This is the first book I’ve read about Covid and really wondered if I would be able to stay with it. I did and am so glad. Jodi Picoult does an amazing job with this book which is more about an experience while under sedation to be put on a ventilator than about the disease.
Diana O’Toole lives in NYC and is working at Sotheby’s as an art intern for the auctions and shehas her life planned out. She will be married at 30, but a house in the NYC suburb’s and have two kids before she’s 35.. She is onschedule with the marriage as she has been living with the perfect man, Finn, who is a surgeon intern at a NYC hospital. Diana and Finn are going on a romantic vacation to the Galápagos Islands and she has packed for the trip when she discovers the little velvet box in Finn’s underwear drawer. So things are right in track. The Covid hits and Finn has to stay to help out at the hospital but encourages Diana to go ahead and go on the prepaid no refundable trip. That is where everything changes!
Ms. picould knows how to write about tough situations and how to keep you on track reading. Just when you think you need to put the book down she will shift so you keep reading. Her descriptions of the Isabel Island in the Galapagos are beautiful and you can just picture the pins and the lava. You can also picture the deserted streets of NYC as the Covid virus starts and the city starts to close dow and , the frustration of the healthcare workers as the virus takes control of the hospitals with no knowledge of really how to help.
Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for a preview of this book.
#Netgalley #Ballentine Books

“All of us are grieving something. But while we are, we’re putting one foot in front of the other. We’re waking up to see another day. We’re pushing through uncertainty, even if we can’t yet see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are battered and broken, but we’re all small miracles.”

I wasn’t sure I was ready for a pandemic novel…turns out it was just what I needed.

My personal pandemic PTSD is acute, and involves some heartbreaking visits through this novel to Manhattan’s Upper East Side. I actually cringed while reading the plot’s inclusion of a John/Yoko/Dakota reference, but that feeling was swept aside as I got lost in the story of loss, of life, of a reimagined future. I anticipate a deluge of pandemic novels, as the subject matter is dramatic and unprecedented. Diana’s well-curated life plan is typical of many, and perhaps we are all changing how we view our path and our responsibilities to ourselves and to others. To that extent, I imagine this novel will hit the right notes for many readers and I am so thankful that the twist at the 60% mark was unexpected. I will review on Goodreads, my bookstagram account and other platforms (when I have a chance to digest and fine-tune my thoughts) closer to publication date.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing / Ballantine for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

WOW! Another amazing accomplishment by Jodi Picoult. I have loved all her books because she writes in her own genre with each book. She always takes on subjects that are pertinent in our day and age with candor and meticulous research. Each of her books takes on a subject that is in the headlines and this is no acception.
Please read her “author’s notes” at the end of the book and you will see how affected she is by the subjects she writes about. I’m already looking forward to her next book and her next subject because I don’t know of another author who writes as clearly and fearlessly about what’s going on in our world today. Many thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for providing me with this advance.

Let me start by saying a 5 star review from me is highly unusual, but this book deserves it and even more stars if possible.

Written beautifully, the reader travels with Diana to the Galapagos, swims with sea lions and marine iguanas, meets new friends and has a brief affair. She is adrift, far from her boyfriend-almost-fiancé, can’t reach him by internet or phone regularly, and when she does, he tells her of the terrible things he sees as a doctor in NYC during the height of Covid.

Diana explores the island, walks over extinct volcano fields, ventures down into vents, and saves her young friend Beatriz from falling to her death. Diana feels the island is where she belongs and she can’t grasp what it will be like to someday travel home when flights restart.

I won’t go any further to avoid spoilers. This book grabbed me from the start and stayed with me after it ended. So many feels…..

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book, but my opinions are my own.

This is a book that is going to make feel things, whether good or bad. It is not a happy book and will be triggering to people, depending on their experience with COVID. I’m my opinion, this is a well-written book that balances COVID truths in a fictional setting. This a big twist and an ambiguous ending that may leave you feeling a bit disoriented.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine for an advanced copy!

