I won't rehash what the book is about, most reviewers already do. I didn't like Jodi's last book, The Book of Two Ways so I was a little skeptical doing into this one. I picked getting this book even though I wanted to stay away from the Covid thing, I didn't want my fiction to really blend with real life. That being said I could NOT put this book down. I got hooked very early on in it and loved the characters. I was completely shocked by the twist that Jodi usually does in her book. I never saw it coming. I thought it would be a certain thing but I never saw this one. The ending made me curious as to what would have happened if the story kept going. I really enjoyed this one.

Thank you to Netgalley for my ARC!!

** spoiler alert ** Thank you NetGalley for the free ARC. Well, I did not see that one coming. Without giving too much away, Jodi Picoult's books often have an unexpected twist. ( I remember throwing the book across the room when I was reading My Sister's Keeper.) This book deals with the Covid epidemic and how our outlook on life bas changed in so many ways.

Hitting too close to home with this pandemic. I can’t come up with 100 characters.disappointedin this book. Usually love this author works.

Full disclosure. I finished this book 3 days ago and have yet to figure out a way to discuss it without spoilers. So, rather than detailing the story, I'll talk around it. I, like many other people am suffering from pandemic fatigue. I hesitated to even pick up this book knowing that it took place in the midst of Covid-19. However, I absolutely love Jodi Picoult's books so I took a deep breath and dove in. I'm glad that I did. While the story does indeed take place during the pandemic, it is not about the pandemic. Rather it is a rich, beautiful story about love and loss, hope and despair, and figuring out how to love ourselves through it all. Picoult has crafted a book that teaches us that things don't have to be real to have a real impact on our lives. It is beautifully written with descriptions so detailed that you will feel the salt on your skin and the breeze in your hair. If you only read one book this year, read this one.

I wanted a story of hope and love and got so much more from Jodi Picoult's Wish You Were Here. Picoult masterfully weaves a story that happens to written during Covid-times, but it is about discovering who you were meant to be, surviving isolation, and love.

Wish You Were Here begins with Diana literally painting stars in the sky with her father in Grand Central Station. We learn that Diana has an estranged relationship with her Pulitzer Prize winning photographer mother, works in the private collection department of Christie's, and lives with her medical resident boyfriend. Her life is right on track according to her "list," that is until the pandemic hits. Diana and her boyfriend were supposed to go on a trip to the Galapagos (where Diana hopes he will propose!), but the hospital cannot allow him to leave. He encourages Diana to still go to keep her safe from Covid.

Diana reluctantly agrees, but she becomes trapped on the island when it shuts down to contain the pandemic. For the first time, Diana is alone. She has no place to stay when the hotel closes and doesn't know a soul on the island. (This was definitely not on her "list.") She is forced to figure out what she really needs to survive and who she truly is.

Everything changes when Diana finally gets home, because she doesn't want the same things as before. As expected, Picoult has created a meticulously researched story with such real characters. Wish You Were Here had me holding my breath, wiping away tears, and laughing out loud.

This is this book I needed to read right now, and I thank Jodi Picoult for writing it (and NetGalley for the arc!). I can only hope that I can do this book justice with my review. It gave me hope and the promise of joy.

I will be encouraging everyone I know to READ THIS BOOK!

Wish You Were Here takes place during the Covid 19 Pandemic. Diana O'Toole is a successful professional in the art auction world. She is an associate specialist at Sotheby's and is in line for a promotion if she closes a particular deal with a high profile client. Her boyfriend is a surgical resident that is about to propose to her on their romantic getaway to the Galapagos. The Covid Virus has reached New York City and the night before they leave on vacation, Finn finds out that his vacation is cancelled and he has to head to the hospital. He persuades Diana to go on the trip as it is non refundable. Reluctantly she goes alone. A soon as she arrives on the Island, everything goes wrong. Her luggage is lost, the WI-Fi is nonexistent and their hotel is shut down due to the Pandemic. The entire island is under quarantine. An employee of the hotel takes her to her home and lets her stay in a basement apartment. She is completely alone as she wanders out to explore the island. She encounters a local man who happens to be the son of the woman she is staying with. The connection with them helps her survive the quarantine. During this time, she finds herself examining herself, her choices and her relationships. She wonders if she will be the same person once she returns home. This is an excellent book that I highly recommend.

