This book, crafted in what has to be record time, was simply amazing. I was totally expecting an entirely different novel that I had chatted with Picoult about over perhaps the past three years. Having been assured that book was coming in 2022, I was hopeful that this was it. As I read, my disappointment that I would still have to wait longer was replaced with my awe for the amazing author Picoult is, and that as we lived history, she crafted a deep and touching novel that was so timely, born of the history we are still living to this day. No corners were cut, and yet here is a novel that will stand up to the tests of time as if it was years from start to finish. Nothing is held back, and this is an experience that touches every living person on our blue planet.

As a fan of Jodi Picoult , I was easily drawn to this book. In her notes, she states that she wrote this book at lightening speed. We are still in the pandemic, and the book tells of struggles during the pandemic.
They characters are well developed, and it is an easy, fast read.
The author continues to dapple in the "unseen" world as she has in her last few books. She makes you question
what is reality, and can there be multiple realities ?
Highly recommended read

I think most people would agree that if we've learned anything from COVID, it's that art and pop culture got us through. Books, movies, TV and music helped us process what was going on and was also a great distraction. (And shout out to the Tiger King reference in this book because I think 99% of the country did end up watching it.)

Usually we require distance and time to be able to fully process traumatic events, but this book served a very valuable purpose. It showcased the heroics of frontline workers and made what they went through very, VERY obvious. It's something that we know on an intellectual level but this made me feel it on a visceral one. Finn's emails to Diana literally took my breath away. But the book also showed the necessity of grief and stopping to really think about what's been lost.

Perhaps most valuable of all? The end was set a couple of years into the future. Obviously I know that it's going to end (and that, thanks to vaccines, it's already in the process of ending) but seeing the world starting to move on and then being much closer to normal than we are now felt like the best possible thing to read.

But here's the other thing. This review may make you think that this book is Dealing With COVID: An Exercise in Trauma and it's really not that. One of the best things about Jodi Picoult's books are that the characters are passionate about things. (Sidebar: it's not that I don't care about things like art or multiverses or evolution or elephants or any of the other things I've learned about in her books. It's that they're things I don't really think about and so reading people talk about the things that they love makes me very interested and engaged in those topics. Hearing Diana discuss art with various people in this book was just fascinating and added real depth to it for me.)

This book feels like magic and also a little bit like a continuation of The Book of Two Ways. Both seem like they were meant for this specific time (The Book of Two Ways with its discussion of death and grief felt like a metaphor for COVID and pandemic life and this was a more upfront discussion) and both have been a vey real part of getting me through this particular time. They're both acknowledgments that, although things can be very bleak, there is always hope.

There's a part toward the end where Diana is speaking with someone whose art she may auction off (a very fun semi-veiled reference) and the woman says that art is a conversation, that the artist begins the dialogue but that the viewer continues it with what they're bringing as their perspective and that the perspective will always change because the viewer is changing.

This feels like the absolute best conversation. Highly recommended.

Wow. This is book is nothing like Jodi has written before and I loved it. It is based in March 2020, right when Covid hits NYC. To read about what just happened a year ago, was quite chilling honestly. To hear the perspective of a doctor in the epicenter of this virus to how many people reacted differently to this virus...it was fantastic. A decent amount of the book is based in the Galapagos Islands- a now dream destination for me to visit. You will laugh, cry and truly enjoy this novel.

O-M-G! This is one intense, emotional novel!
I loved it and will be re-reading again to remember how it made me feel! It is that good!!
Diana and Finn plan a trip to the Galapagos, where Finn will propose and they can begin their life and goals together.
However, Finn is suddenly unable to go on this trip.
He is a hospital resident in NYC, and it has become "All hands on deck" due to an incoming virus that is threatening the world!
Finn tells Diana to go on vacation without him. She will be safer away from the city.
She leaves and even away from the tragedy in the USA,; the loneliness, isolation, lack of supplies, lack of internet and feelings of guilt for Diana begin to take over as they do for everyone world wide.
The journey continues for Diana.
How long must she remain on the island? Will she be able to leave? How will Finn be alone without Diana?

