Brilliant! I wasn't sure that I was interested, or ready to read about Covid or the pandemic but leave it to Jodi Picoult to craft a riveting story about something that has affected so many people. This grabbed me from the first few pages.

Jodi Picoult does it again! I received this ARC from Netgalley & Random House, so a giant thank you to them!

I will put a giant TRIGGER WARNING on this, as it involves Covid and everything that has gone on in our world since March 2020. If you or a loved one were affected negatively & had a close call with the virus, you may want to hold off on this one until things aren’t so raw.

Like most of Jodi’s books, this one hits right to the heart of things. I love how she has taken to writing from a couple perspectives. It makes each read so much more interesting. I was immediately drawn into her character development and thought I had this book figured out. NOPE! Plot twist! I couldn’t put this down & it's tough to give a full 5 stars only bc gosh darn it, I want more!

The images she paints when describing life for front line workers is unreal. You can almost feel what it must have been like for them, but for those who weren’t working up close and personally with affected patients, it is almost impossible to fully grasp the physical & emotional toll.

I know that not everyone will be comfortable (or even able) reading this book, but at some point, I feel like it needs to be read. It helps shed so much light on everything that people affected directly and those not have experienced at some point throughout the last year and a half.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read Jodi Picoult's latest work. I have read all of her books and enjoyed every one except The Book of Two Ways, So, I was very happy to read this one to see if she had fallen back into my good graces. I'm happy to say she did!

I know that a lot of people are saying that they aren't ready to read a book set during the COVID crisis, but I was. I was curious to see how she tackled it. I don't want to give away anything in this review, but I will say that Picoult gave the reader a very moving, insightful, and well-researched account of the effects of the pandemic from a variety of perspectives. The book starts on March 13, 2020. I think everybody can remember what life felt like at that time. There were so many unknowns and so much unchartered territory. The characters in this book face the pandemic from different perspectives, which are described in amazing detail. Each of them seemed real and believable to me.

Aside from the pandemic, as she always does, Picoult weaved other elements into her story - in this case beautiful depictions of the Galapagos and insight into the world of art sales. I was happy to learn about both of these.

We don't know how this period of time will change our lives, but this book gives us a glimpse into the possibilities. It was thought-provoking and emotional. I especially enjoyed the Author's Note, because I enjoy reading about how she comes up with her ideas, and her research fascinates me.

I'll admit the last few books I've read by her didn't really do it for me. Until this one. Holy smokes! What the heck happened???? I cannot review this book properly without giving anything away, and this book is best read going in blind. I will say it does involve the pandemic, nothing more. PLEASE READ THIS BOOK!!!!! Its completely renewed my faith in her books :D

Entertaining but not your typical Jodi Picoult book. I usually find them engrossing and hard to put down.. This one not so much but still enjoyable and an interesting perspective on the Galapagos. And then the mid read bombshell and turn around had me unable to put it down till the end. An interesting and somewhat harrowing view of covid as we hit the fourth wave and what happens when Life as you know it, well, is turned upside down.

I’m shook!! I’ve read a few books already involving the covid pandemic and each time I asked myself if it was too soon, if it was going to be entertaining or depressing or if I wanted to relive it. THIS was so differently done that it was like 3 stories in one that happened just because of covid. Informational as well as entertaining, it’s a story that I’ll be thinking about for quite awhile. And the ending was perfection! Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for this early copy for review.

Once again Jodi Picoult is on her "A" game. Her books never disappoint and this one is no exception. We follow the story of Diana O'Toole whose life is well on it's way to following the path she has long envisioned for herself. However, life has as a way of disrupting well-made plans and Picoult navigates us through Diana's ups and downs and shows us the strength we each have to come out stronger. Using the pandemic as a catalyst makes the story so timely and something we can all relate to, A great read.

Life swings on a pendulum marking time but suspending us in motion. Swinging to side to side, we're stuck, angry, scared and afraid to venture out to rejoin the world. 'Wish You Were Here' hit home as the pandemic touched everyone's lives. It separated us from loved ones, furloughed jobs, created fear and above all, we lost people we cared about due to Covid-19.

