Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult blew me away. You had me at a book of the art market and New York and it turned into so much more. I was relieving the pandemic here in New York and Jodi Picoult did an amazing job telling it and teaching us so much more. She is such a superb story teller and this book is just above and beyond!

I really haven't enjoy a Jodi Picoult book in a couple of years. The last book of hers that I read and loved was called "Small Great Things" which was a novel about race and racism, and I loved it so much that, I still think about that book today and how it changed my way of thinking. After that her books just seemed to let go. I couldn't get interested in the story line, and at times it felt like she was preaching her beliefs at the reader instead of presenting both sides and letting you think about how you felt. Her older novels did that very thing...she would give you both sides of a situation and let you stew in your thoughts about it. And make you want to talk with other people about their thoughts. Finally this book, Wish You Were Here, brought back the author I used to love to read and devour the story in two days. I was hooked from the beginning. Maybe it's because COVID has affected so many of us this last year that it made it seem more relevant or maybe she just finally wrote another great novel. Once I started this book I couldn't stop. Torn between two worlds, getting a chance to start fresh, having so much and yet feeling so lonely. Great job JP!

This book took my breath away, making me terrified, scared, shaking me to the core: I’m overwhelmed because of dealing with complex feelings at the same time: sadness, amusement, excitement, stress, worry,anxiousness…

It’s another Sliding Doors theme: where you could be and what kind of situations you may deal with if you make different choices about your life in the middle of pandemic.

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?

Diane O’Toole, associate assistant at Sotheby’s, living with her surgical resident boyfriend Finn in NYC, mapped out her entire life with him: the house they live, the children they have, the bucket list trips they go, the retirement plans etc.

Nearly four years they saved up for Galapagos trip they planned: this is the best time for Diane because legendary Kitomi Ito ( quiet twin of Yoko Ono) decided to postpone the auction of the famous Toulouse - Lautrec painting she owned because of uprising of contagious virus. This auction of masterpiece could bring the promotion to Diane, she’s working so hard for.

But she is still keeping her hopes up: because she found a ring is hidden inside Finn’s socks. This means he’s planning to propose on their vacation and she’s going to say: yes! She’s gonna celebrate her 30th birthday as an engaged woman.

Well, when they made plans, God laughed and eventually Finn admits: it’s all hands on deck at the hospital: the COVID cases start to hit NYC faster than they imagine. So he offers her to go alone and interestingly she accepts!

But as soon as she gets off the plane she realizes her baggage is missing and that’s not the only predicament she has to face. When she gets off the ferry to walk to her hotel, she realizes her hotel is closed and for two weeks the entire island is shut down for quarantine.

Thankfully a local woman provides her a house to stay, leaving traditional food at her kitchen. But Diane gets herself trapped in an island without knowing the langue islanders talk, failing to obey the curfew times, dealing with the hostile manners of a mysterious, charismatic man and her cash is about to run out at this place which doesn’t have any ATM machines. Did I also tell you there’s no proper internet connection! She starts writing postcards to communicate with Finn but the post office is also close. How will she send them?

But her fate crosses with this charismatic mysterious man and his daughter which probably change her entire vision and perspective about the island!

I’m not giving more spoilers! But i can only say that in the middle of the book, I dropped my e-reader and I screamed WTH!

After shocking, jaw dropping revelation later, thankfully we didn’t have a bumpy ride. The emotional approach of the story and fair- satisfying ending made me smile a lot. I think I can give 10 stars for the heartfelt, earth shattering ending! It’s like last epic scene of remarkable movie!

This book realistically tells us the terrifying and ugly face of COVID- 19. Especially Finn’s emails draw dark, compelling, horrifying and also honest depictions about how the entire medical professionals are fighting against the lethal disease. It makes you remind of respecting them so deeply! They are the real heroes who saved our lives and gave us hope to hold on for so long!