This Covid-centric book felt a little "too soon". With Covid still such a large part of our daily lives, I didn't particularly enjoy re-living all of the trauma we all endured during the early days of the pandemic, and are still trying to grapple with in our current reality. The first half of the book was rough for me. There were long descriptions of patients dying in hospitals and struggling to breathe- stories we are constantly reminded of. The past and the present also were rather interchangeable with no warning that made the story a little hard to follow. In addition, I didn't care for the main character, Dianna. She seemed selfish and ego-centric. Part 2 was an unexpected surprise and much more enjoyable.

I had taken a break from Jodi Picoult because I felt I could see her famous twists coming. But her last book really stuck with me. And now this one. I was not sure I wanted to read a book set during the pandemic when we're still in it, but then the publisher sent me an ARC. WOW! I loved this book! I do not want to give anything away, but I did not see the twist coming at all. And my favorite parts I can't talk about in the review because it would give spoilers.

If you love Picoult's writing this is another hit for her. If you aren't sure about reading a book that takes you back to March of 2020 that is understandable. I will say it was uncomfortable at times, but the story is so well done I didn't mind the reminders of what life was like then. This really captures so many little things we will all remember. And her notes at the end are definitely worth the read. Grab this book when it's released on November 30th!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!

Jodi Piccoult never misses. She never shows from shedding light on difficult topics, and this one is no exception. Loved it.

Diana has her life planned out and is right on track for where she wants to be. Her career has taken off and her relationship with her surgical resident boyfriend Finn is about to get even more serious. They have a two week vacation planned together to the Galapagos islands where Diana is sure that he plans to propose. Everything gets thrown off course when the Covid virus hits and Finn is needed at the hospital around the clock. He tells Diana to go and enjoy the vacation without him as there's nothing she can do there in NYC. On the way, her luggage is lost and, when she gets to the island, it is just shutting down and everyone is in quarantine. Trapped in paradise with no luggage and no wi-fi to connect with Finn, Diana feels lost and alone. She gradually makes friends with a local family and starts to explore the island. The longer Diana is there, the less she feels trapped on the island. She's finally able to relax and enjoy being there. Meanwhile, back in NYC, Finn is on the front lines as a doctor at a hospital. Diana wonders if once she is able to return home if things will ever be the same.

As usual, Jodi Picoult pulls the reader into the story with her attention to detail and her character development.
She paints a picture of paradise with her description of the Galapagos and the beauty of Isabela island. Likewise, she does well describing the horrors of what it was like for frontline workers in NYC in the early months of the Covid pandemic. Jodi also puts in her usual twists so that even though the reader may think they know how things are going to turn out, they are most likely wrong.

This novel made me feel all of the emotions and left me feeling drained, yet hopeful. I have been reflecting on it for the past couple of days and it is one that will stay with me for awhile.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and am very grateful to #NetGalley for an ARC e-book of #WishYouWereHere by #JodiPicoult in exchange for an honest review. She is one of my favorite author's of realistic fiction and I love how well she researches the topics she chooses to write about.

Book blurb:

Diana O'Toole has it all planned out and she's right 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.

Her boyfriend, Finn, and she have plans to go on vacation, 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. He tells her she should still go, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana's dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they'd booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father's suspicion of outsiders.

In the Galapagos Islands, where Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself--and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

I wasn't sure how I would feel reading a book about the pandemic, but Jodi Picoult wrote in such a way that it didn't feel like the world has felt for the last couple of years. She has a way of connecting to the human spirit. This book is HEAVY, but it's got a very good message. At times, this book broke my heart, but I powered through. This is what reading a Jodi Picoult does to you. Leaves you feeling all the feels.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book. I know everyone is tired of the pandemic, but I found this book really enlightening and encouraged by its message of doing what is right for you. Find your happiness. Make what you love a priority.

Jodi Picoult is talented.. I am not a big fan.. but a few of her books were noteworthy. This new one is difficult to review. It begins in NYC just as the Covid pandemic goes wild and branches off to the Galapagos. It makes sense and follows the story line but when it suddenly careens in another direction it strains credulity.. mine at least. Picoult segues into the second half of the novel with a logical explanation of the reversal but I found myself struggling with the abrupt diversion into PTSD and near death experiences. Her descriptions of the medical struggles of the health care workers is noteworthy and sympathetic as she itemizes the horrors of this disease. The main character’s own fight for her life is harrowing. However, I felt it went on too long. The ending is problematic and left me hanging.. as she obviously intended. Maybe, I am too old fashioned and like the bow tied at the end. I did not love it but I liked the basic premise.. just not the resolution.