This is one book that is not an easy read, yet definitely will be one that will be shared and read for years to come!
I give it ten stars!!

The pandemic from the aspect of a survivor is a fascinating twist. It is impossible to write anything about the story itself without creating a spoiler. However, Diana and her boyfriend Finn are very well-crafted characters who, like the rest of us, are thrust into the great unknown of Covid 19. Their perfectly planned lives are completely up-ended in ways they could never imagine. Picoult writes about an incredibly difficult time in our human history and manages to inject very little politics into what has become a political nightmare. While we do not yet know much about the truth of the pandemic at this time, this novel focuses on the truths of two people on the front lines of the illness. Their realities were shared by millions of people around the world who cared not about politics, but about the safety and care of their loved ones. And in that sense this story is one that will ring true no matter what we discover in hindsight.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this title.

Diana O'Toole has her life planned out, but when Covid hits, everything is thrown off course. As the world begins to change before her very eyes, her boyfriend insists that she takes their planned trip to the Galapagos Islands and get out of NYC.

Diana's time on the islands changes her, helping her to slow down and realize that the perfectly planned life she saw for herself may not be what she actually wants.

I quickly read this novel. It was enveloping and readable. As with all of Jodi's novels, there were tough subjects, quirks, and twists. It wasn't as in-depth as some of her books, but I actually enjoyed that it was a lighter read, despite the heavy subjects involved.

You knew it was coming—the topic was already becoming part of the plot lines for popular TV shows like “The Good Doctor” and Grey’s Anatomy,” but I was still surprised how quickly I’d come across an advanced copy of a novel about the COVID-19 pandemic.

I adore everything Jodi Picoult writes so if anyone was capable of writing a pandemic story, she would be top on my list. And to clarify, this is not a novel about the pandemic as much as it is a novel about how the pandemic has affected New York residents, Diana, an associate specialist at Sotheby’s, and her boyfriend, Finn, who is a surgical resident. Diana. The couple has planned a getaway to Galápagos, where Diana is convinced Finn will propose—well, she knows he will because she found the ring. Moreover, she is following her life plan: great job, check; marriage by thirty, check. But it’s all hands on deck for doctors in New York, including Finn, because, though it feels like the pandemic is far away in China and Europe, it’s coming to the United States. So, Finn convinces Diana go ahead with the trip, but when Diana arrives at her destination, the island is shutting down (for two weeks—remember how naïve we were?) and she is stuck with closed hotels and restaurants and limited access to Wi-Fi. But Diana find a place to stay in the apartment of a kind older woman, though her grandson (Gabriel) is much more suspicious of Diana’s intentions. Meanwhile, Gabriel’s daughter is struggling and when she reaches out to Diana, Diana is forced to reconcile with her own choices.

My boyfriend I had planned a trip to London in early March, coming back March 14. We debated going up until the last minute and while there, the president implemented travel restrictions, first from Europe, and then the U.K. We got back to the U.S. in time, but reading this novel forced me to wonder, what if? While the novel is told from Diana’s point of view, we get Finn’s story of trying to provide health care just as the number of COVID cases explodes because of his brief phone calls and emails. But COVID isn’t the only topic Jodi Picoult addresses—we see the unique environment of the island through Diana’s eyes. Want to swim with a penguin or sea lion? Diana does it. One reason I have adored Jodi Picoult’s writing is because of her poetic prose and though there are places where she gets heavy handed with the metaphors, I am ready to book my own trip to Galápagos to experience what Diana has.

I wasn’t ready to read a novel about the pandemic, unless it was this novel. Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Hodi Picoult, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Jodi Picoult, once again, delivers with a timely and beautifully told story of how the Covid-19 pandemic makes one woman reevaluate her life. The remarkable plot and setting in the Galapagos is icing on the cake.