Jodi Picoult is amazing storyteller: reflecting the dark face of tragedy we’ve been confronting nearly 1 and half years. She also depicted the perfect pictures of Galapagos. She told us a story of a girl who planned everything to choose different path from her mother she resented for abandoning her. But she also told how to open our hearts and forgive each other to be free from our resentments.

I extremely loved this book so much ! I think this is one of the best works of the author. I liked Dante ( Tenth Circle is her another book focused on Dante’s Inferno), Tiger King ( I agree she is guilty), Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution by natural selection references!

This is one of the books you want to reread at different parts and timelines of your life. Annie’s inner journey will stay in your mind forever and eventually it will encourage you to start your inner journey to find out what you want to do with one and precious life of yours!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

This book was sent to me by Netgalley on Kindle for review. There are not words to describe this book. It is of the times...It is fantastically written, unbelievable, at times, and unique. It was difficult to read because of the topic, the Pandemic. This author has written the first book about this subject-that I have read...it will be out in a few months...Some may avoid reading it, as it is different. It is serious...surprising...about how we have lived this past year...and are living. Truthfully, I can't put into words what I experienced reading this book.

Thank you NetGalley, Ballantine (my favorite pub Ever) and Author for this outstanding novel!

Wish You Were Here by Jodi was a great story!
Picoult has an amazing ability to write and keep the reader intrigued!
Real coronavirus pandemic with a fictional characters...... I'm here for it!
This is a well-written novel with strong characters. Was a joy to read.
I don't want to give much away other than read this amazing book. You won't be sorry!
I simply couldn't turn my head away from my screen.

Again thanks for the amazing opportunity to read and review for an honest review.
I will post to my Goodreads, Bookstagram and Facebook accounts closer to pub date!

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a great fiction that is quite unique and kept me interested throughout.

This book is much more then a romance novel or a novel about COVID19. It is about finding oneself, questioning the fundamental aspects of life: who we are, who we want to be, what matters, what is love, where is home, and how do we want to get there?

These questions, and many more, are what Diana grapples with while isolated on what was supposed to be a joint vacation with her boyfriend Finn, but what ends up being a moment of clarity and awakening while on the Galapagos Islands.

While preserving the twists, turns, and surprises, I will say no more as the novel continues on in ways I was not expecting, and will forever remember. Let me just say it will bring out plenty of emotions and will stay with you long after you finish.

5/5 stars

Thank you NG and Ballantine Books/Random House for this wonderful arc and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, Instagram, and B&N accounts upon publication.

The very best fiction helps us process our world in ways we are not yet able to do for ourselves. Author Jodi Picoult is a master at turning mirrors in different directions and sending prisms of light back at readers, always illuminating our worlds in ways we hadn’t seen before. WISH YOU WERE HERE is just such a novel and very timely. I offer no secrets about the book; I refuse to ruin it. I read it quickly because I couldn’t put it down. A 29 year old woman whose life is planned out is faced with going on her vacation on the eve of the Pandemic or losing all the money they paid for it. Her physician boyfriend is on emergency room rotation. They live in New York. Obviously, it was hard to predict what to do before COVID began. It’s still hard to predict what to do. The book is excellent. I received my copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

I'll be honest: I wasn't sure I was ready to read a novel about the pandemic quite yet. But I quickly found that I'm ALWAYS ready to read anything Jodi Picoult feels compelled to write—and I tearfully turned the final pages of this book filled with gratitude that she chose this topic, these characters, this time. There is so much here that deserves to be chronicled, and yet in Picoult's insightful, thoughtful hands, the 2020 landscape isn't just familiar ground, but a foundation for something new: One character's soul search for what really matters, what we really want out of life, and how clarity can come even—perhaps especially—in the midst of life-altering chaos. What a treat to receive a Netgalley copy ahead of publication: Do not seek spoilers, do not ask questions, just add this to your must read list for fall.

