Jodie Picoult, as always, created a novel that is emotional, moving, and ethically ambiguous. I thought she really illustrated what the beginning of the pandemic in the US felt like well, and I enjoyed the twist at the end. Would recommend.

Diana O’Toole is an art specialist in New York working at Sotheby’s, and living with her boyfriend Finn, a surgical resident. Life is on track and could not be more perfect, as they have planned a trip to the Galápagos right before her 30th birthday, until the pandemic hits New York hard. Diana and Finn make a decision to not let the cost of the trip go to complete waste, so Diana takes the trip on her own.

I am still in awe of what I have read, as a nurse who worked in the front lines. The medical language, descriptions of the treatments, and the daily goings-on in the hospital was captured so well in the story, I felt that I have relived the experience once again.

More than that, the huge twist in the end really shocked me to my core. The writing was intense, emotional, and quite extraordinary. The Galápagos experience that Diana went through was incredible and has definitely made that part of my bucket list.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It was truly incredible!

Audio Review: Marin Ireland is one of my top fave narrator and wow this was amazing. I got lost in the Galapagos with all the wonderful characters, it was hard to believe this was all done by the one and only Marin Ireland.

I absolutely love Jodi Picoult. Her work is always so progressive and well-researched. This book was timely and bold and necessary.

This is my first book by this author, though I’ve heard of her many times. Overall I felt it was a decent story, well written and worth reading. A word of warning to readers who may be sensitive to the topic, but this is about the Covid pandemic and contains much detail about Diane, the main characters hospitalization as well as other patients. You may or may not want to read even more on this topic than is thrown at you via all sorts of media daily. So the reader should be prepared for that.
A good part of the book talks about Diane’s trip to the Galápagos Islands. Without giving any spoilers, this is the part I ended liking the least. Diane has a boyfriend, Finn, who is a resident surgeon at a NYC hospital. He is dealing with Covid first hand and is also the one who helps her through her illness.
For readers of The Midnight Library, once again there are issues about the existence of “something” in between life and death. While the story is fiction, so much is reality from what we have all dealt with at some level the past two years and in that way it felt much different.

This book was tougher than most. Because the pandemic is still happening, this boom was raw even for Picoultbooks. Once again the author makes the reader feel empathy for all the various characters despite their flaws. her descriptions of living with Covid, as well as taking care of Covid patients would convince the strongest anti-vaxxers I believe. Kudos!

In typical, Jodi Piccolo fashion, she brings us a book that really pushes the envelope of your thought process and where the mind can. take you, a journey. Not only does she weave us an intense story about covid but she also gives us a travel journal of the Galapagos. I loved this book! It makes you wonder about all the possibilities!

I have no idea how to rate this book, nor how to review it. I did not see this happening. I can't tell you what happens, because that gives the whole story away. Picoult has well-developed characters and her descriptive talents make one feel they are there with Diana and Finn and Gabriel and all the others.

Diana's life is planned to the nth degree. What is it they say? We make plans and God laughs.

Outstanding and up-to-date read. Very Jodi Picoult. Loved it! Read it twice already. She sets the bar very high. She almost never fails to deliver. And this time she knocks it out of the park.

This story starts out intriguing because it is so real to so many people. Covid-19 struck our country like a Tsunami. Those who were old enough to remember that day, 3/13/19 know exactly where they were when the announcement that the shut down of our country was the only news on any TV station. For me, I left my 5th grade classroom that day not knowing that I wouldn’t return to that room for the rest of the year. 2019 and 2020 continued to get worse and worse. Jodi Picoult’s book Wish You We’re Here told a delicate tale of how Covid-19 affected everyday people on a daily basis.

The characters in the story were easy to relate to and represented the struggles of so many. I read furiously through the first 1/3. After Diana arrived in the Galapagos Islands and the story seemed to have shifted to a story about “finding her meaning in life” and a “love story” as she learned to adapt to island ways, I began to feel disappointed. Something about this story and most definitely because I love Picoult, made me forge on.

Part 2 shook me from my trance because I did NOT see that coming! Wow! Just WOW! I am so happy I continued reading. The second half of the book was just incredible. As Picoult has proven time and time again, life isn’t always the way it seems and events don’t always end happily or tied with a near bow. Picoult’s books are real, raw, important, and they are the stories that people need to hear.

