Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Diana O'Toole's life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she's up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and she's about to fly to the Galapagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.
But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees.
Once she's in the Galapagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live.
But not everything is as it seems . . .
I was interested to read a book about the Covid 19 Pandemic, and it being written by the fabulous Jodi Picoult was a bonus.
It isn't easy to give a review without exposing spoilers. This book is about living your life to the full, taking chances, and sequentially recognising that life is too short and making the most of it is essential. The story captures the confusion, isolation, loneliness and anxiety of those suddenly caught up in the pandemic.
I genuinely enjoyed this read, and I am more than happy to recommend it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Hodder and Stoughton and author Jodi Picoult for a copy to review.

Topical, hard-hitting, thought provoking and with a great twist that I didn’t see coming - this is the first fictional book I’ve read about Covid 19. If I wasn’t living through it, I’d find it hard to believe that something like this could really happen.
With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

I have been adamant that having lived through the horrors of a global pandemic for the last year and a half, I really really don't want to read about it in fiction. Novels are my escape, my way of putting all this to one side for a few precious moments, and to think about something other than what continues to unfold around us. And yet... This book is superb. Clever, unexpected, heart-wrenching. Turns out there are exceptions to every rule.

I was keen to read a book about the pandemic we are currently living through. It was well written and I particularly enjoyed the first half of the story. It is difficult to give a review without spoiling it for people who haven't read it yet. The author has obviously done a lot of research for the story and I think it will be a well deserved best seller

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book.

The first book I’ve read where the pandemic is a really key part of the story. Cleverly written and made me yearn for travel

"It’s not having the adventures or crossing off the line items of the bucket list. It’s who you were with, who will help you recall it when your memory fails."

Diana is all set to fly to the Galápagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose. But then the virus hits New York City and Finn is needed at the hospital so Diana travels alone.

Once she's in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live. But not everything is as it seems...

Picoult makes Isabela Island come alive with her vivid descriptions. It was thrilling to imagine myself walking sandy beaches, befriending sea lions, and watching flamingos on a quiet, tourist-free vacation.

Diana and Finn’s separation paints the ugly truth of the havoc Covid has played on families and loved ones. Finn's life in the hospital encapsulates the spirit and tenacity with which frontline medical workers continue to fight against this horrible virus.

The story breaks off into part two with a turn so frightening it knocks the air out of your lungs. I fear even the tiniest detail I reveal may be a spoiler so I'll stop here.

Reading this may bring you to relive some of the hardest moments of your life in the past two years. Yet, I find that Picoult has used this event and spun a story that is completely believable and yet so incredibly surprising. The pain is visceral but she shows there is always hope and in the end that is all that matters.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton.

My thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Wish You We’re Here’ by Jodi Picoult in exchange for an honest review. On publication I purchased its hardback edition as it is one that I want to own and revisit.

This is a novel that she hadn’t expected to write. Yet I am very pleased that she did. I found this an amazing book, though it can be hard to find the right words when a novel has had such a profound effect, yet I will try.

First, a word of caution: Jodi Picoult has never shied away from writing about uncomfortable subjects. This novel contains graphic accounts of people with Covid-19 as well as its wider consequences. It is a novel that I would also suggest reading ‘cold’, so only a brief summary.

Friday, the 13th March 2020 and Diana O'Toole's life is going well. At the age of twenty-nine she has a job she loves as an art specialist at Sotheby's New York and has recently secured an important client; an achievement that likely will lead to a promotion. She and her boyfriend, Finn, are about to leave on vacation to the Galapagos and she suspects that while there he is going to propose. So far it could be the set up for a romance novel.

Then Finn, a surgical resident at a NYC hospital, advises Diane that with the increasing cases of the new virus that the hospital needs him to stay. He insists that she should still go and reluctantly Diane agrees.