Diana is about to turn 30 and she is finally going to land the promotion she has been working for. She and her boyfriend,Finn, a surgical resident, are going on a long planned trip to the Galapagos.
Suddenly Finn is stuck in the hospital helping with a virus that has the city on alert. He persuades Diana to go on the trip without him.
Upon landing Diana is faced with no hotel and no internet. She feels very isolated. The island is in quarantine. There is no way out.
Diana meets a troubled teenage girl on the island and with her help she is able to explore the island and herself.
Diana is learning that everything is not what it seems. Will she come home the same person? Wanting the same things that were so important.
Readers of Jodi Picoult will not be disappointed in this unique account of the pandemic.

I don't know how she did it - but this book is the BEST yet! I couldn't put it down. She put into words what so many of us have gone through this past year - engaging, engrossing - just wow.

This is the COVID-19 book I didn't think we were ready for yet. And yet it's so much more than a COVID story. The interweaving of the letters from Finn and the account of her situation by Diana make for a brilliant balance of perspectives. And ultimately it's about making choices that honor your dreams and celebrate small wins.

As usual, this was a Jodi Picoult book I loved, it what else would you expect? This one 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. The only thing I questioned a bit was how easily she dealt with all the things that went wrong as soon as she got onto the island- I felt that someone as tightly wound as as was would’ve freaked out a lot more than she did. Minor nit, though. 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.

I’d strongly recommend this book, even if you don’t think you are ready to read about COVID- it’s an engaging and poignant story, and also brilliantly researched, as I’ve come to expect from Picoult. I always walk away not only having learned something, but being interested enough to do some follow up googling on whatever it was (art in this case). Thanks to Netgalley for offering me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

While still being in the pandemic I wasn’t sure I wanted to read about COVID-19 but that quickly ended once I began this novel. The author’s extensive research is once again apparent throughout this novel as she writes about the symptoms and treatment of this virus. Jodi writes characters that come to life as we experience the effects of this virus on world. The story kept me engaged throughout as Jodi chronicles what we have been living through this past year and a half. Coming out in November and not to be missed! Well done and 10 out of 5 stars!
#WishYouWereHere #JodiPicoult #NetGalley

I was stunned when I saw a Jodi Picoult book getting read to be out so soon after her last novel. This is a very on course to what we are going through as a world with Covid-19. Once again in Jodi's style the ending is absolutely not what I was thinking it was going to be. I loved the story line. I think many of us could benefit reading this new novel. I will be recommending this to many readers.

Admittedly, I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult. Her stories are well-researched, powerful, sometimes heartbreaking, but always thought provoking. The characters and stories will stay with you. I was thrilled to get an ARC from Random House to read her new novel, Wish You Were Here, that comes out in November 2021. I intentionally did not look on-line to read the summary prior to reading so these impressions are my own. In the book Diana O’Toole has a plan for her life, but this plan did not include a worldwide pandemic. She had plans for a promotion at work and a bucket list trip with her hopefully soon to be fiance. Unfortunately, her boyfriend is a surgical resident in NYC and his hospital is starting to see a rise in COVID cases and he has to break the news to her that he has to stay behind. Diane decides to travel on their dream trip anyway, but immediately runs into complications that leave her stranded on an island that has shut down due to the virus. The story is told from her perspective of an isolated tourist in a foreign country and from the perspective of e-mails from her traumatized boyfriend who is exhausted, overworked, and overwhelmed trying to keep up with the needs back home. Through his correspondence we feel what the front line workers endured. I think this story will resonate with readers because we all lived through this pandemic. Everything stopped. I love the line “When I try to make sense of the past year, it feels to me like the world pressed pause.” There was the initial fun period where people watched Tiger King and then there was the feeling of when is this ever going to end? We all felt scared and isolated. For the lucky ones, we finally had time off and we had nowhere to go. Other people had bigger concerns since they lost their jobs and too many people lost their lives. I admit, this book may be too intense at times for those who experienced the loss of a loved one due to COVID, but it is important to tell the stories. Take a break. Come back. This book gives us permission to process how we all feel about being a survivor. How has this experience changed the way you think about your current choices? How has this book changed how you want to live the rest of your life? There is one point in the book that I wanted to act like a spoiled child and say, nope, I am not reading anymore because things did not go like I wanted. This feeling also mirrored how we felt during COVID. We felt punished, lost, and annoyed at the things we could not control. All of this is normal. In this story we also see how one relationship fares during the pandemic. I will refrain from spoilers, but people will be talking about this one! I highly recommend this book and cannot wait to share it with bookclub.
Thank you #netgalley #wishyouwerehere