“Humans mark tragedy. Everyone remembers where they were when Kennedy was shot, when the Twin Towers fell, and the last thing they did before the world shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic.” (Picoult)

Front-end workers bravely faced the Virus risking their lives to keep us safe. Even if we're not sick, the fear is mentally draining. How do we move forward if we're paralyzed?

What started as a light-hearted story preparing for a trip to the Galápagos quickly morphed into the emergence of pandemic and a bird's eye view of being stuck overseas on lockdown and facing crippling isolation unable to be with friends and family.

Diana's longing and separation represented society's struggle. Our lives were put on pause and we didn't know what the future would bring. Family and friends became sick and we couldn't be with them or sometimes even say goodbye. Having closure or reaching out to provide support was taken away from us.

Readers need to reveal layers of the book a stroke at time. as the sense of drowning we've all experienced. Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early edition of #WishYouWereHere in exchange for an honest review. The story struck a chord with me and after reading, I'm still reliving some of the chapters.

While other books mention the pandemic, this story personifies it as a secondary character. It reinforces how our lives can change in an instant and the importance of family and friends. Mend relationships, live life to its fullest and cherish times with loved ones. Thank you to Jodi Picoult for writing such a poignant read.

“The reason this all feel surreal is that we’re in uncharted territory…We’ve never been through something like this…Humans love to find pattern and to make sense of what we see. When you can’t find those patterns, it’s unsettling. The CDC tells us that we have to social distance, and then the president is on TV without a mask, shaking people’s hands. Doctors say if you feel sick you should get a test, but the tests are nowhere to be found. Your kids can’t go into a classroom, even though it’s the middle of the school year. You can’t find flour in the grocery shelves. We don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow, or six months from now. We don’t know how many people will die before this is all over. The future is completely up in the air.” (Wish You Were Here)

I flew through this book about a nearly-30 year old woman who has the next 10 years planned and everything is going along...and then her boyfriend has to bow out of their dream vacation to the Galapagos Islands because the hospital he is a resident at is getting their first COVID cases and he has to work.

He tells her to go without him and she does, but then the island where she's staying is locked down like the rest of the world. Internet and cell service are poor to nonexistent. The hotel, the restaurants, all of the tourist industry is shut down.

So, what happens when you're stranded in nearly-paradise, thousands of miles away from your job (don't worry, you're probably furloughed), the person you love, and your mother, who is living in assisted living and suffering from dementia. And what comes next? That's what Diana has to figure out.

I've been waiting for the deluge of books in which COVID plays a role and I'm so glad that Ms. Picoult is one of the first authors I've read who has done this. She handles the many strings in this book deftly and balances the gravity of the pandemic with an entertaining story.

My thanks to Random House/Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Diana is a 29 year old New Yorker with a strong list of life goals. She has her life all planned out and is currently on track checking all the boxes as she goes. She and her resident doctor boyfriend, Finn, have similar life goals, and she is certain he will propose soon. Both have a visit to the Galapagos Islands on their lists and are planning to head out there for vacation at the start of the book. Then covid starts to hit her city, and Finn is unable to leave his job at the hospital. He insists it will be safer for her to go to get away from the city and not lose out on their non refundable vacation.

Diana goes to the Galapagos Islands and shortly after arriving, the island she visits goes on lockdown. This moment is where she goes from being a character with a checklist to a person I think many will connect with. Her feelings of helplessness, loss and fear of the unknown during quarantine paralleled ones I know many felt during this time of the pandemic, including me. I found myself nodding my head and re-reading passages from here to the end of the book. On the other side of these feelings, Diana has an eye for beauty and art. It is something she is trained to look for in her current job, but the experience and creation of art is something she re-learns while in the Galapagos. I loved seeing the island through her eyes. During this time of pause, she asks questions about her current life and happiness. I found all characters in this book to be well developed, hopeful, fearful, and flawed in the most believable ways.

