs and shows us the strength we each have to come out stronger. Using the pandemic as a catalyst makes the story so timely and something we can all relate to, A great read.

Life swings on a pendulum marking time but suspending us in motion. Swinging to side to side, we're stuck, angry, scared and afraid to venture out to rejoin the world. 'Wish You Were Here' hit home as the pandemic touched everyone's lives. It separated us from loved ones, furloughed jobs, created fear and above all, we lost people we cared about due to Covid-19.

“Humans mark tragedy. Everyone remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot, when the Twin Towers fell, and the last thing they did before the world shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.” (Picoult)

Front-end workers bravely faced the Virus risking their lives to keep us safe. Even if we're not sick, the fear is mentally draining. How do we move forward if we're paralyzed?

What started as a light-hearted story preparing for a trip to the Galápagos quickly morphed into the emergence of pandemic and a bird's eye view of being stuck overseas on lockdown and facing crippling isolation unable to be with friends and family.

Diana's longing and separation represented society's struggle. Our lives were put on pause and we didn't know what the future would bring. Family and friends became sick and we couldn't be with them or sometimes even say goodbye. Having closure or reaching out to provide support was taken away from us.

Readers need to reveal layers of the book a stroke at time. as the sense of drowning we've all experienced. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #WishYouWereHere in exchange for an honest review. The story struck a chord with me and after reading, I'm still reliving some of the chapters.

While other books mention the pandemic, this story personifies it as a secondary character. It reinforces how our lives can change in an instant and the importance of family and friends. Mend relationships, live life to its fullest and cherish times with loved ones. Thank you to Jodi Picoult for writing such a poignant read.

“The reason this all feel surreal is that we’re in uncharted territory…We’ve never been through something like this…Humans love to find pattern and to make sense of what we see. When you can’t find those patterns, it’s unsettling. The CDC tells us that we have to social distance, and then the president is on TV without a mask, shaking people’s hands. Doctors say if you feel sick you should get a test, but the tests are nowhere to be found. Your kids can’t go into a classroom, even though it’s the middle of the school year. You can’t find flour in the grocery shelves. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, or six months from now. We don’t know how many people will die before this is all over. The future is completely up in the air.” (Wish You Were Here)

I flew through this book about a nearly-30 year old woman who has the next 10 years planned and everything is going along...and then her boyfriend has to bow out of their dream vacation to the Galapagos Islands because the hospital he is a resident at is getting their first COVID cases and he has to work.

He tells her to go without him and she does, but then the island where she's staying is locked down like the rest of the world. Internet and cell service are poor to nonexistent. The hotel, the restaurants, all of the tourist industry is shut down.

So, what happens when you're stranded in nearly-paradise, thousands of miles away from your job (don't worry, you're probably furloughed), the person you love, and your mother, who is living in assisted living and suffering from dementia. And what comes next? That's what Diana has to figure out.

I've been waiting for the deluge of books in which COVID plays a role and I'm so glad that Ms. Picoult is one of the first authors I've read who has done this. She handles the many strings in this book deftly and balances the gravity of the pandemic with an entertaining story.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.