Diana and Finn have scheduled a trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos islands. However, their trip is scheduled to begin right when a global pandemic comes to NY. Finn is a hospital resident and gets word that he can not leave and tells Diana she should go alone, and perhaps it would be safer for her there. Although this is outside her comfort zone, she decides to go. When she gets there, on the last Ferry before they close down the Ferry's for two weeks due to the pandemic, she still decides to stay, only to find that she is stranded on an Island where businesses are shutting down. She is adopted by a lovely woman, even though they do not speak the same language and given an apartment to stay in. Sometimes she is given food as well, but ultimately, Diana needs to figure out how to fend for herself in a world so different from her own. One day, she runs into one of the travelers, Beatriz, who was on the same Ferry she was, and they start to develop an unlikely relationship. There is so much more to say about the story line but if I do, I will be providing spoilers which I do not want to do. It took me a little bit to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. Then a twist was thrown in and it shifted how I felt about the book for a bit. Honestly, I got angry at the book for a bit, but then I got back with the program and started to enjoy the book again. I always love Jodi Picoult, and while I could not love this book as much as some of her others, I appreciated reading about someone else's life during the pandemic. I thought I would not want to read about something I had just been living through, but I was wrong on that one. I think this was a tough topic to tackle, but she handled it well. Loved the characters in this book who all came to life for me. Well worth the time to read this one.

I love Jodi Picoult but was hesitant to read Wish You Were Here. The book is about the COVID pandemic and because we are still in the middle of it, I wasn’t sure if I’d enjoy this. However, this book is so much more than the pandemic. The characters are amazing and the plot captivated me the entire way. Jodi Picoult outdid her self again!

Set during the pandemic, Picoult does a masterful job keeping politics out of this story about humanity and how life can change in the blink of an eye. I found myself loving the characters the more they were flushed out on the page. And that plot twist truly threw me in a loop.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

9781984818416

336 Pages
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: November 30, 2021

Fiction, General Fiction (Adult), Women’s Fiction, Covid-19, Quarantine

Diana O’Toole works at Sotheby’s and lives in New York City with her boyfriend, resident surgeon Finn. They are planning on leaving for the Galapagos Islands when the city gets hit with the first patients of the Coronavirus. Finn tells Diana to go without him since the trip was paid in advance and it is silly for both of them to stay home.

As she is arriving on Isabela Island, a mob of people are waiting for the ferry. The ferry operator tells her that the island is closing, and this is the last ferry. She has to decide if she wants to stay or return. She decides she is going to be adventurous and stays. When she walks to her hotel, she sees a woman locking the door. The woman tells her the hotel along with the rest of the island is closed for two weeks. On an island, without her luggage, without knowing the language, without a place to stay, she stands there wondering what to do.

This is a beautiful and well written story that everyone should read. We have all been affected by Covid-19 in some way. The pandemic has caused many of us to feel the isolation more than others. It caused anxiety and made us question the future of the new normal. Like the author, I have respiratory issues and have not been to a grocery store since before the pandemic began. I highly recommend this book.

Jodi Picoult does it again. She's my very favorite author and I was surprised and grateful to be able to read this book early. It is absolutely excellent! She gives the reader all the information they need about Covid is an interesting, compelling novel. I LOVED it...the information reeks of authenticity and the story is so good. Thank you, Jodi!