I requested this book because I am a big Jodi Picoult fan. I actually started it not knowing what the topic was- I was reading it because I love her books. Her books consume me in the best ways. Her extensive research weaves into her narratives in such a natural way that I finish the books with a better understanding of the world and my feelings about the big topics she writes about. This book was the same. For me, reading about covid and the pandemic made me better understand my feelings about that time; it made me feel connections to these characters in ways I normally wouldn’t, and made me feel understood about my experiences and feelings. I also gained new insight. Finn’s emails to Diana were raw and so realistic and gave me a glimpse into what was happening at the hospitals.. Please read the author’s note when you finish; it gives insight into her choices and experiences during the pandemic and made me love the book even more. Whenever you are ready to read a book about this topic, I highly recommend it. Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books/Random house for this ARC!

This book was absolutely amazing! I was hooked from the beginning, and sad when it ended. That Covid-19 is still happening made the hook that much more realistic. Among my top 5 Jodi Picoult books, and that is saying something!

In this novel, a couple is on their way to the Galapagos when Covid strikes. The man is a doctor in NYC and stays behind to take care of patients. His girlfriend goes and is essentially trapped on the island while Covid lockdown occurs. Or is she?

I like this author but haven't enjoyed her recent books as much. I like her old style of tackling a social problem and presenting various characters' viewpoints.

Before the last book of hers I received on NetGalley, I had never read a Jodi Picoult book. I had heard of her of course., who hadn't? I'm not sure why I had never picked up any of her books, but I am so grateful I did and found out how much I love her writing

This is so much more than a book about COVID, but COVID is very much a reason this story was told. Jodi was in quarantine, like the rest of us, and if you read the authors note at the end, you will find out where she got the idea for the book.

Diana finds herself on a solo trip to the Galapagos Islands because her boyfriend, a resident in an NYC hospital, must stay behind to deal with the very new virus. Her trip gets extended because the virus shuts the island down and Diana discovers a lot about herself during and after this vacation.

I don't want to give away any spoilers, but this book was something I needed to read at this moment. I am a planner, much like Diana. I had a plan for my life, and as we all know, life rarely goes as planned, and mine sure hasn't. This is a story that reminds you, life will throw us curve balls, and it sure is short, but everything happens for a reason. Even if sometimes, it takes us a while to understand the reasons for it.

I loved this book very much and HIGHLY recommend it!!

This is the first book I’ve read about Covid and the pandemic. I couldn’t think of a better author then Jodi Picoult to tell this story.
It was so original in the way that all of the different people and their experiences came together. I felt like I was right in the middle of the pandemic all over again. This novel showed the resilience and the bravery of the human spirit. I’m a better human after reading this and I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

*Thank you to the Publisher, Jodi Picoult and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review*

Jodi Picoult is back!!

Diana and Finn are taking the trip of a lifetime to the Galapagos Islands. Then Covid hits and Finn, a surgeon, must stay and help with the influx of patients. He insists she go without him and she reluctantly does. Unfortunately, as soon as Diana arrives, everything shuts down. She has little cash on her and the hotel she had reservations at has just closed their doors. There are no ferries off the island, and they ground all flights. She meets a local Abuela who lets her stay at the apartment under her house. As Diana stays and weeks turn into months, she becomes more involved with Abuela's family, including her handsome son and his daughter, Beatriz.

While some may think "too soon" to read a fictional book regarding the very real tragedy of Covid, Picoult has done a great job with just enough angst to keep you reading and enjoying this wonderful book. Known for her extensive research into the subjects she writes about, Wish You Were Here is done tastefully and written with creativity. This book is a true gem.

Please make sure to read her prologue about why she wrote this book. It is truly awe-inspiring.

I’ve long admired the way Jody Piccoult can take a controversial current event topic and make it engaging, readable and interesting. I go into her books thinking I understand an issue, only to be presented with other perspectives. Piccoult gives me an opportunity to think about issues and I always feel smarter when I finish her books.

