First, many thanks to Hodder & Stoughton for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

When I realised Jodi Picoult's latest would be focused on the Covid-19 Pandemic, I was hesitant at first. We are, in many ways, still living in the midst of this global tragedy and I wasn't sure I was ready to live through March 2020 again - even in the pages of a fictional tale. But about 100 pages in, I became achingly aware that I needed to do exactly that. Picoult's account of those first few days, weeks and months of the pandemic is something I once would have balked at, thinking about how I might have reacted in such a situation. But I didn't need to think - I knew. And reading a fictional take on a very real event that I lived through and am still processing, took my breath away. Page by page, Picoult forced me to carve a space within myself to really think about the absurdity and tragedy that was 2020. She made me relive my hope that it would end soon, my fear that someone I loved would catch the virus, my anguish when someone I loved did catch it and I couldn't be with them, my determination to move forward when we had to spend so many months, now over a year, staying still. I needed to read a fictionalised version of 2020 in order to process the reality. And I thank Picoult for taking such care and for approaching the events of the pandemic from a very humanist perspective. Wish You Were Here is a book I can see myself returning to in a few years' time, when the reality of 2020 starts to fade and I need to be reminded of what we went through, what we promised to change.

I love a Jodi Picoult book as they always have an interesting dilemma to them and deal with a current issue, but is it too soon for a book set during the early days of the Covid pandemic?

The book starts in New York just as the pandemic is starting to hit, and our leading female Diane and her boyfriend Finn are due to go on holiday to the Galapagos islands. Finn is unable to go as the hospital he is a doctor at needs him, so Diane goes alone thinking that she’ll be back in two weeks but then the world shuts down and she can’t get home. The emails that Finn sends Diane about being a medical worker during this time period are extremely moving, and help to remind us of what health care staff faced. Their concern for their patients, being at a loss for what would and wouldn’t work, family members not allowed in and the constant worry of taking the virus back home to their own families. You also witness the hard work that it can take to recover from the virus.

Diane on the other side has too much time on her hands, and she now starts to reflect on what she really wants from her life.

There was one point in the book, when I closed it in frustration and had a good moan to my husband, but it came good and I really loved the final moments and I’m glad that I read it.

What shocked me reading it was how much I’d already forgotten about what those early days of Covid were really like, so it’s important that this is being recorded as a memory stone for future generations.

A big thanks to @hodderbooks for gifting me advance ebook access to this title.

Jodi Picoult! I have started and dnf (did not finish) many Jodi Picoult books. This one, however, is only the second one I’ve read all the way through. When I finished it, I wanted more!

A wonderful book full of details about Galapagos and about the COVID pandemic. That’s all I’m going to say, because I don’t want to give away any spoilers about THE twist.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder and Stoughton for this fantastic read.

So I was a little disappointed with the last Jodi Picoult book but with this one she is back to her amazing self and I was blown away by this story of pain and survival during the pandemic and without giving the story away this book broke my heart more times than I can mention. I loved it and I was really sad to get to the last page.

This was a good read but also a little odd. I think it's hard for authors to weave lockdown and covid into a novel when we're still living through it and make in a central part of the plot. I'm not sure I'm ready to read about it yet, because it's so hard living through it still.

That being said, it's an excellent read and so well researched. As ever Picoult introduces the reader to new places and worlds with her inimitable skill.

I’ve read many of Jodi Picoult’s books and so was very pleased to receive a digital copy of this one. A real page turner - I couldn’t read it quickly enough. I don’t want to say anything about the plot for fear of spoiling it. But, lots of interesting characters and it had me gripped from the beginning. Lots of research clearly went into this book. Very relevant and thought provoking. I recommend to everyone. Looking forward to Picoult’s next one already.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the eARC of this book.

As a long-time and huge fan of Jodi Picoult, I held my breath as I awaited the download of her latest offering, ‘Wish You Were Here,’ onto my Kindle.

It is a long time since a book has held my attention to the degree that I can’t wait to turn the next page. Yes, I’ve read some reasonable books lately, but I can pick them up and put them down just as easily. Jodi Picoult rarely disappoints however, and indeed I got through this book so fast, I almost breathed it in!

Written based on recent events surrounding the pandemic, Jodi has, as usual, done a tremendous amount of research to ensure her accounts from all viewpoints are as accurate as possible, bearing in mind that this is a work of fiction.

I wasn't, however, ready for the twist, one of the most memorable I have come across, and which came somewhere around the halfway mark.