However, as Diane arrives in the Galapagos the world is shutting down, including her destination, Isabela Island. She elects to stay but finds herself stranded, with only intermittent news from the outside world. While on the island she makes connections with local people as well as with nature, and begins to contemplate aspects of her life to date. No further details to avoid spoilers.

As noted above, Picoult does not hold back on depicting the effects of the virus, not only on those infected but by loved ones distraught when unable to visit or say goodbye as well as the experiences of members of the medical profession. It considers the grief and loss, both personal and collective, experienced by many during the pandemic.

It also portrays how people responded to quarantine, lockdown and restrictions: baking, box sets, boredom, learning to Zoom, and the like. It brought back vivid memories of those early days of the pandemic when uncertainty was high.

I was blown away by this novel on many levels. Given that Diane is sharing her story in the first person, though with additional material, it is a personal account.

There was its central story though I was also drawn by details of the exclusive art world in which Diane works; an appreciation of the natural world and, given the location of the Galapagos, musings on Darwin’s theory of evolution. Spirituality and the sense of purpose also plays an important part in the narrative though in a subtle way. Perhaps most importantly is the journey that we all face in coming to terms with death.

I appreciated Jodi Picoult’s Author’s Note in which she details the intense research that she undertook in order to portray experiences by inviting survivors to share their accounts.

I also expect that ‘Wish You Were Here’ will prove popular with reading groups as it offers a great deal of scope for discussion alongside a good read.

Despite a theme that appears dark, there is hope interwoven throughout. As one character says to Diane: “we are in uncharted territory…The future is completely up in the air.”

Overall, I feel that ‘Wish You Were Here’ is an important novel. A novel with heart that is complex and multilayered, yet accessible. It has also given me new perspectives to consider.

Very highly recommended.

Wow! a lot to think about after that. New to Jodi Picoult, I really enjoyed this parallel tale of the impact of covid on Finn a surgeon in New York whilst his partner Diana goes to the Galapagos islands alone... The twist is startling, the covid content raw and harrowing. The end is very sudden after a long build up exploring Diana's sense of identity, her relationship with her mother and her role as an art valuer with a Yoko Ono type figure. I will be thinking about his story for a while, recommend.

Only Jodi Picoult can pull off a wonderfully gripping story featuring Covid-19 at its core. I’m glad I didn’t know this book would revolve around the pandemic as I never would have chosen to read it. But I loved it. And it’s an important book. While other authors skirt around or ignore it completely when they write books set during the pandemic, Picoult takes us right into the heart of the horror, desperation and destruction caused by the virus. She illuminates the gruesome, devastating experiences of frontline health workers, those on ventilators and those who lose loved ones.
Juxtaposed to all this grimness, death and horror, is a romance that takes place far away from it all, on Isabela, an island in the Galapagos. It is here that Diana O’Toole ends up on holiday, without her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, just before the pandemic shuts down global travel. Stuck in paradise, she starts to relook at herself, her relationship and her life. Being Picoult, there’s a huge curved ball, which again, only an author of her stature could get away with.
Highly recommended.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite authors and she’s not let me down with her newest release. It was immediately given five stars as soon as those tears started streaming down my face and I was left ugly crying!

This is very different from her usual style of books and it is quite difficult to review without giving anything away as there is a pretty huge twist halfway through that completely floored me. All I will say is that this book left me in mourning, I think that’s why I was crying so much due to parts that happen at the beginning to then hitting the twist. (That’s all I’ll say!)

I’ve read a number of books now that are set during the pandemic which can sometimes feel forced, however with this it is the main focus and really explores how it has affected everyone especially those on the front line. We see this through the character of Finn who is a surgeon at the hospital as we read about what he was facing every single day and how exhausted he becomes.

Whilst there is a lot of focus on COVID, there is also the glorious chapters on Diana’s time on Isabella Island in the Galapagos which were beautiful to read about but also explored that feeling of isolation during the pandemic with the lockdowns.

This book is about living your life, taking chances, reaching out to those who need us and ultimately remembering that life is short and to make the most of it!