Wish You Were Here begins as a romance veering off course. The beauty of the Galápagos, the varied creatures, and an isolation few have experienced set the stage for Diana to explore everything she knows about art, relationships, and grief. As an art broker for Sotheby’s, she already knows a lot about art, but not how it can expand personal relationships. As a daughter of a doting father who died, and an absentee mother afflicted with Alzheimer’s, she must learn a new kind of grief. And as the almost fiancée of a doctor in the first wave of the COVID-19 wave in NYC, she has much to learn about relationships.

I won’t reveal the shift of the second half of the book, but I will say that this book continues the exploration of life and death begun in Piccoult’s last book, The Book of Two Ways, though Wish You Were here is an easier read with a totally different story. (Many of my reading friends didn't like the intense Egyptian explanations of that one, though I found them fascinating. My review of The book of two waysHer research is, as always, stellar, and fascinating. I did not think I was ready for a “Covid” book, written during the actual worst times of the virus in the USA, but I found much peace and healing here. I guess we really couldn’t be shocked any more than we were, and it’s nice to see our feelings given credence and respect. This is a don’t miss book for 2021 and beyond.

Wish You Were Here will be released November 30, 2021, just in time to be a wonderful gift for reader friends. I appreciate being allowed to read an Advanced Readers Copy by the publisher, Penguin Random House and NetGalley. five plus stars!

Another fantastic novel from Jodi Picoult. Heartbreaking, yet uplifting story about a young couple dealing with the devastating effects of COVID-19. Dianna and Finn are a happy couple planning a two week vacation to the Galapagos when COVID is just starting out. Finn is a physician and is unable to go on the trip because his hospital is suddenly overrun with patients. Should Dianna go without him, is it even safe to travel? As they face these questions they have no idea how the answers will change their lives forever. This book gives an honest, sad account of how this virus changed so many lives forever. Even though it is fictional I am sure this story mirrors many true stories of people around the globe. Fantastic story, perhaps her best yet.

Full review to come on Instagram closer to Pub Day. Thank you to the publisher Ballantine Books, author Jodi Picoult, and NetGalley for a review copy.

I'm a tried and true Picoult fan. I've read ever single one of her books and originally found her through an old-coworker. I was hesitant at the time because I was devoted to my thrillers and typical authors and read nothing else. Fortunately, I was almost immediately hooked. Her last novel, "The Book of Two Ways", was a very tough read for me and overall discouraging. Not to say it wasn't a good book, controversially, I'd say it was TOO good of a book. The dedication it took to research Egyptology, Archeology, Dig Sites, etc. was amazing - but too complicated for an enjoyable read. As soon as I saw "Wish You Were Here" on Net Galley, I crossed my fingers both hoping that I would be approved and also hoping it would restore my love of Picoult books. Well, it exceeded any and all expectations. Diane starts out with the picture perfect life - wonderful boyfriend, good job, and overall heading towards success in life. Interject Covid - which not only takes her to a crazy place but flips her entire life upside down. I have to say - I did NOT see the shocker coming in the middle of the book. I also loved how it incorporated Covid-19. What a weird thing to say - Covid-19 is such an awful disease and a time period in history. But, it was the first book in a long time that made me feel like I could relate to all this confusion, sadness, and overall life adjustment. I am a mom of 3 kids and to say it turned our entire lives upside is an understatement. But by reading this book - I could relate. I could feel her pain. I could feel the issues that I've encountered in the last year and half. And it was a relief - a relief that I wasn't going crazy either. This was really happening in America today. Congrats to Picoult for a wonderful new heartbreaking but life changing novel. Life everyday to the fullest! Go to the island - don't look back!

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for my honest review.

This felt lighter somehow than Picoult’s other books, but the COVID-centric storyline was a bit of a bummer all the same. I enjoyed it and it was well-written, but the “twist” felt a little trope-y and convenient. However, I zoomed through it and would recommend it to anyone who’s enjoyed her past work.