Picoult knows how to write y’all. I thought if anyone could write a pandemic-themed book when we were all still in the midst of it, it would be her. And she blew me away.

This story is centered around Diana, living a lovely life in NY with her boyfriend Finn, a surgical resident, who has just been asked to stay at work to help with the new Covid-19 virus. Diana and Finn were about to attend an amazing romantic birthday trip to the Galapagos… but despite him not being able to go, he insists she still take advantage of the nonrefundable ticket and enjoy it herself. But soon, the world shuts down and she’s stuck and not able to return. I couldn’t help but be amazed and think “what would I do” in her situation, so it became quite the page-turner at that point.

Be warned that this book will take you through a whirlwind of emotions. Paired with the current fears and anxiety of a pandemic world, it was definitely tough reading about a fictional pandemic world, but Picoult executes it so gracefully. Not once did I find anything to be too sensitive, in fact it was relatable in every way possible. She truly knows how to write about raw human emotions in a way that resonates with her readers, even if her characters’ experiences are nothing you’ve ever personally been through, you will still somehow feel deeply affected by what they feel.

You may wonder why anyone would want to immerse themselves in a story like this one, but let me tell you that when I reached part 2, I audibly gasped! It’ll go down as one of the most shocking moments I’ve ever encountered in a book. Picoult is a genius!

Lastly, I really appreciated the author’s note at the end. While this review is challenging to write without spoiling anything, my review can be summed up easily into two words, “Mind blown!”

Thank you so much to @netgalley and @RandomHouse for my advanced e-galley in exchange for an honest review

I was hesitant to read this because of the COVID theme, but I surprised. The writing was strong, the plot was different, unusual, and interesting, and I could not stop reading it. It was definitely a nice change after her previous book.

I honestly wish I had known more about the plot of this one before requesting it, but since Jodi Picoult was a tried and true author for me I didn't even think about it before hitting that request button.

I tried to get into it but have decided that I'm just not ready for such a COVID focused book. It brings up way too many emotions from those early days and it's not something I can continue reading any time soon.

Wish you Were Here by Jodi Picoult is what you would expect from Picoult. She does a great job with this story. One of her best yet.

I have such mixed feelings about this book. Beautifully written as most of Jodi Picoult's books are I enjoyed it but at the same time it brought up so many feelings for me about the pandemic. I absolutely loved the twist.

I'm a longtime fan of Jodi Picoult, but I was a little leery about this novel because I'm not sure that I'm ready to read books about COVID-19 yet. It still feels like it had taken over our lives not long ago and I wasn't far enough remove, but I decided to go ahead with this because the premise was intriguing.

There is a huge twist in the middle of the book that I won't spoil, but I literally exclaimed out loud. That's how surprised I was. It ended up being borderline trippy and I'm not quite sure how I feel about it still.

I'll say this: this is a unique take on the COVID-19 pandemic that covers the reality of those working on the frontline, those who have been hospitalized with severe and life-threatening symptoms, and how all that affects the brain and memory.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult was a difficult one for me to start, just because of the timing of the pandemic. I received it as an ARC, but given everything else going on, couldn't bring myself to start, so my review is coming late.

Jodi Picoult always manages to take difficult situations and put you in the middle, fiction and reality intertwining in an enthralling way. I wondered what happened to people who were on vacation or otherwise away from home, someplace where you were separated from your loved ones. Diana is stranded on an island until the borders reopen. As much as many of us felt isolated during the pandemic, this felt like a worst-case situation for me... a place where you don't know people, have no way to get home, and are away from those you love.

Wish You Were Here is a story of self-discovery, of love, of horrible choices, of hope. Jodi Picoult has always done an amazing job with uncomfortable subjects, and this just happens to be one that we were all dealing with. For those who didn't like what they considered politics in it, I'm not sure why they were surprised
As difficult as it was to read as we were living it, I recommend it as a thought-provoking read.

I started reading this as a sort of test to see if Jodi Picoult could still hold my attention. I read her books as a young teenager, buying and reading everything she released. In recent years, I sort of viewed her work as something meant for the masses, something I was now beyond. I am not beyond it.