Overall this book is stunning from start to finish with one of the most epic twists I’ve read and something that I will be thinking about for a long time. I loved it and my heart is still trying to process everything that just happened!

Wish You Were Here is the latest offering from Jodi Picoult , and its current day setting means that the Covid 19 pandemic is a central plot point, so for readers who want to escape the grim reality of life at the moment, this may not be the book for you.
Diana has her life sussed, she is working in her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and is about to launch the next stage of her career with the auction of a rare and much sought after painting which has both artistic significance and pop culture credibility. She and her boyfriend are about to embark on their dream vacation to the Galapagos Islands , and she is pretty sure that he is about to pop the question. What could possibly go wrong? Outbreaks of a mysterious virus start to hit New York just before they are due to leave and Diana's boyfriend Finn feels compelled to stay, as a doctor, he is needed at work. He convinces Diana to go without him, telling her she will be safer out of the city and away from the risks he will be bringing home every day. Setting off alone is not what she planned but she decides to take the opportunity. Her dream trip continues to unravel however, and she finds herself trapped on an island where she does not speak the language, all non essential businesses including the hotel she was supposed to be staying at have been shut down, and there is no possible way to get back home until the government reopens the borders. Slowly Diana adjusts to a new way of life and starts to make friends in the local community, including a sullen teenage girl who is also trapped on the island with her dad. As time elapses and Diana looks no closer to getting home, she begins to re-evaluate her life and career and wonder if she is really as happy as she thought.
For many people the importance of Covid to the plot of the book may be off-putting but I really admired how vividly and viscerally the author was able to convey the fear and uncertainty of the early days of the pandemic, when the lack of knowledge about what we were dealing with and the enormous pressures place on the health care system and its workforce. It was wonderfully handled without every being heavy handed. As always when I am reading a Jodi Picoult book, I expected believable and relatable characters, and once again she did not disappoint, As with many of her books , there is a twist which I really cannot discuss in any detail without ruining it, but it was so cleverly done that I could only gasp in admiration when I realised what had happened.
This is a powerful and moving book that does not shy away from the harsh realities the world has faced in the last couple of years, but still manages to provide an escape that so many of us desperately need.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

This is the second book by Jodi Picoult that I have read, a great author that I have discovered recently and I liked very much.
I'm not going to lie, it was difficult to read about something all of us have struggled with and still struggle to overcome.
The book was very good and the writing great!

Diana & Finn have their lives neatly planned. She will get promoted, they will get married & have children & move out of New York City, He will make progress in his career as a doctor. They have a bucket list of places to see, one of which is the Galapagos Islands. Their trip has been arranged but as they were set to go Covid 19 began & Finn felt he couldn't leave but wanted her to go anyway as it would also keep her safe. Reluctantly she agrees but her journey is not smooth. Her luggage goes missing & as she arrives on one of the smaller islands it is about to enter lockdown but she decides to stay. Struggling with lack of belongings, difficulty in communicating she struggles to adapt. Her contact with Finn is erratic & disjointed as he is caught up in the nightmare of the pandemic that will change them forever.

I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult for many years bur having been very disappointed by her last book I was a bit wary of this one, however this was back to the magic I remembered. The pandemic has made an impact on all our lives & this book captures the horror very well. I really enjoyed this book- even though is was pretty harrowing in places. Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this book.
Hide entire review because of spoiler

I haven’t read a Jodi Picoult book in years but that has reminded me why I binge read so many of her books when I was younger.

I loved this one and I can’t get enough, the descriptions of the Galapagos, they are incredible! The way the author writes about isolation in this dream destination is really well done.

I have the emails from home (her doctor boyfriend) a little hard to read as it showed the reality of the pandemic faced by frontline workers in hospitals. It really brought home how much they all did for us and how petrified they must have been.