Jodi Picoult writes with richly detailed prose that make her books so believable. It's easy to picture the lives of her characters. This book was special for me because part of it occurs on one of the Galapagos Islands that I visited. Heartache, life changes and self discovery are perfectly described. I loved everything about Wish You Were Here.
I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from Ballantine Books through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are completely my own.
#WishYouWereHere #NetGalley

I really enjoyed this book for several reasons. I thought it was a very accurate portrayal of NYC during the start/height of the pandemic and it also takes place in the Galapagos Islands which I visited a couple of years ago. Diana, working for Sotheby's, and Finn, a surgical resident, live in NYC and are on the cusp of getting married. They have planned a vacation to the Galapagos where Diana is sure Finn plans to propose to her. Then Covid happens and everything goes wrong. Diana goes to the Galapagos on her own while Finn stays behind to deal with the increasing number of Covid patients at the hospital... To avoid any spoilers I won't say anymore about the plot. A person not familiar with Covid (if that is even possible) might think they were reading a horror story. Have to give this 5 stars!

As always, Jodi Picoult proves herself a fantastic storyteller in her new book, Wish You Were Here. Diana and Finn, a budding art specialist and a medial resident living in New York City, have their lives mapped out... until the COVID-19 pandemic strikes right before their trip to the Galapagos. While Finn is forced to remain in NYC working around the clock at the hospital, Diana ventures on vacation alone, where she is stuck quaratining on the small, shut down Isabela Island. The isolation forces DIana to grow, as she discovers the island and more about her true self she's been hiding amid the hustle and bustle of a planned out, busy city life. While the story was enjoyable, it might be too soon for many to enjoy something so COVID-centric, as we're still inundated daily with news of the pandemic and growing cases around the world. Hopefully by the time this book is published we'll be in a better place!

Jodi Picoult has been a favorite author of mine for many years. I have struggled with the last few, but this one is Jodi at her best! I love how she juxtaposed the beauty of Galapagos with the horror unfolding in New York City. It was how Covid lockdown was for me, full of beautiful family moments and anxiety ridden hours. I even had the troubled teen to cope with too!
If I had to pick something that jarred it would be the need to educate the reader with every piece of research, although I liked how she varied it through dialogue and POV.
I won't talk about the story because it needs to be read with no spoilers. Let's just say, I was totally blown away by it all and have been talking to all my friends about the need to read this when it comes out.
Thank you Netgalley for the ARC. This is my honest review.

One of the last times I read a Jodi Picoult book was when I was recovering from chemo and it was My Sister's Keeper. This was not a very good idea mostly bc she had captured a lot of what being sick and isolated felt like and seeing that on the page was a way for me to try and articulate what it was like for me. So, I shouldnt be surprised that her current book, taking place in NYC during COVID was a lot like traveling back in time, a time that feels 20 years ago and also so recent. I found myself also wishing I had spent part of last year somewhere like Galapagos, instead of the four walls of my apartment. The book is vivid and the characters live on the page. You'll learn alot about Art History. There's a mention of Schitts Creek (I will not say in what context) and Id like to believe Ted did inspire (maybe subliminally) the Galapago joke (read to see where). Plus our collective trauma and Tiger King. The book moves along and is well done; if you're ready for a book about finding yourself among the dumpster fire that was 2020, this book does it justice. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced copy.

Jodi Picoult has done it once again. I've never been able to get enough of her books and this one proved no different.

SPOILER ALERT


I'm always looking out for that classic Jodi twist, however, I never expected it to come in the middle of the book. Learning that the Galapagos was a COVID dream had my jaw on the floor. And learning where Diana went from there kept me glued to the pages.

This is Jodi at her best, and needs to be read by everyone

Jodi does it again! Could not put this book down! I read it in two days. Definite read for everyone!

Diana O’Toole has her life all planned out. She is an art assistant at Sotheby’s and hoping a deal with a high profile client will lead to a big promotion. She and her surgeon boyfriend Finn are almost engaged and planning a romantic getaway to the Galápagos Islands to celebrate her 30th birthday. But then a virus strikes New York and Finn is unable to leave town. He urges Diana to go as the trip is not refundable and it would be a shame to lose all the money. Diana goes but the trip turns into a nightmare almost immediately. Her luggage is lost, no wi-fi and the entire island is under quarantine with no way for her to leave, Her fate is in the hands of a local family who provide her a place to stay and food. She befriends the daughter and realizes that she is struggling with a secret. She also finds herself having feelings for the father and loving the life on the island, suddenly she questions her life in New York and the choices she has made for her life.

Then the plot changes and a different story emerges that reflects the tragedy of the pandemic and the effects it has on the body and mind of its victims.

