Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Synopsis.
From the #1 New York Times bestselling 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 Malibu Rising)
Rights sold to Netflix for adaptation as a feature film
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.
The Review
If this book doesn’t give you anxiety, then you’re not reading it right!!
This book gives me anxiety looking at it.
The book WISH YOU WERE HERE by Jodi Picoult is a very up-close contemporary set in current times.
It’s main plot surrounds the Covid virus. It explores a lot of its effects from an insider’s perspective and is extremely intense and personal.
The twist will give you chills and leave you breathless. I wasn’t even sure I had the reader in me required to finish the second half of the book.
The actuality.
It’s a lot!! The reality…
If Jodi Picoult has a magic power, it is in her static resonance. Her voice is loud and unapologetic. I wonder when she begins to write which comes first: the opinion or the plot?
I read A SPARK OF LIGHT and was turned off by how loud the (not her) opinions were on the topic of abortion. This content might do the same to others.
I, however, appreciated the perspective, and it made me a very thankful reader. Thankful for a lot of things.
And as I start to write my New Years’ resolutions this year, I will remember who is holding the pen.
I will remember that I am my own dreamcaster.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Guys, it’s your story! What will you write in your next chapter?
Have you read Jodi Picoult before?
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group #ballantine for sending this my way and to @netgalley & @prhaudio as well for all the #gifted copies!