There are plenty of good things in this book: the way it documents the pandemic through the character of Finn is outstanding; Jodi Picoult's writing is as impressive as ever, with sentences that make you stop and reread, so perfect and shrewd they are; and, of course, the twist at the end of part I is undeniably clever. But on the whole, the plot made me feel like I was reading a romance, a genre I'm not particularly into. Maybe it's because she wrote this one quickly, but I felt it lacked the profundity of Jodi Picoult's previous book. It's a novel I will still recommend to readers who I know will find it engaging, but a bit of a let down for me.

Covid has well and truly hit, Diana O'Toole and her doctor boyfriend and meant to be going on holiday. The hospitals are struggling and Finn encourages Diana to go the non refundable trip of a lifetime alone. Paradise has no signal, Diana ends up stranded in a place she doesn't speak the language with only a troubled teen, her angry dad and helpful gran to get through the days. We hear from Finn back home in broken correspondence from the bits of emails/messages that manages to make it across the seas.

So I know this book won't be for everyone because a lot of people don't want to read about covid. Whilst covid does feature in the book in isn't the whole focus or even the main meat of it. Diana goes on a bit of a person journey, self discovery and growth being stranded, very limited communication from back home. I loved the island she goes to, Picoult paints such a vivid picture you could see the places, smells, animals, just serene!

Then we have the aspects of covid, poor Finn, caught in the midst of it, unable to properly talk to Diana, offload, decompress - the things we do with partners during extreme stress. I think if you aren't in healthcare or haven't been affected by covid this is a fantastic book to let you see the devastation, emotional impact that covid can have, on healthcare, on a person, on relationships, there isn't really anything it doesn't impact upon.

Sometimes Picoult can knock the stuffing out of you in some of what she writes or how she constructs parts of her story. I actually uttered the words out loud "No Waaaaaay" during one part and that my friends is a teaser not a spoiler! I really liked this book, I think she wrote a really hard subject and humanised it by creating the characters the way she did. 4/5 for me this time, I do enjoy Picoult's books and have at least one or two more to catch up on so I have read them all. I need to bump them up the tbrm, this reminded me how much I like her writing!

I am a fan of Jodi Picoult and I usually enjoy her novels. Unfortunately this one just wasn't for me. I think reading about the pandemic whilst still going through it was too much for me.

Hmm. What to say about this that won't seem really mean?

Jodi knows how to write. She knows how to tug at a heartstring and how to make a compelling read. She clearly did a lot of research and poured it all into Finn's emails and discussions. She writes good characters.

But I feel lied to by that twist.

That's silly, right? A twist should take you by surprise, there shouldn't be any hint of it in the blurb, and if you can't guess at it, that means it's well done. But there should also be a chance that you can guess the twist, because if you can't, it's not a twist. And looking back at this, I see one moment where in hindsight you can see the join, but not when you read it first.

I still kept reading, and the second half, the new story, was interesting too, in a different way. I liked it well enough. But I'm not sure I'll ever trust Jodi again, and that's a shame. It's not a bad story. It was just told in a way that didn't suit me.

Very topical story about the pandemic and problems surrounding it. Some beautiful descriptions of Galapagos..Despite the subject matter it was a great read.

Diana has all her life planned out, she has her job at Sotheby's and will soon get a promotion, she lives with Finn and he is going to propose on their upcoming holiday to the Galapagos. But, everything is about to change, as a pandemic hit the world and just like that, everything changes.

Finn works in a hospital and he is not able to take time off, as the number of people hospitalized is about to increase significantly and they need all hands on deck. However, he said to Diana that she should just go on hew own....and so she does, but on her arrival she is faced with a decision: the island is closing, so she either goes back to NY now or she stays not knowing when she will be able to depart again.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite writers, I always devour her books and this is no exception and there is a huge twist in the story. This is the first book I read that is set in Covid times and it is not an easy read, I felt those lives lost and the trauma we all lived through and Jodi described perfectly how we all felt (and still feel). This is a story that a few years ago would seem so far off from reality... and talks about coming to terms with having your life (and your reality) turned upside down and accepting we can't plan everything in our life.