I loved the adventures of Diana ‘trapped’ in Covid lockdown on the Galapagos Islands, specifically Isabella Island. Her developing relationships with Abuela, Gabriel and Beatrix, and her adventures on the island among the Iguanas and lava rocks were fascinating, as was the email correspondence with her partner, Dr. Finn, and his first person accounts of critically ill, and dying Covid patients and the horror of the pandemic from the New York hospital where he works.

When the ‘twist’ came, I was unprepared, lost as I was in the magic of the Galapagos; at first it seemed to me that Jodi had made a major error! Surely a writer of her calibre could not possibly use such a trite plot twist as this. I can categorically say that I very nearly threw down my kindle in disgust.

However...not Jodi Picoult! I did her an injustice by even thinking she would use a plotline in such a banal and mediocre way!

I cannot say much more for fear of giving the plot away to those of you who are still lucky enough not to have read it yet! Suffice to say, as the story unravels after the twist, it is just as engrossing, just as fascinating and once again, Jodi has done her research.

I loved ‘Wish You Were Here.’ I loved that the subject matter was current; the character development was fabulous and I really found myself connecting with their emotions and experiences as they were tossed around violently in the storm that is Covid.

Read it! You won’t be disappointed!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
WISH YOU WERE HERE centres around Diana, an art associate specialist at Sotheby’s, and her boyfriend, Finn, surgical resident in NY. The pair had been saving for the last 4 years for a trip of a life time to the Galápagos Islands, but just before they are due to travel, the first cases of Covid hit the city and Finn tells Diana to go without him…
As the pandemic sweeps the globe, Diana finds herself locked down on the beautiful island of Isabela… which is where the story really begins. I can’t say anymore without adding spoilers. But … WHAT … A … STORY 💫 (mind blowing twist included 🤯)

I was totally mesmerised by everything in this book, from the fantastic art research (I’m now super curious about Toulouse Lautrec!), to the vivid, detailed descriptions and history of the Galápagos Islands (where I now want to visit 😂). It was all so fascinating!
And then… the characters - I didn’t want the book to end 😭 I absolutely loved them. @jodi is an amazing storyteller and the way she crafted and brought all the characters to life was just incredible. It was also the first book I read about covid, I found it incredibly emotional and thought provoking bringing to the forefront love, hope, grief, self discovery … and of course bravery in the face of a global pandemic. This book is going to resonate with so many! Out November @hodd

💭 Are you a Jodi Picoult fan? Is this one on your radar? 🗺

#JodiPicoult #BookedupGirl5Stars

A truly brilliant read!

I love it when a book comes along that is not only a brilliant story but sends me off to investigate and do my research on the subject raised. Jodi Picoult has written another one of her extraordinary novels – this time based on Covid-19 and how it affects those who have lived through its devastation on their bodies.

Diana O’Toole is convinced that she left her boyfriend, Finn Colson, a young doctor and travelled to Isabela Island in the Galapagos on her own because the hospital he works at refuses to let any member of staff take their leave thanks to the outbreak of Covid-19.

She spends several months on the island, exploring it with some of the locals, who have taken her under their wing as all the hotels are closed, and the only accommodation she can find is with a family. This “holiday” all comes crashing back to earth when she comes around after days in an induced coma and being on a ventilator. Diana is so weak; it takes months to recover her strength. However, the idea that she wasn’t really on the island leaves her in a state of disbelief and sorrow.

Jodi Picoult has done extensive research for this novel. Diana’s experiences during her induced coma are like others who too come back feeling that what they’ve lived through is different to what their family and doctors describe. Leaving them confused and often changed from their experiences.

I loved this book and the subject. I have a friend whose father-in-law was in an induced coma with Covid for over six weeks. He has “recovered” in that he can once again walk and talk but has lost his previous identity and abilities. I had no idea until reading “Wish You Were Here” how the doctors and nursing staff had to cope with the pandemic. Nor did I have any idea that patients put into induced comas all suffered some sort of change to their perspectives. This must-read novel.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Years ago I used to look forward to Jodi Picoult books being released in the UK but my passion for her waned somewhat and now just occasionally dip back in to se3 where she’s at. So this book was obviously relevant and as always meticulously researched but gave me far more information on art history and art trading than I ever wanted to know. The same with the Galapagos Island information. I would rather go to a place that I have read some tempting info on rather than such a detailed slog.
I’m way in the minority I know but then it would be awful if we all liked the same wouldn’t it?

To put it quite simply this is the best book I have read this year.

It is set during the covid pandemic and felt so real all over again as I was reading it. I live in the UK and remember when I started to hear about the virus but never ever would I have thought that it would change the way we live now.