I read Wish You Were Here in about three sittings , which is fewer sittings than I usually need because I don’t like to read for more than about half an hour at a time. I didn’t think I would enjoy the book very much, because of the whole COVID thing but I read it anyway because it’s on my backlog of ARCs from last year. I’m glad I did.

Picoult paints an utterly compelling story from the start. I was surprised not to see multiple POVs, something I’m used to from Picoult’s other writing. Her work follows a formula, mixing flashbacks with present day, presenting the flashbacks as relevant to the present.

The twist in the middle was completely unexpected, something I never saw coming, and that contributes to my high star rating. Picoult always holds on to that shocking twist and has honed the ability to reveal it at the perfect moment.

I skimmed a lot of Finn’s emails, to be honest. They’re too tied to what happened in real life that it felt unnecessary. I suppose if someone who didn’t live through COVID were reading this book, context would be needed. I skimmed a lot of the COVID content, really. It felt too close to life, and was something I knew a lot about already. That was definitely not the point, but I still enjoyed the novel all the same.

If COVID is a triggering subject, as it is for many people, I would not recommend this book. Picoult writes about triggering subjects all the time but this is one that a majority of people alive will have experienced. Perhaps not to the same degree as described in the book, but I feel like more readers have the potential to be negatively affected by events and happenings in this book than many of Picoult’s other novels.

Jodi Picoult always writes about some sort of current issue, and what could be more current than the CoVid pandemic. Diana has her life mapped out and is happy with the way she sees it, but when a decision affects multiple people, it isn't always going to be what you thought. I loved learning about the Galapagos since it is on my bucket list. I liked the second half of the book more than the first, if I read it again, it would be in a few years when CoVid is further behind us. Don't give up after the first half, you will be glad you read it all.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC. This is an honest review.

This author is known for writing about slightly controversial to outright controversial topics. The first half of the book I could not see what might be controversial. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And then, I’m not going to say why as it would be a spoiler, but the second half took a drastic 180 and I was very miffed with what is a plot device, in my opinion. I was going to give it three stars or less due to that. As I proceeded to finish the book, I was less harsh in my assessment. This book, as explained in the epilogue, was written as a monument of fiction to the COVID-19 crisis. Reading the authors explanation for why she wrote the book made me more patient (in hindsight) than I felt when I was slogging through the descriptions of hospitalized patients and their experience coming through it.
Overall I felt it was it worthy exploration of an individual’s journey and our country‘s journey through the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to NetGalley for a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Diana O’Toole is on track to achieve the goals she has set for herself. One important one is to marry the man of her dreams, surgical resident Finn. They are scheduled to leave on a trip to the Galápagos, where Finn will undoubtedly propose to her. However, things do not work out as planned, and Finn has to stay in NYC because of the increased patient load of Covid patients. Since they will lose the money, they have paid for the trip, Diana decides to go alone. When she arrives, the island is in lockdown due to Covid. Though she can leave, she decides to stay, realizing she may have the adventure of a lifetime. Stranded on an island where everything, to include her hotel, is closed, Diana is taken on by a local family. As she passes time on the island, she begins to look at her life, her decisions and everything else in her life. As we go through the sporadic communication between Diana and Finn, we see the anguish and questioning by both. Finn describes his life working through Covid in clear terms, giving the reader a true sense of the anguish, he is going through, while Diana feels it all through the communication with Finn.

This was an interesting book, though it will never be one of my favorites by this author. It was interesting to see life on the island during the lockdown as well as life with Covid. However, the story line was a bit slow and dragged a lot. I just could not get into the characters or their two predicaments. I thought the way the author brought out life in Covid, in the US and on some distant island was fascinating to read. However, as I said, I just could not get into it. Her other books really hit home with me, though this one left me wanting and not sure what for. I received this from NetGalley to read and review.