If you started this book and felt a bit of a lull in the first half, don’t give up. You won’t be disappointed.

I was nervous to read a COVID book given that we're still in the pandemic AND this experience has been so traumatic for me, so please keep that in mind when reading this review. It was hard to suspend my own feelings about people's behavior during this time, which made me really frustrated with the characters in this book. So much of what they did or didn't do felt completely wrong knowing what we know now, and I just had a difficult time separating now from then. Maybe if I'd waited to read this in a year or two I would have felt differently, or maybe not. Tread lightly.

This book was a whirlwind and I have to say I was rooting for the romance that didn’t happen. I fell in love with the characters in the book and wanted to badly for there to be the happy ending I was hoping for. Having this book take place during Covid was interesting and probably too soon for my liking but curious to see if other books will start following this lead.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

Thank you net galley for the ARC. This book unfortunately fell flat for me despite an interesting premise. The first 50-100 pages were interesting but then it felt like a text book to me and the plot was very dull. I thought it would be more relatable since Picoult discussed the COVID epidemic but it was a lot of medical jargon that went over my head. The main character’s story when she traveled was almost the same every day with very little plot to it. It was very hard to finish. I was disappointed with this book as with her last book, the research she does is very in depth but her books are starting to feel like reading history text books.

I usually enjoy Jodi Picoult, but this was just an okay read for me. The beginning was slow, but the second half had some interesting turns and twists. I’ll definitely recommend this to anyone I know who is a patient reader. Thank y NetGalley for this advanced copy!

Diana O’Toole is in a good place in her life. She’s got a great job, a successful boyfriend, and she’s anticipating a proposal during an upcoming getaway to the Galapagos islands. According to Diana, everything is on track for the benchmark of her 30th birthday. Then Covid-19 hits and because her boyfriend is a surgical resident, he's obligated to stay behind and urges Diana to go to Galapagos without him.

Because this book is about Covid-19, one could assume that it had to be written recently and quickly. There are some areas of the book where you can feel that the story is rushed. I don’t think I knew this book was about Covid-19 before I received the ARC, but I can see it being “too soon” for some folks.

There is a huge twist in about the middle of the book which separates the book into two parts. I can only describe this twist as whiplash and it will make you rethink everything in the first half. We follow Diana as she navigates these two parts in different ways. Diana is an interesting character, and I really couldn’t decide if I liked her or not.

It is hard to talk about this book without giving away the twist, but it makes for interesting conversation. While the Covid-19 aspect of this book is heavily researched and written about in a relative way, I found the implications of Diana’s specific situation the most fascinating part of the book. I was not expecting the direction this story went or the ending.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
#NetGalley #Ballantine #JodiPicoult #WishYouWereHere

Diana O’Toole is ready to begin her perfect life, all according to her self-imposed plan. Married by thirty, kids before thirty-five, and continuous career advancement in the art world. Then…a pandemic hits and ruins the vacation on which she was sure her physician boyfriend was to propose.
There have been a few novels published since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Honestly, I was worried about reading this being that we are still dealing with it. In that vein, if you are in a position in which you aren’t ready to read about the trauma that we have all been through with the pandemic, then I advise you to read this title at a later time. I was expecting to be slightly annoyed with this book because that’s how I feel about the pandemic. I should have known better than to doubt Ms. Picoult. Her characters and writing are as compelling and vivid as ever. Dana is as relatable as any of us. We have all been changed by the experience of being quarantined for so long as well as the aftermath of the quarantine. Ms. Picoult is a very skilled writer. The beginning of this book was a wonderful experience. The main character is stranded on the Galapagos Islands for a big chunk of the book. I enjoyed reading about the animals that are native there as well as the vivid scenery.
The second half of the book tended to drag a little bit. Occasionally I felt inundated in information, almost as if the story had been forgotten in favor of research notes.
Overall, I deeply appreciated this emotional book and I’ll think twice before doubting Jodi Picoult again.

Plot: Diana has her life planned out perfectly, and is getting ready for a vacation in the Galapagos with her soon-to-be-fiancé Finn when Covid hits New York City. Finn, a doctor, isn’t able to leave, so Diana reluctantly goes without him. But Covid quickly spreads across the globe, and she finds herself stuck on the island and uses her time in isolation to examine her own evolution.

