Wish you Were Here

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Picoult, Jodi, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Picoult, Jodi
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch

"From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes a deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit in a moment of crisis. 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 Galapagos-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 Galapagos 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"-- Provided by publisher.
Diana O'Toole has a plan: 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 just knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galapagos. Then a virus that felt worlds away appears in the city, and Finn has to stay at the hospital. Since the trip is nonrefundable, Diana goes, reluctantly. Her luggage is lost, and the hotel they'd booked is shut down due to the pandemic. With the whole island under quarantine, she carves out a connection with a local family, and begins to examine her relationships, her choices, and herself. -- adapted from jacket

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

THE TWIST!!! (no spoilers) submitted by gtaylor on June 18, 2022, 9:47am Ok, if you've read Jodi Picoult, you know she loves a good twist. This book is no exception. Jaw dropped to the floor, audible gasp, reread the page 5 times to make sure it really just happened. Some may find the beginning a bit slow and repetitive. In my opinion, the second half makes up for it. It's about the beginning of the COVID epidemic, so maybe don't read it if you're looking for an escape from reality.

Interesting submitted by sara on July 8, 2022, 5:38pm This book stayed with me long after I finished it. I would recommend it.

Devil's Advocate submitted by shiaue on August 3, 2022, 7:35am Not my favorite Piccoult but definitely has a great twist. First half of the book is pretty picturesque and almost cliche. As a nurse working through the pandemic, it felt like I was having to relive the horrors of the pandemic so not as fun.

A little slow submitted by kendalwon on August 8, 2022, 11:13am Had a hard time getting into this one.

Engaging submitted by vclinton on August 6, 2023, 8:04pm Picoult really does have an engaging writing style and it was an easy book to read from the perspective of wanting to pick the book back up. It's honestly pretty good. I think it'll be even more of an interesting read when we need to remember how it felt to move through a pandemic.