This one absolutely threw me for a loop! I thought I had it figured out, then Wham! Jodi Picoult did a number on me. When you read this book, and I highly recommended that you do, don’t give up on it! Keep reading to the very end!

Diana O'Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She's not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It's all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

This is one of the first books published about Covid and I thought was quite well done. It takes a deep dive into the lockdown, the healthcare workers, and how it effected us all. The characters are well developed and the small town feel of the Galapagos village was appreciated, The ending has been quite polarizing, but I myself loved how it ended.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher and NetGalley and all opinions are my own.

While I'm sure that Jodi Picoult fans will love this books--I did not. I was invested in the story only to find out that it was a covid dream--for 1/2 the book I thought I was reading one story, only to discover that it was not the plot of the book. I do think there was some interesting information about recovering from covid, but I think we all were aware how much our hospital front line workers were stressed and how absolutely scary it was living around covid, not knowing what the disease was doing or how to fight it--I don't think we need to be hit over the head with it. I found this book rather disappointing, especially after the good start it had.

First of all, I know that I am way overdue for this review. Life and school for me in this season of my life really doesn't leave much time for reading. But I am trying here!

And with this one, I have some thoughts.

First, I started reading this while I also had COVID. So reading a book about people dealing with COVID while I was also going through it was probably not the smartest. My infection hit me pretty bad and my brain fog didn't allow me to binge it right away so it took some time to finish once I started.

Second, part 2 was a surprise to me! I mean I guess I should have seen that coming but I honestly thought the boyfriend was going to die since he was working with COVID patients all day every day it seemed. The decline of their relationship was also sad to me. They both had different traumas that they were dealing with so I assumed pretty early on that it wasn't going anywhere anymore. I normally don't like books where relationships end because of that but I also am glad this was a second chance for both of them.

All of that aside, the author was really accurate in her portrayal of what was happening in NYC while this was going on. She was really spot on with what happens when someone is on a ventilator and coming off of one. I think her historical accuracy was spot on.

Full disclaimer: once I realized this book had a plot line surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, I immediately didn't want to read it anymore. Like most readers during the past 2+ years, I wanted to read a book to escape the reality of the literal dumpster fire that seemed to suffocate me 24/7. Hence why this book was published in November 2021 and I just now got around to read it. However... once I got past the initial "ugggh I don't want to read this book" feeling, Picoult was able to suck me into the book like she has done in the past and I was fully invested in finding out what happened to Diana. I could completely visualize the escape of being on the Galapagos Islands, scuba diving, etc and enjoyed the book despite my initial hesitations.

Wish You Were Here tells the story of Diana, a woman who works in the art world, has a perfect boyfriend, and has her life all planned out. They plan a great vacation, but then, COVID hits, and nothing is what it seems.

I completely enjoyed this book, and was not expecting what I read. It is a story of life, love, loss, and finding yourself against insurmountable challenges. It is never too late to start over. It started off a little slow but quickly picked up.

I definitely recommend this novel. Thank you to the publisher and #NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

I couldn’t stop reading this one. I loved how it tied in the pandemic in an interesting way. The story shocked me at some points and I was surprised how emotionally tied I got to some of the characters.

I understand what Jodi was trying to do with this book but it just wasn't for me. The main character was so obnoxious and frustrating. I felt like the COVID aspect was way too heavy and while well researched, it was too much for this current time. The story felt so forced with covid being the main character essentially. Diana was just an afterthought it feels like. The first half of the book became boring, I understand wanting to explain the pandemic but I feel like society isn't quite ready to revisit COVID in such a hard way.

I absolutely love every book by Jodi, and this one did not disappoint! I read this in one sitting! Thank you for the ARC and for considering my review!

I am well in the minority here, but this was not an enjoyable read for me. I couldn't stand the main character. She was so self absorbed. Her actions and thoughts just infuritated me. And, I was really not ready for full blown Covid talk and life.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors! Like many of her other books, Wish You Were Here is thought-provoking and relevant in today’s world. Picoult weaves Covid, feelings of isolation, dementia, love, loss, and hope into a book I found hard to put down. Five ⭐️ for Wish You Were Here! Thanks to NetGalleyShelf for ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

This was my first Jodi Picoult novel, and I can see why she has such a huge fan base. Her writing is effortless and descriptive.
Wish you were here, follows Diana on her trip overseas at the start of a national pandemic. This book really captures the beginning of covid-19 though a compassionate lens. While Diana is overseas watching from a far, her significant other is on the front line in a hospital. Both perspectives were interesting and reflective.

I will say that Diana was rather an annoying character. Her "self-growth" throughout the novel that led her to make certain decisions, I felt I could not understand. I wanted to feel what she felt when she made these hard decisions, and I just didn't.
This was really difficult to read for me as well. I thought I was really ready for a pandemic book, but I wasn't. I kept picturing my mom on the front lines in a hospital setting and it made my stomach flip. It made me feel angry at our government and healthcare system.


Would really recommend if you feel you are ready for a book about covid-19 and not just a mention of it.


⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️



Ty for the advanced copy!