WISH YOU WERE HERE
BY JODI PICOULT

I would be remiss without firstly thanking Kathleen Quinlan who I can't thank highly enough for so kindly sending me an email notifying me that my favorite Author Jodi Picoult has just published a new book called, "Wish You Were Here." I am forever grateful to Kathleen and owe her a debt of gratitude. I was so excited that I dropped everything and read this beautifully written evocative novel and to say that I am swooning over this novel is an understatement. This is Jodi's twenty-sixth novel and I have read each and every one of them and loved all of them. This latest one is fantastic and I can truly attest that she gets better and better as a writer with her beautiful prose. Once again she has written an amazing novel with character's who I loved.

She has really outdone herself by delivering a fantastic novel that I LOVED! It was sooooooo good !!! It captivated me from the very beginning until I read the outstanding ending She is one of those rare Author's that always manages to write compelling and completely unique narratives that captures relevant themes and issues that everyone can relate to. Her characterizations are always so incredibly fresh and interesting that I feel as though I am experiencing what they are as I forget that I am reading and feel like I am intimately acquainted with them on their journeys until I read the final stunning words.

Each time that Jodi writes a new novel I am amazed at how brilliantly original her subject matter is. I think that her latest novel called, "Wish You Were Here," is not only going to inform the reader, but will also validate their individual experience. I am highly, highly recommending this to everyone that I know without giving details that would spoil the plot, which every single person can relate to by reflecting how they look backwards and ahead. The writing flowed and the dialogue sparkled and popped and I was deeply immersed so that I read the entire book in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. It is that good that I can assure you that once you pick this one up you will lose track of time as I did.

WOW! What a twist that I never saw coming which elevates this to be an unforgettable read that is a new favorite of 2021. When I can, I always attend her Author events and book signings so that I can add a signed First edition, First printing hardcover of her physical book to add to my collection. I have all twenty-five of her previous novels which have been personally inscribed to me by Jodi who goes out of her way to write something inspiring to me. She is always so humble and personable and I enjoy her talks about what inspires her to write a particular story. She used to vacation every Summer in Newburyport, MA where I first had the pleasure of meeting her when her children were small. Now, two of them are married and have graduated from college that I know of at this time. I love Jodi's personality to which she remains humble and kind regardless of her stellar success as an accomplished award winning writer whose achievements are staggering and remarkable.

With each new book that she crafts that I have read and enjoyed I am awed by how diverse each one is that she manages to create. I am sorry that I have read this one so fast instead of slowly savoring it and making my reading of it last. I was so enthralled by its main character named Diana that I couldn't help myself and gave in to my temptation to devour it. I am already looking forward to her next work of art and hope that I get a chance to see her if she decides to tour now that everything is now opening up after over a year of isolation because of the pandemic.

I can firmly say that her newest offering will appeal to everyone not just women. Everyone who loves to read no matter what their favorite genres or male or female of all ages across the board will find this novel is a masterpiece and they will know someone if not themselves to have experienced what transpires with Dianna. Jodi is one of the finest contemporary writer's in the world. Her body of work is outstanding and I can always depend on her newest release to be original. What I am trying to convey is that the subjects that she tackles is always unlike anything that else that you have read before. Jodi's novels have a vision that is her signature style that wholly belongs to her that nobody else has ever imagined yet. Which is quite a feat of that few author's can claim to be able to be in the same category for writing such fresh and sometimes controversial themes.

You will marvel at how this author has sculptured such a timely masterpiece in record time as she shares in her Author's note. Be sure to read it because she shares how fast this work of art that is so unlike anything that I have read at the time I have written this review. This makes her a true trailblazer to be the first fiction writer who I know of to have rendered this universal and historical topic with such a stark and realistic savvy portrayal. I am proud to share that I live in the same State as this prodigious author.

For me to reveal a summery of this plot in this novel would reveal spoilers which I feel would ruin your enjoyment of discovering how universal and timeless this plot is. I will guarantee you that you have recently lived it or know someone else who has to some degree. This will appeal to everyone and I urge you to pre-order your copy today. I am still swooning over this. It is eery, evocative and emotional at times once you untangle the curve ball that will come as a shock and I will guarantee you that it will leave you as to not in your wildest dreams see coming either. Jodi Picoult will dazzle you and you will come away believing that she is still writing at the peak of her power. If you haven't read any of her books I would highly encourage you to do so.