I have never met a Jodi Picoult book I didn't like and this was no exception. In fact, this is probably my 2nd favorite book of hers...I loved it all the way through to 60% where I got the shock of my life...literally, threw myself back in the chair, I was so surprised. I literally feel like I knew these people and I could so easily picture the places she was talking about even though I have never been there. Nevertheless, the Galapagos Islands have been added to my Facebook album called "places I want to visit based on books, along with the book and the author" Love, love, LOVED this book.

I'm probably in the minority but I didn't really care for this one. I enjoyed the first half of the book but the twist and second half just didn't pull me in. I knew exactly what was going to happen so I was rather over it all.

When I learned Jodi Picoult wrote a book about Covid times, I was really curious. I grabbed Wish You Were Here (signed!) at my local Indie last year…and then avoided it for months. Because Covid wasn’t as far in the past as I assumed it would be.

I finally read it a couple months ago and my feelings are…complicated. The writing is beautiful, the story line is interesting (that twist! 😲), but it was so…Covid-y. Every time I went out after reading, I felt like I was back in the early days. I didn’t want to be near people, I went back to masking, and I generally had the heebie jeebies about being indoors. I honestly didn’t expect such a visceral reaction to the book!

Picoult’s writing is good - so good it took me right back to the worst feelings of the pandemic. If you’re ready to face that, I absolutely recommend this book. If not, maybe give this one a few more months.

And if you’re a Picoult fan, definitely give it a read at some point. Like her other books, she thoughtfully writes observations on current events and weaves a beautiful, meaningful story with lots of things to ponder at the end.

Jodi can do no wrong! I've been reading her books since I was a teen and have loved how she can write emotion and tragedy so well. Although this book is not my favorite of hers, it still has her classic touch.

I love Jodi Picoult…but this book was not it. Had to push myself to skim read & finish it, hoping it would get better. It never did, pretty boring

Readers who have spent time with Picoult's writing likely expect there to be a twist of some sort, something that calls upon us to look at something differently than we'd previously considered. That said, the one in this book knocked my socks off. The way she navigated COVID felt like we hadn't been immersed in it for years already. Brilliant.

I'm not sure what to think of this book. I liked the characters and it had a twist I did not see coming. I did enjoy it.

BOOK REVIEW ALERT – Review, Recommendation, Rating & Opinion are my own.

Title – Wish You Were Here

Author – Jodi Piccoult

Genre – Thriller

Covid – 19 changed the world in a way no one could comprehend. During this time, the author managed to come up with this fabulous book that was an absolute page turner.

The wonderful read follows the Diana O’Toole who has charted out her whole life to the T. But little did she know that her whole plan was going in a direction she would never have dreamt of. Well, that is life.
Diana’ has planned her life in a certain direction. Married at Thirty with kids done by Thirty-Five to her amazing Doctor Boy Friend Finn, a surgical resident. A much awaited holiday to the Galapagos Island where a beautiful proposal awaits and the whole planned life is to take a new shape and form.

But, a virus breaks out and is spreading real fast. At the nick of the time, Finn has to back off as he is called on to doctor duty and there is no way that he’s going to join this trip. Diana is urged and pushed to take the trip alone as she has been wanting to go to the island for the longest time.

As soon as eh reaches the island,. the whole island is under quarantine and there starts a whole new world that Diana would never have envisaged. Friendships budding and secrets buzzing, Diana has to steer around with care while her mind is have a race of its own.

– What happens when she returns?
– Will her choices remain the same?
– Would she have become a whole new person?
– Can her secrets in the island remain a secret?

Rating – 4.5/5 Stars
Recommendation – High

I loved this book so much that I read it one go. An absolute page turner, if you haven’t got your hands on this book, then now is the time. It keeps you guessing till the end and piques your interest right from the beginning till the very end.

P.S – Thank You The Write Reads for organizing and inviting me to be a part of this magnificent blog tour. Thank You Penguin Publishers and Netgalley for providing the ecopy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Really enjoyed! It’s cool to see how JP books have evolved, used to be more focus on changing character POV but the newer books are changing timeline. You can tell she puts a lot of research into her books to make them more robust. I think while many people are shying away from covid fiction right now, this will be an important read for future generations who may not remember the pandemic.