Jodi Picoult never disappoints! I was shocked at the about-face the storyline took, between parts one and two. The characters are beautifully drawn, and seem as real as your next door neighbors. What a delightful take on living with Covid-19, travel restrictions, face masks, and the reality of a global pandemic.

Diana and her boyfriend are planners -- they intend to have the perfect life, with perfect jobs and perfect kids, but first must come the perfect vacation (and proposal) in the Galapagos. But when COVID hits New York, Diana's boyfriend, a surgeon, must stay behind to fight on the front lines and encourages Diana to take the trip on her lonesome. The only problem is that the island closes, leaving her with no place to stay, no way to communicate with the locals, and thanks to a mishap with the airport, no luggage. What follows is an amazing journey of self-discovery and connection with the world around her.

I'm not going to lie, I was VERY skeptical about reading a book set in the COVID sphere, but I'm so glad that I gave this a chance. Jodi Picoult has a gift unlike any other author to seamlessly tie experiences together, tug at your heart strings, and craft realistic and fully formed characters. And that's what makes this so good. In true Picoult fashion, there's a devastating twist and admittedly, I was debating DNF'ing because I just... didn't want to buy it. But once I gave it a chance, I found my heart aching in disbelief and my soul fully embracing the conflict that Picoult created. As always, she very clearly researches her topics, and I always leave her books with new knowledge in my brain and new feelings in my heart.

My first Jodi Picoult book was My Sister’s Keeper and I have read every book she has written. I was hesitant about Wish You Were Here due to the book being based during the pandemic. But I was pulled into it quickly and loved the characters and their relationships and how the pandemic was part of this. This is an emotional read that makes us think about the choices we make and how life could be different with different choices. Also please read the authors notes at the end. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

What a timely book taking us into the lives and minds of all of us during the pandemic. Diana is a young woman living with her Resident Surgeon boyfriend leading up to March 2020. They were supposed to go on a romantic trip to the Galapagos when Finn is told by his hospital that he can't leave. He sends Diana off on her own for South America thinking he is keeping her safe. The isolation that Diana endures and her making friends on a closed island encompass the first half of the book.

There is a pretty big twist that I don't want to spoil so I won't say much other than I wasn't happy about it at first.
Picoult obviously did a lot of research for this book about the procedures in hospitals and what first responders went through. The lives of those who survived early on in the pandemic are well documented from a time that people were making a lot of guesses.

Picoult does a great job with the characters which is what I care about the most. I would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for this honest review.

Jodi Picoult’s latest novel takes place during the beginning of the Covid pandemic. Diane O’Toole, an art specialist at Sotheby’s and her boyfriend Finn, a young surgeon, are about to go on vacation to the Galapogas Islands when the pandemic begins. Finn must go into the hospital but Diane decides to go on the vacation alone. As she arrives at the island, everything goes on lockdown. Now she and Finn are separated by miles and having completely different Covid experiences.

This is my first time reading a pandemic novel and I approached it with reluctance. However, in typical Picoult fashion, she depicts a moving and vivid picture of the trauma of the 2020 global crisis with a surprising twist. The novel examines how change and crisis affects relationships and can inspire soul searching.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to review this title before its release.

Wish You Were Here, to be released in late November by Jodi Picoult, is a pandemic novel. But it’s also so much more. It’s about the necessity of malleable hopes and dreams, whether we want to adjust or not. It focuses on one relatively young, upwardly mobile couple living in New York City. Diana O’Toole works at Sotheby’s, the famous art auction house. And her sweetheart Finn is a surgical resident at a big NYC hospital, working his way up in the medical system. The story begins in mid-March 2020.