Publication Date: November 30, 2021

A special thank you to Kathleen Quinlan whom I can't thank enough for taking the time out of her busy schedule to inform me that Jodi Picoult had a early digital copy of this marvelous novel waiting for me to read and review with a link provided waiting for me to download with an automatic approval.

As always thank you to Net Galley, Jodi Picoult and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for generously sharing with me my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#WishYouWereHere #JodiPicoult #RandomHousePublishingGroupBallantine #NetGalley

This is an original book that relates to near death experience but also with the recent Covid Pandemic crisis. This will assist future generations who read this book to remember the Global shut down and pandemic related to a virus.

The Story follows Diana through her prepandemic priorities with her boyfriend Finn their goals and dreams of the future. The Diana goes on vacation right before the shutdown without Finn who is studying to be a surgeon and has to be available to work with Covid patience. Diana finds a different life in the Islands and a new side of herself that she lost, until another near death experience awakes her to the reality of what has happened to her and her life..

Jodi Picoult writes about life, death and how priorities change with a different perspective. She gives voice to the pandemic as well as documents the fear, uncertainty associated with the shut down. No matter what people's perspectives are about the pandemic, the political arena and everything else that has since surfaced it brings light to how the pandemic has changed everyone's life and perspective on the future.

NO SPOILERS….
…..It’s mid June, 2021. I’m reviewing this novel early.
“Wish You Were Here”, will be released in stores in November, 2021.

Diana O’Toole, an associate specialist at Sotheby’s, (one of the worlds largest brokers of art collectibles), and Finn Colson, (a surgical resident at the New York Presbyterian Hospital), were going to Galapagos.
It was an expensive trip for two millennials in New York, but they had been saving up for four years. Diana was sure that Finn would propose to her once on the island.

At last minute, due to a virus, (only 19 cases of covid in New York at the time), Finn was told that within a couple of days, the emergency dept. at hospital would be swamped. He couldn’t leave.
Finn thought Diana should still go — take the vacation alone.
Disheartening and hesitant, Diana agrees.

Once in Galapagos…the archipelago of the volcanic islands—marine turtles, sea lions, penguins, iguanas, hood mockingbirds, mangrove trees, black lava, strong sun, and where Charles Darwins theory of evolution by natural selection was formed, Diana’s vacation goes haywire. Her luggage was lost. She was in a country where she didn’t speak the language. The internet connection was spotty at best, and the entire island was newly under quarantine. She meets a few locals - and with relentless storytelling, Jodi Picoult starts reeling us in.

Jodi Piciout is a great observer and describer of the vagaries of life. She has a way of creating characters that are flawed, yet sympathetic, vulnerable, yet strong. She demonstrates that once again, no topic is off-limits or too difficult to handle.
She pulled this novel off flawlessly….by eliciting strong emotional reactions.
The reveals are skillfully written… showing readers bits and pieces until the full picture emerges.

….As the narrative took a compelling, and unexpected turn, I found it impossible to put this book down.
….I wanted the story to move in a different direction…yet the choices Jodi made were an uncomfortable gift. While Diana, (a protagonist that was both challenging and easy to understand), was grappling with what she wanted, what she needed, and how life circumstances were changing her….I was asking myself the same questions.

….I was sad to leave the characters I came to care about…..[characters who Picoult reached deeply into their souls to make them come alive]
….I was sobbing towards the end (I can’t intellectualize or explain the rawness of my full anguish, away even if I tried) — I just know I felt overwhelmingly sad.
….My body felt drained. I was aware of my own fragility, and vulnerability to the shock, sadness, and loss experienced from the powerful realistic emotional punch of heartbreaking unyielding mind-boggling storytelling.

It cuts to the bone—not sunny, nor sappy…..
…..yet Jodi Picoult, not only wrote this novel free from fear, passionate, gentle, and for her characters survival, but for ours too.

It’s no accident Jodi Picoult is one of the foremost Best Selling authors of her generation. And this novel, might just be her finest work yet.

Book Review for Wish You Were Here

Full feature for this title will be posted at: @cattleboobooks on Instagram!

