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.

What an awesome treat! A Jodi Picoult book to savor and reflect post quarantine. Picoult has managed to give voice to how a lot of us felt while in the throes of the pandemic. The medical emails were spot on and intense. The Galapagos descriptions gave this reader such vivid descriptions that I’ve just added it to my travel bucket list. I really needed this unexpected surprise from Jodi Picoult!

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review a book by one of my favorite authors! When I was invited to read this one I had no idea what it was about and I just dove right into it not knowing the plot takes place during the Covid pandemic. While I was reading this I had mixed feelings because as of right now we are not yet completely done with Covid even though restrictions have eased up. I just was not ready to read a book with Covid in it just yet. I totally agree that she needed to write about it and preserve history in her fictional way, but it really just is too soon and some parts did feel rushed. However, her book was great and as usual contained some great wisdom. Diana and Finn are supposed to go on vacation in the Galapagos. When Covid hits she still goes, but Finn has to stay behind because he is a doctor. The BIG twist at 60% really saved the book in my opinion so JUST KEEP READING!

Diana and Finn are young New Yorkers, each growing in their own careers, and expecting an engagement and marriage in the near future. A trip to the Galapagos islands seems like the perfect place for that engagement to happen, but then this virus starts to grow and raise concerns. Finn suggests that Diana go on without her as he isn't able to leave his work at the hospital. Diana gets to the island just to see the last charter boat back to the mainland. She stays and finds herself exploring not only the island and new culture, but getting to know the people there better, and also exploring and getting to know herself and her life better too.

When I saw this book was about Covid, I was a little hesitant, but it is presented and woven into the story in a very effective manner. I appreciated that this story also shared more of the experiences of some of the healthcare workers whose lives were turned upside down by the covid virus.

This book has some significant twists and unexpected events, that made me exclaim out loud while i was reading!

The first half of "Wish You Were Here" is pretty formulaic. Diana is in art sales at Sotheby's, and she has her life planned out to the nth degree. This includes hospital resident Finn, and they are about to embark on a trip to the Galapagos when Finn is called back to the hospital to deal with an outbreak of this novel coronavirus. He convinces her to go on her own, which she does, and, of course, gets stranded there when the world closes down.

It's hard to remember time when we knew so little about what was about to smack us down that a doctor could advise his fiancee to take a vacation to a remote foreign island while he tended to the dying. The island has spotty internet, so their communications are sporadic and confusing. Islanders take pity on Diana and help her survive, especially a teenage girl and later, her father. The pandemic is going full blast, so . . .

And then, "Wish You Were Here" becomes a different, much more interesting story. No spoilers from me, but the novel delves into the subconscious, what happens to people's minds when they are unconscious and their bodies are battling to survive. Where do those dreams and thoughts come from? Diana's mother was always emotionally absent, but will her advanced Alzheimer's allow another version of herself to push through?

I see that a lot of reviewers didn't like "The Book of Two Ways," which I adored. Picault's exploration of the life to death transition and how two cultures do their best to explain it was riveting to me. What I liked about this new novel is her exploration of these issues, the question of what is real and what is not, and the balance that is so delicate that it took an unheard of virus to make us aware.

~~Candace Siegle, Greedy Reader

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and the timeliness of the topic. I've read several other books by Picoult, and this one is similar in that it's highly readable and there's typically a "twist". It depicts the anxiety and fear of the unknown that we all experienced, especially at the beginning of COVID. I'll continue to read more by Picoult in the future!

I know that Jodi Picoult is a Princeton grad, but I believe she is the only alumna who consistently writes "ripped from the headlines" novels" that go on to become best sellers and popular films. And she manages to do it in record time. The Book of Two Ways was published within the past year and suddenly, she presents Wish You Were Here, another sure-to-be best seller.

Considering how quickly this book followed her last, it is surprisingly timely and gripping. I couldn't stop reading and finished it in one day. Wish you were here begins in the earliest days of the pandemic when
Diana O'Toole, Sotheby's impressionist art maven has to take a vacation for two to the Galapagos alone because her boyfriend Finn, a surgery resident in New York's Columbia Presbyterian hospital is unable to join her due to the rapid influx of Covid patients..

She arrives, sans luggage (isn't it always lost?), on the island of Isabela, with almost nothing. She doesn't speak Spanish and has only the clothes she's wearing and a bathing suit. Picoult's writing and her way with a phrase will enchant you from the beginning. I hesitate to say more so as not to distract from a novel you simply must read. You will learn a lot about Covid, Alzheimer's, art and photography and biology. You will finish the book with a deep sigh of satisfaction and await her next novel. (Soon?) Go, Jodi! Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for this early chance to read. All opinions are my own and unsolicited.

There isn’t a whole lot that I can say about this book without ruining the twist that I didn’t see coming, but I thoroughly enjoyed this book. it was a way of paying homage to the last year that we all went through and also lessons learned from this past year. Well done Jodi!!!

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review

Jodi Picoult wrote a pandemic novel. How do you feel about that is how you feel about it. If that’s not something you’re into, just let it be. However, going into it with an open mind, it was better than expected. I was expecting a 3.5, but the writing had a fair degree of unexpected humor that made it a full 4.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. Jodi Picoult has an amazing ability to write books about the latest hot topics. This one is no different. The day before Diana and her soon to be fiancé is to fly to a bucket list trip to the Galapagos, the first cases of Corona has hit NYC. Finn, being a doctor has to stay behind while Diana goes on their nonrefundable trip. Once she arrives, the island shuts down, she is stranded and no place to stay. With spotty WIFI, she can't tell Finn that she has arrived and now stuck. Finn working 40+ straight hours in the Covid ICU instead of the surgical ward is dealing with his own stresses. Then....a huge twist half way through the book that took me by complete surprise. This book was so very good. It told the reality of the pandemic and how hard hit the front line workers were, not to mention a compete shut down of most destinations. No politics written, just truths. Read it! #wishyouwerehere #jodipicoult #nov2021

One of the most heart breaking books Ive read. For me this put a human face to different people during this pandemic. Absolutely incredible

I mean, its Jodi Picoult. Once again, she nails it. This time, with Covid, still happening for so many. Her "world in world' here is ....... amazing. My knee jerk was REALLY? Bobby from Dallas??? But, she turned it into SOOOOOOO much more. Thank you Jodi, you did it again.

The more you read, the more you will Iove this new book. The last third was fascinating, heart wrenching and very real. Kudos to the author for finding such a very unique but honest way of showing just how this horrible pandemic has disrupted lives all over the world, usually drastically rerouting everything, every family, healthcare workers and even people in remote places far from "civilization". Excellent first person research behind this novel--be sure to read the author's comments at the end!

Realistic Fiction. The initial onset of the COVID pandemic has just begun. Diana becomes separated from her live-in boyfriend and doc intern, Finn. She ends up stranded in the Galápagos Islands after travel halts while Finn begins "living" in the hospital as patient numbers rise exponentially. With sporadic (to no) cell service and internet, Diana lives each day reevaluating her relationships (work, parent, boyfriend, self) and exploring Isabela Island's hidden beauties. Her primary companions are Abuela, a young girl and father, and her worries about returning to any type of normalcy -- if there is that.
Just WOW! I'm a fan of all Picoult novels-- this one is no exception-- beautifully written. Definitely exposes all the tragedies of the pandemic with a large focus on isolation, loss, and love.