Some of the descriptions about the Galàpagos were amazing! I felt myself sitting by the water with the penguins and sea lions. There was also a moment where I found myself having to go back a few pages to make sure I was reading what was happening correctly. I was so engrossed in the story and then BAM! The story changed direction which I didn’t see coming at all.

Jodi’s book never fail to disappoint me so thank you for being such an amazing author!

Thank you also to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and the Hodder & Stoughton for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this book. The first half was disappointing for me because I could not see where it was going and then I did! My advice is not to read the synopsis.

I have loved many of Jodi Picoult’s previous books and now having just finished this, I can certainly recommend this one. The writing is always super with well drawn characters, relevant and thought provoking themes. This is much more than a book about Covid.

I am a long time fan of Jodi Picoult and this book is right up there with some of her best. Set at the beginning of the pandemic it follows Diana, on a solo trip to the Galapogos after her boyfriend Finn pulls out at the last minute to continue to work as a doctor treating Covid patients.
Diana is completely cut off from contact as soon as she arrives, finding the islands shutting up shop and hunkering down to avoid the virus. She forms tentative friendships with a handful of locals and finds a way to survive and even enjoy her time, despite being unable to contact the outside world for news.
I was wholly on board with Diana and her island adventures so when the almighty twist in the tale occurred it really took me by surprise and made me reassess everything I had read, believed and felt.
Another excellent novel!

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a story about a Covid survivor who had to use a ventilator to help her breath and was placed in a coma and who survives. Her whole life then turns around after she has recovered and is discharged from hospital.
Whilst in a coma she imagines a whole new life which feels so real to her, that she has difficulty in living the life she had previously to Covid. Her boyfriend is a doctor dealing with Covid patients every day and whilst pre Covid they had plans for what they wanted to achieve, after Covid she feels different.
It is an interesting book dealing with Covid which is still prevalent, although we now have vaccinations . At first on starting to read I thought it was too soon to write about Covid and then I realised that is what authors do, they write.
Recommended.

Well this is a hard one to review without giving away any spoilers. What I can say is that I very much enjoyed the first half of the book and couldn’t put it down, however just over halfway the story takes a sharp turn and I didn’t really enjoy where the storyline went in the second half. I do however still love Jodi Picoults writing style, it always keeps me reading. Just that the content for me in the second half wasn’t what I wanted to be reading about.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I like Jodi Picoult because she is doing her research and describes in details the things that she's talking about in her books. I loved the story, the characters and I feel like I understand better what all the doctors, the nurses and not only had to go through during the pandemic and all their feelings but I understand better what some of the patients had to go through too.

Now I am. a big fan of Jodi Picoult and Small Great Things was superb.and extremely powerful. Wish You Were Here was much more low key and at the beginning felt a bit like a romcom.. The second half was much more powerful dealing with the pandemic and one of the unusual side effects.

All in all I did enjoy it and understand completely Ms. Picoult’s reactions to the pandemic.

This book has to be one of my favourite books so far. Not only has the author touched on a subject that people don’t want to read about but she tells some hard hitting truths in it. It is quite a difficult book to review without giving spoilers but it centres around Diana and her boyfriend Finn. The are due to go on the trip of a lifetime to the Galápagos Islands when Finn, a doctor, says he can’t go as there is a virus called COVID which is going to hit NYC. Diana still goes to the Islands and is instantly locked down , not able to leave the island Isabela she is on, let alone fly back to NYC. The descriptions of her time and adventures there are so vivid that you can almost feel the sunshine and the spray from the sea and lagoons. Meanwhile Finn is coping with COVID patients dying without being able to help them and the aftermath of those lucky enough to survive. The story then examines the vivid dreams people can have after being on a ventilator and in an induced coma and what these could mean. Having been in an induced coma after brain surgery, I could relate to so much of this part of the story and the rehabilitation after an awful illness. Suffice to say it is a book that will stay with me for a while and deserves every one of its 5 stars.

I seem to to be in the minority with my thoughts on this book, for me personally it was as well written as all of Jodi Picoults books but too soon for "pandemic fiction" despite the heartfelt intentions. The authors note was beautiful. My sincere thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Jodi Picoult is back with another great read. She never disappoints. It was wonderful to read such a current book, while we’re still in the grips of the misfortune that befell Diana. It’s a very thought provoking read, one that leads us towards reassessing our priorities and values, about second chances and being thankful for what we have in life. The grass is not always greener as we sometimes suspect. I thoroughly enjoyed this read, one which will prove to be timeless as future generations wonder about the changes and restrictions suffered by those who survived the Covid 19 pandemic.