Hooooo boy. This book. Jodi Picoult has written another intimately-researched novel, and although Diana is a complicated character and often difficult to love (especially with the hindsight we now have of this time), her reactions to the pandemic felt genuine. True to her claim back in October 2020 (swipe for reference), I do think Picoult found a really interesting way to write about Covid. I cannot believe this book was written, edited and published in one year; I think some day it will be a historical reference of what spring 2020 was like. If you’re a lover of Jodi Picoult and ready to read about Covid (and have dreams of traveling to the tropics) – pick this up. If you have any doubt about whether you’re ready – I recommend waiting.

I, personally, was not ready for this book, and after bingeing the first 80% in two days, had to take a break. While Diana is in the Galapagos, Finn writes her Emails describing his time caring for Covid patients in NYC. As someone who has many loved ones who are healthcare professionals (including my husband), these sections were difficult to read and sent me into a pretty deep spiral of emotion. That being said, I do think Picoult did a fantastic job writing these sections. They are a reminder of what our essential workers went through—are STILL going through (please get vaccinated!). If you’re a HCP reading this – thank you ♥️

Wish Your Were Here is a scarily realistic and compelling book revolving around Covid-19. (Pre-warning: this is a pandemic related book and may not be for you - see below for more).

This is my first book by Picoult which took me by surprise. It was more complex than I expected. The pandemic gave many of us time to reflect and reassess what is important in our lives. Picoult captured the stark reality of pandemic emotions from start to ‘end’. This is not an escapist book however it is thought-provoking. My one big gripe was the stereotypical characterisation of characters of colour which was overdone and didn’t add to character development. It is also quite slow so this one is for the patient reader.

That being said, I did appreciate the humanity in the book, Diana’s inner journey and the exploration of how human lives evolves when faced with uncertainty.

CW/TW: If you have loss someone due to COVID-19 then this book may be a trigger for you. Other warnings: mental health issues, PTSD, self-harm, death, pandemic, suicidal thoughts/ideation

I feel like Picoult has really been branching out lately in her storytelling, adding more romance and these shifting timelines and more focus on magical realism. While I commend her for stretching her wings I'm not sure I'm used to it yet, I still start reading her books expecting the hard hitting emotional dives and legal interest. That being said, this book was lovely and surprising. The COVID 19 setting was very raw and when I first started it was a little hard to read as it's still very fresh, but I truly think Picoult did it justice. Overall I did like and would recommend this book just be careful of what expectations you have for a Jodi Picoult book.

I enjoy reading Jodi Picoult's work and "Wish You Were Here" was no different. While COVID is a topic in the book, I wasn't surprised that Jodi tackled this sometimes controversial subject. However, without COVID, the main character, Diane, wouldn't be thrust into her life in the Galapagos Islands. Jodi did a wonderful job of describing the islands - Something that I needed to read about with snow on the ground outside! I really enjoyed getting to know Diane and watching her evolve as the story went on.

P.S. I was thrilled to hear the rights to this book were sold to Netflix for adaptation as a feature film!

—w i s h y o u w e r e h e r e—
Have you read any books about or set in Covid times?
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Wish You Were Here is the latest release from @jodipicoult. It follows Diana, an art dealer in her late twenties, who travels solo to the Galápagos Islands right as the Covid-19 pandemic begins on a trip planned for her and her serious boyfriend who is a doctor on the frontlines and unable to travel with her.
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If I were going to use one word to describe to this book I would use surprising. The beginning, slightly slow moving as Diana grapples with her choices and figures out what to do while trapped in paradise, still offers some turns and unexpected moves from Diana. Picoult stirs up immediate feelings of panic and claustrophobia in ways that are relatable and well done.The second half of the book takes a sharp left turn and it is here that I really became invested in Diana and her story.
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To me, the plot and character development were pretty sublime. I thought the setup was intriguing but I loved the direction the book took instead even more. Covid and the pandemic play important roles and I find it therapeutic to reflect on these tumultuous times but I realize this isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. In all, solid writing and an interesting concept.
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Thank you to @netgalley and @randomhouse for the eARC. Thanks to @librofm for the ALC as well, so I could flip flop between my kindle and the audio. It is read by Marin Ireland so is obviously divine.
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This is out now! Go get it!