Classic Jodi Piccoult yet, coming out of two years of Covid this book is so relevant. Will really have you thinking and wondering if this really belongs in the fiction section. Expect to be shocked. A great book - entertaining and thought provoking.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of Jodi Picoult’s novel Wish You Were Here.

Diana’s life is going according to her plan. She works at an auction house and is about to orchestrate a career changing sale of a famous piece of art. Her long-time boyfriend, Finn, is finishing his residency at a local hospital and will be a surgeon. Diana is confident that Finn will propose to her on their upcoming Galapagos vacation and soon, they will be married and buying their first home. Life is perfect in early 2020.

Finn’s boss cancels all vacation requests as pandemic worries begin to grow, but Finn presses Diana to take their vacation alone. Nervous to travel solo and missing Finn, Diana arrives in Galapagos, and is forced to make an quick decision; she can either stay on the island or head back to the airport, with no guarantee of making a flight, as the world is starting to shut-down due to the pandemic. She has no cell service and is unaware of the severity of the situation. Diana decides to stay and ends up stuck on a remote island discovering that the hotel where she had reservations, has closed. A kind local woman allows Diana to stay in a small apartment that used to belong to her son.

Alone, isolated, and unable to contact Finn, Diana begins to embrace being stuck in paradise. She befriends a local teenage girl and the girl’s handsome father, who happens to be the previous tenant of the apartment where she is staying. Diana finds a second family and an alternative life in the Galapagos, while Finn is fighting on the frontlines in a New York hospital.

When I started reading Wish You Were Here and realized it was yet another pandemic story, I nearly stopped reading. It makes sense that so many pandemic stories are publishing now and that so many authors would be compelled to write pandemic stories, but it also is a subject that I don’t want to keep revisiting. However, to would-be-readers in a similar state of mind, don’t give up on this one.

Picoult presents both a twist on the pandemic story and a huge, monumental, didn’t see it coming, surprise half-way through. I was just about to stop reading for the evening and I encountered the twist, which propelled me to read for another hour. It was a huge shock and even better, it ties to intriguing themes of the story which are not strictly pandemic related. Wish You Were Here is far more broad thematically and would have been a different story if the pandemic had not occurred, but likely still would have been written.

I’ve read many of Picoult’s books and I’m a fan, but Wish You Were Here, just may be her best one yet.

My favorite book of the year so far! What a fantastic read dealing with current events of Covid! I loved it!,

4.25 stars

While a little different from most Picoult books, still a fantastic read. This book was done very very well. I felt very invested in the journeys the main character takes. I am very immunocompromised so I stayed up to date on all things Covid as they were happening, but I did learn a lot reading this book... Mainly about The Galápagos. I was completely ignorant to this part of the world. The scenery and experiences on Isabel were written very well. I really enjoy Jodis books.

Diana O’Toole has everything figured out regarding her life and her future, but what happens when her plans go awry? Can Diana adapt and change to her new reality?

I have always been a huge fan of Jodi Picoult, especially how she is able to craft lifelike characters into intricate and realistic settings. The beauty of the Galápagos Islands, as well as the hustle and bustle of life in New York City, comes through in Picoult's capable hands. Diana's life story, the reasons for the decisions she makes, is unspooled a little at a time. Those in Diana's life: her mother, her boyfriend Finn, her best friend Rodney, and others are treated with wider brushstrokes.

The issue I had with the book was twofold: one, the author took too familiar of a path and the book was predictable. Two, the author did not dig deep enough into Diana's past and missed out on an opportunity to provide the main character more depth. I wished that the book dealt more with Near Death Experiences and the neurological explanations of what Diana experienced.

Jodi Picoult explained in the author's note how each one of us will have our own Covid origin story, not unlike the one that some of us have for 9/11. I do like how she tackled the issues from early on in the pandemic, especially how the protocols kept changing as the scientists learned more.

Overall, I found Wish You Were Here to be a little too repetitive and predictable, but I would recommend it to other readers.

Disclaimer: I was given an Advanced Reader's Copy of Wish You Were Here by NetGalley and the publisher. The decision to read and review this book was entirely my own.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is an excellent novel that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. It is about the experiences of a young couple during COVID. What happened to them and how they were affected by the turmoil that COVID caused is explored. The plot is very creative as one of the main characters becomes stranded in another country as her boyfriend is left behind working at a hospital as a physician. I would recommend this novel to anyone who is looking to read an interesting and worthwhile read.

This was like an old episode of Dallas for those of you who are familiar with that show. I am sure some will LOVE the plot twist and others will feel like it was bad form. I myself did not appreciate it. I typically like Jodi Picoult books, so this one was just a tiny blip on the radar. Willl look forward to her next book. Thank you to NetGalley, Jodi Picoult and the publisher for providing me with this ARC.

I am a big Jodi Picoult fan, but as a New Yorker, this book was a little too close for comfort and I need more time removed from the beginning of Covid to be able to really enjoy it. I got about 35% of the way through the book, but the memories it evoked were unfortunately too strong for me to appreciate the story, characters, and setting.

Maybe in a few years! Thank you to Net Galley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.