Thanks to Jodi Picoult and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine

Jodi Picoult has done it again. Mesmerizing story of what could be in today's pandemic. It could happen to any of us and how would we handle it? Must read.

This is philosophical, metal psychical and psychological novel about how human lives evolve, how they change, how adapt in new normal but mostly it’s about how to stay alive and protect our sanity when all hell breaks loose?

This book centers on Diana, who, at 29 years old, is living a steady and organized life that was going exactly as she planned it. Lo and behold, COVID hits and disrupts the vacation she had planned with her boyfriend, Finn, where she expected him to propose. Finn insists she goes anyway, as he is a doctor and will be working nonstop due to the pandemic. Diana embarks to the Galápagos Islands on her own, where she goes on an unexpected journey of self reflection and re-examining what she is looking for out of life.

Reading about COVID felt too soon but was actually really interesting, as I could picture what it would be like to read this book 25 years from now and be transported back to this crazy time in our history. I found Diana herself to be well characterized- she felt human and real throughout the story. There’s always a twist in a Picoult book and when it comes, it was wholly unexpected and took the rest of the story to another level. There was no one in this book that I couldn’t relate to in one way or another.

After an interminable time of social isolation, many people are just now cautiously venturing out in public places amid fear of re-infection due to the coronavirus. Jodi Picoult's latest book, "Wish You Were Here" is a very relevant piece exploring the physical and mental effects of the pandemic on the unfortunate victims and their loved ones. An author of Picoult's calibre was able to expertly handle the anxiety and trepidation felt during the last 15 months while expertly weaving in a story with fictional characters.

Diana is an associate specialist at Sotheby's in New York with her career on the rise and a future going according to plan. She is living with her boyfriend, Finn, a resident in the surgery department at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Diana and Finn are suppose to go on a two week vacation to the Galapagos Islands but Finn has to back out due to rising coronavirus cases in the emergency room. He insists that Diana goes without him since they can't get their trip refunded. So Diana reluctantly goes by herself.

What follows is a mesmerizing story that will capture your heart and your mind. Amid the beauty of the Galapagos Islands, Diana starts to question what she really wants out of her life. Things that had once seemed so important, now appear inconsequential. Diana wonders how she will be able to assimilate into her old life once travel restrictions are lifted and she is able to return to the United States.

The second half of this book is totally unexpected, but a haunting reminder of the devastating effects of the pandemic. Jodi Picoult is a master at her craft which is evident in this gripping and powerful story. This is a potent reminder of our current history, which we are all navigating together.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House-Ballantine Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wish You Were Here is a story of choices - Diana O'Toole is an up and coming mover and shaker in the art world at Sotheby's - and just landed the auction of the century. Her life is moving according to plan, and the next step will be her engagement to her surgical resident boyfriend, Finn. Diana feels a proposal will be coming on their vacation to the Galápagos Islands - she has even found the box in Finn's drawer.
What Diana doesn't know is that Finn will come home that night from his hospital in NYC and drop that bomb that Covid-19 is here, and there will be no trip for him. He encourages her to go on her own, and she finds herself stranded on an island paradise, where she meets a new man, his daughter, and begins to question her life choices. There is a major plot twist I don't want to reveal, because it is essential to the story - but it keeps you reading and wondering what Diana will do. Thank you to NetGalley for providing an Advanced Reader copy.

Part fantasy part reality. An interesting and titillating read. One of the great author's if out time has done the incredible again.
A story of love and loss. Or is it?
I was totally emersed in the story line and greatly surprised at the ending. A fabulous book.

Diana is an art specialist buying expensive art for Sotheby’s. Her boyfriend, Finn, is an emergency physician at a hospital. They have purchased tickets for a much-needed vacation to the Galapagos. Covid is just beginning in New York City and Finn’s attending physician declares all doctors are needed and discourages his vacation. Diana believes Finn thinks she should go by herself. When Diana arrives at her destination, her hotel has closed due to Covid and there is no returning ferry. She is reunited with a teen from the ferry and Diana ends up staying in Beatriz’s grandmother’s apartment kept her for son Gabriel, Beatriz’s father. Diana is isolated on the island with plenty of time to think about her life and what she really wants to do with it. Meanwhile, she receives messages from Finn, telling her how much he misses her and what his life is like with Covid patients. Finn’s fear and helpless feelings add to his desperation and exhaustion. This book really looks at the importance in trying to understand oneself, being honest with others, and being strong enough to realize how experiences in life make you a different person. Great book, includes lots of research on Covid, and gives the reader a lot to think about.