Wish You Were Here: A Novel

Jodi Picoult

Nov 2021 · Sold by Ballantine Books

About this ebook

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes “a powerfully evocative story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six)

Rights sold to Netflix for adaptation as a feature film • Named one of the best books of the year by She Reads

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. She will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.

But then a virus that felt worlds away has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.

Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, the whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.

In the Galápagos Islands, where Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

Ratings and reviews

I read this book for a book club meeting that I sadly wound up not attending. I would have loved to have discussed this book with them, but at least I get to discuss it in general. There were things I loved about this book, and there were things I found really annoying. I can say that the twist hit me like a freight train. This is one of the few post covid books I've read. I really loved how realistic it was talked about. It wasn't glossed over. It wasn't glamorized. (More on blog)

Usually we get a book every other year but this is her 2nd book in 2 years and we get another in 2022. Making that 3 books in 3 years! This novel couldn't have come at a more apropos time as we're still in the midst of this deadly pandemic. I've read other books about pandemics but this is the first novel I've read about the 2019 pandemic specifically. I've wondered when we would start seeing the pandemic reflected in our media. I guess the time is now. This novel follows Diana O'Toole from NYC to her dream vacation in the Galapagos just as the pandemic strikes and the borders are closing. Quarantined & isolated in a foreign country until the borders reopen, Diana is left examining herself, her choices, & her relationships. TAGS: fiction, contemporary fiction, COVID-19 *Thanks to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group's Ballantine Books & Jodi Picoult for providing a free eARC in exchange for my honest review #WishYouWereHere #NetGalley #RandomHouse #AtRandom #jodipicoult

Interesting twist to story in that main character had covid and was on a ventilator instead of being stranded on a island at the beginning of pandemic. Story was well written and the experience of living during the pandemic.

About the author

Jodi Picoult is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of twenty-seven novels, including The Book of Two Ways, A Spark of Light, Small Great Things, Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister's Keeper, and, with daughter Samantha van Leer, two young adult novels, Between the Lines and Off the Page. Picoult lives in New Hampshire.