Wish You Were Here: A Novel

This book surprised me. It begins with Diana, a woman with a solid plan for her life, suddenly stranded in the Galápagos when the pandemic hits. What starts as a story about isolation and self-discovery takes an unexpected turn that completely changes how you see everything that came before it.Picoult captures the unease and unpredictability of early COVID without making it the entire focus. The writing is vivid, especially when describing the island and Diana’s emotional shifts. The twist was bold, but it worked—it forced me to think about how we process trauma and how easily our sense of reality can shift in crisis.Diana’s character isn’t always easy to root for, but she felt real. Her growth felt honest, even if the path there wasn’t what I expected. It’s not a light read, but it’s thoughtful and well-crafted.If you're in the mood for something introspective and slightly off the beaten path, this is worth picking up.

First a warning: If you're not in a good place where you can read about the experiences of Covid from many different perspectives, then I'd recommend you steer clear of this book for a while. The trauma from the pandemic is very real, and the author does an incredibly good job of conveying it to the reader in a visceral way. Jodi Picoult carries out an impressive level of research for her oh so human look at the pain, losses, lockdown, heartbreak, grief, loneliness and isolation experienced by people as the horrifying nightmare of Covid-19 took hold and shut down so much of the world. I can understand if this is too soon for many readers to read about, but I found this to be an absolutely riveting read, highlighting the incredibly courageous work of the frontline medical staff.Okay with that said this book is a story inside of a story. As I first started reading I thought it was predictable and I could see where it was going. However as the narrative continues it took a compelling, and unexpected turn, I found it impossible to put this book down. I like that she took it in, let's say, unexpected directions, and explored a subject I knew very little about. I did not predict the way this story would unfold. Which is good.The book is so much more complex and multi-layered than I can convey without giving away too much. There are parental abandonment issues, re-examination of life choices, and myriad other issues that the pandemic brought to the surface for many, if not all of us. The characters are stellar and feel authentic.Wish You Were Here is a emotionally poignant, thought provoking novel, of what it is to be human, and the love, resilence, bravery and hope in the face of a global pandemic that broke so many lives. I think so many readers will love and appreciate this book.

This book had me dreaming of the Galápagos Islands and then quickly on the edge of my seat. An excellent book!

I was so happy with this story. Until it was all wrong. Then it was sort of fixed. Then it wasn’t. Geez, you just have to read it! The author just slowly pulls your heart out and twists it.

At least half of the book was about Diana on Galapagos Island during the start of covid. It is locked down, her luggage didn't make it. Her prepaid hotel is closed. Her boyfriend is back in NYC treating covid patients. I enjoyed this part of the book. She began to realize that what she thought was important in her life was not. She discovered a lot about herself and what mattered to her. Then an unexpected twist happened and I stopped reading for 2 days. It's a book my book club chose for our next meeting so I went back to it. If not for that I may not have finished the book. I'm glad I did, but still, that twist did not sit well with me. Picoult is a good writer but I'm not sure I'll read any of her other books. It seems a lot of the books I've read recently include gay characters, which I'm not opposed to, but it gets tiring with all the angst coming from gay characters. If you like Picoult, you'll probably like the book. It's not a book I would have read on my own if not for book club.

Jodi Picoult is known for taking current events and making them into interesting and intimate stories. In this book, she covers the Covid pandemic.Diana works at Sotheby's in acquisitions, while her boyfriend Finn is a resident doctor at an NYC hospital. They've planned a trip to the Galapagos Islands when a few cases of Covid hit the city. Finn has to stay but urges Diana to take the non-refundable trip. She arrives only to find she's stranded there on Isabela Island with iffy wi-fi and everything closed down, including her hotel. She's taken in by a lovely lady who only speaks Spanish while Diana doesn't, and the first half of the book is Diana reevaluating her life as she struggles to keep in touch with Finn while acclimating to island life. Then there's a huge twist, but no spoilers.Diana and Finn have been perfect for each other, long-term planners and A-types, so life on the island alone with lost luggage and little money is a big adjustment for Diana. At the same time, she gets periodic emails from Finn describing the progress of the pandemic in his hospital. Most of this is familiar information if you paid attention during the worst of Covid, but it still hits hard, especially contrasted with Diana's hiking and swimming days.The twist halfway through the book changes everything and almost turns this into a different but still interesting story. I enjoyed the vivid descriptions of the Galapagos and, in a different way, the compelling stories of the pandemic. Some political commentary won't please every reader, but I found it factual and well-researched. A very thought-provoking book.