Thanks so much for the review copy. It was so nice to travel to Galapagos. Holy plot twist, Batman. I love that she tackled the subject of Covid. People are going to love this book.

Wish you were here
I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wow, I was so excited to be invited to read and review Jodi Picoult’s upcoming novel. I have read most of her books, she is definitely on my favorite author list. I was fortunate to meet her in person at a book signing of the Storyteller in Connecticut some years ago.
Needless to say, I was not disappointed. The author once again wrote a novel I couldn’t put down.
Diana works for the auction house Sotheby’s and has all her life planned out: get married at 30, have a child at 35, buy a house in the suburb, etc. But then COVID and the pandemic happens, upending all lives, not just Diana’s. Diana’s boyfriend Finn is a doctor in a New York City hospital experiencing first hand the horror of the pandemic. As usual, the author has done thorough research writing this book, the medical aspects of Covid, the art auction word and the Galapagos island that is on Diana’s bucket list of places to visit.
I found Diana’s current experiences interlaced with her background a little choppy , but that didn’t take away from my overall positive review of this book. In usual Jodi Picoult fashion, you will find the unexpected twist, when you least expect it.
I cannot believe how quickly this book was written, especially reading the author’s note at the end, saying she couldn’t read or write in the beginning. Many years from now, when hopefully this pandemic will be in our rear view mirror, as a bad memory this book will show readers what it was like. Definitely 5 stars.
Thanks NetGalley, the publisher and Jodi Picoult for the advanced copy.

This is possibly the most stunning, breathtaking, mindblowing book I have ever read in my entire life. The whole thing felt so real, raw, hopeful, and devastating, from beginning to end. And I have NEVER had full body goosebumps while reading like I did with this book. Jodi Picoult has knocked it out of the park! I need more than five stars, and more than one read through to fully explain how amazing this book was.

Every year, I look forward to another Jodi Picoult book. Wish You Were Here is worth the wait. It has been said that we’re all in this pandemic together, but we certainly all aren’t feeling it in the same way. Picoult takes a unique approach to one woman’s experience with COVID and the way the aftermath plays out. An excellent read, I would recommend it to all.

one thing I should mention before writing this review, is that I have been in a medically induced coma for a week and intubated for 5 days.
With that being said, Ms. Picoult NAILED what its like being in a coma.
The thoughts, the feelings, the fleeting glimpses of something else.
For myself, I could see words float by from when my husband read me the newspaper.
This story hit me like a gut punch.
I could relate to Diana, I went through physical therapy. I remember how exhausting just waking up and trying to sit up.
This book hits me in the heart, from what Finn was going through, to the people trapped in paradise.
I fell in love with this book and COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN!

Its so believable and the author really makes you think about time, death, and where your brain/mind goes when your body is sedated.

Thanks to Netgalley and to the publisher for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult . From the sunny Galapagos Islands to the grim reality of the pandemic in NYC, Ms Picoult has written an amazing, well crafted, and thought provoking story. The villain in all of this is COVID19. All the characters, Diana, Finn, Gabriel, Beatriz, are extremely reliable. Even the sunloving, pier blocking sea lion is well portrayed. The ending is pure Picoult Gold and is the OMGoodness moment. Highly recommended.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine, Ms Picoult, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and Random House/Ballantine for an e-ARC of "Wish you were Here." This book wasn't the book that Jodi likely planned to write in 2020, but it became the one that will help us remember the crazy time we lived through that was 2020. Just as the whisperings of a virus are starting, Diana and her fiance, Finn, prepare to travel to the Galapagos Island. Finn is a resident, so he has to stay behind and work, while he encouraged Diana to take the trip. The virus morphs into the pandemic we lived through, and the book does an admirable job of expressing the frustrations physicians lived through, the uncertainty and the loss we lived. There are some twists that take the book into a direction I hadn't anticipated, but it was fascinating. Beyond so. I highlighted many pages, and it sparked conversations with my family. I also loved the author's afterward, with her experiences throughout the pandemic. Get this book, read it, and then save a copy to read again in a few years to see how we feel looking back. Highly recommended.