Knowing the time frame, you realize from the start that Diana and Finn are in for some major challenges. COVID-19 is just beginning to overrun New York City and the US. And the two have a long-anticipated trip planned to the Galapagos Islands. The first struggle is what to do with the tickets since airports and borders are closing down to limit the spread of the virus.

Finn encourages Diana to take the trip, even though he’s stuck at work caring for a seemingly unending stream of patients. So she heads south, and just barely makes it to their vacation destination island. Where the story goes from there is part travelogue, part character study, and part unexpected twist. Because it comes from the mind of Jodi Picoult. The issues brought up by the twist are a reminder of the world we live in. But I’m not saying anymore because it will indeed spoil your reading experience.

My conclusions
Fundamentally, Wish You Were Here is a COVID-era story that focuses on the universal themes of love and figuring out your life’s purpose. It’s an easy read, despite all the moments of pandemic struggle that feel a bit raw. Honestly, I thought reading about COVID would feel heavy but Diana is so engaging that her story absorbed me.

I loved learning about the Galapagos Islands, from the flora to the fauna to the people living there. Despite the situation being fictional, the location is real and a common bucket-list destination. In this era, surely I’m not alone in reading about escapist locations like the Galapagos.

However, there’s a particular point in the story where Diana makes an unrealistically easy decision. After that, I had a hard time buying the book’s resolution. No matter how much I liked the characters, the pivot point was entirely too simple, especially in the time of the virus. You may feel differently, but given my own pandemic experience, this turning point rubbed me the wrong way.

Still, Picoult is a skilled writer, and Wish You Were Here is no exception to the rule. Not only does she research places, she learns about the real-life people and situations on which she bases her story. Every bit of that background shows in the depth Picoult brings to her novels.

I recommend this book if you’re interested in a journey to the not-so-distant past on a faraway island. The mix of genres, combined with engaging characters will have you devouring Wish You Were Here.

Acknowledgments
Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group / Ballantine Books, and the author for a digital advanced reader’s copy in exchange for this honest review.

“What you see..is not what you’re really getting,” because even those going through the same experiences may conceive different realities. Omg. This is the one I’ve been waiting for, for quite a while. As a huge Picoult fan, I’m not surprised by the depth and complexity of emotion in this one; it’s raw and present; and we’ve all experienced it in one form of another. I will not give the surprises of this book away and take that experience from anyone, but I will say this is about connections, so many connections. This is about our recent lives and relationships, Covid and Alzheimer’s, communal isolation and survival, about finding what’s important isn’t what you thought it was, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Picoult paints a beautiful picture of a life with her creatively masterful use of the written language, and blends in realities that will have you saying, “oh yeah, me too!” Connections. There are heavy nods to the art world, science and nature, friendships, relationships, mental health, even pop culture and a bit of Yoko; connections. It’s light at times, deep and desperate in others, and is the perfect combination to tackle the themes held within.
For those who didn’t suffer effects, for those who’ve fought through, for those who weren’t able to, and for those still battling, regardless of your reality, this is a tribute, and a healing, and simply a wonderfully written novel. You need to Pick. This. Book. Up.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read and review an advanced readers copy of this book. This in no way affects my review, all opinions are my own.

I feel like I'm going to be in the minority for this one, but this book was just... meh. I wanted to love it so much because I've been a big fan of Picoult's other books, but this one just missed the mark for me. I was intrigued by the premise of this book, as this is the first novel I've read where the main plot is about COVID. I really admire how much research Picoult does when approaching more topical subjects, and I felt transported back to the beginning of the pandemic when we were so uncertain about what we were facing.

The story itself was interesting but not as gripping to me as her other novels. My biggest issue was the plot twist/trope that you find out about halfway through the book (no spoilers), but for me it just ruined the whole story. I understand after reading the author's note what Picoult was going for, but for me it just completely fell flat. I also think I had a hard time understanding Diana as a character, because the decisions she made just didn't seem realistic or relatable. I also don't want to give anything away, but there was a character introduced in the Galapagos (Beatriz) that I felt was very integral to the story and after the twist, the end result of her character left a bad taste in my mouth.

Overall, I'm a disappointed in this one. I'm glad I read it because I will always read anything Picoult comes out with, but this one is definitely not one of my favorites from her.