Jodi Picoult

An upcoming book to be published by Penguin Random House.

Wish You Were Here

Jamie Loh

Ask anyone who's nearly died: you should live in the moment. 

Unfortunately, that's impossible. Every moment keeps slipping past. You can only go on to the next moment and the one after that, seeking out what you love most with whom you love most. All those moments, tallied up? That's your life. Bucket lists aren't important. Benchmarks aren't important. Neither are goals. You take the wins in small ways: Did I wake up this morning? Do I have a roof over my head? Are the people I care about doing okay? You don't need the things you don't have. You only need what you've got, and the rest? It's just gravy.

I wrote my master’ thesis on the reliability of memory, and how it fails us. In Japan, there are monuments called tsunami stones- giant tablets on the coastlines warn descendants of earlier settlers not to build their homes past a certain point. They date back to 1896, when two tsunamis killed 22,000 people. The Japanese believe that it takes three generations to forget. Those who experience a trauma pass it along to their children and their grandchildren, and then the memory fades. To the survivors or a tragedy, that’s unthinkable- what’s the point of living through something terrible if you cannot convey the lessons you’ve learned? Since nothing will ever replace all you’ve lost, the only way to make meaning is to make sure no one else goes through what you did. Memories are the safeguards we use to keep from making the same mistakes.

Contains an exclusive short story from Jodi Picoult featuring the main character, Diana, available in the first print run only. Pre-order now to guarantee your copy! Diana O'Toole's life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she's up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby's and she's about to fly to the Galápagos where she's convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose. But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees. Once she's in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded - albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there's a better way to live. But not everything is as it seems . . .

the compelling new must-read bestseller from Jodi Picoult

ashwitherow

Ineta Poliscenko

Good grief. 0/10. Should have stopped in chapter one when I thought "nobody could possibly be this dumb," but then I heard there was a big twist so I persevered. This was painful to get through because every character is horrible and self involved. I know hindsight is 20/20 and tried to extend some empathy to the protagonist but she just was unimaginably annoying.

Julia Rivera

Elisavet Rozaki 

Obnoxious main character... but bonus points for the twist!

im pissed about gabriel not being real... and i hate finn

hanni

Elle May

My sister gave me this book to read, I'm sure she knew I would like it more than she did. I purposely avoided the description of this book so I could find out for myself, I'm glad I did! The book is set within the Covid pandemic which made me relive just how scared and stressed the lockdown had made me, but I got a sense of relief that Diana was safe on a beautiful island away from it all. Then the twist came... I was devastated for Diana, I won't go into too much detail, but I will say snapping back to reality can be heartbreaking. Overall, I loved the book. The ending left me frustrated, and I needed to know more.

it is rlly slow-burn and boring at the early pages.. and somehow doesn't make sense as we alr escape the pandemic, but i found the hunch as diana's recovery from time to time; the counciousness therapy, her longing, and the maze island

Melissa Palmer

For me, this didn't feel like a typical Picoult book but I ended up really liking it. Set in present pandemic times, this book talks about making choices about your life, your career, your love and your family. It is extremely well written. I liked it a lot.

Patricia Nelson

This book was an 'extra, optional' book club book, and I'm SO GLAD I read it. I'm beginning to realize that I love everything I read from this author. The premise - a woman gets stranded on vacation in the Galapagos and away from her significant other who is a front-line doctor in NYC at the beginning of the Covid-19 Pandemic in March, 2020. The story swept me along as she got her footing in her new surroundings and became a part of that community, while having limited contact with NY and her life outside of paradise. Meanwhile, her boyfriend is drowing in Covid patients in NY and hoping she is ok. I saw an interview with the author where she mentioned that she interviewed front line workers while writing the book, and that they were so grateful to tell their story, and the truth of what it was like in the hospitals in 2020. I can't go into more detail about the turns the story takes without major spoilers, but it's a great read with so so much to discuss. Things like - what if we step off the path we are on and really look at it to see if it is still what we want, or what we would choose? Examine if we believe in things we can't understand, or that don't make sense. What would we risk to have a last chance to speak to a loved one? I can't wait for book club to discuss alllllll of it. Highly recommend. First five-star read of 2023!

Elizabeth Wood

I’m on a roll with 5 ⭐️ books. 

This book may not be for everyone, but I truly enjoyed it. It does cover a lot about the pandemic so if that is a touchy subject, it might not be my first recommendation. 

However, I loved the characters. I loved the twist. I loved the ending. There were also a ton of great one-liners. All around wonderful book.

Kaitlyn Bailey 

The beginning was great I loved the thought of her being on holiday and meeting someone new, but I was just really disappointed when she woke up it feels like a story you would write in primary school.

Lorraine

Always been a Jodi Picoult fan so expected to enjoy this book, but it was better than I thought it would be. I’m glad I left it so long to read after the pandemic, as it would have been too soon after our world was put on pause and we saw so much suffering. I think she has beautifully recorded that time in our lives, it made me remember how scary it was and I found myself crying quite a few times throughout the book, but I also found it heartwarming. Finally, the twist in the middle, I did not see coming at all! This will be a book I recommend in the future.

As far as factual information goes about how different groups of people endured the pandemic, Jodi Picoult did an exceptional job. Never thought I’d be reading about Covid just a few years later but that’s what made it kind of neat. It connected the reader to the story immediately.

I hated that sometimes things said in Spanish were translated in English while other phrases were left to interpretation. I found myself using google translate more often than I would have liked while trying to read this book. 

After the “twist” things got real repetitive and boring for me. I had to push through to the ending only because I really wanted to see how The Greens resident portion played out. That went as expected but everything else fell flat.

Christa Bell

As far as factual information goes about how different groups of people endured the pandemic, Jodi Picoult did an exceptional job. Never thought I’d be reading about Covid just a few years later but that’s what made it kind of neat. It connected the reader to the story immediately.

I hated that sometimes things said in Spanish were translated in English while other phrases were left to interpretation. I found myself using google translate more often than I would have liked while trying to read this book. 

After the “twist” things got real repetitive and boring for me. I had to push through to the ending only because I really wanted to see how The Greens resident portion played out. That went as expected but everything else fell flat.

I wanted more from this book and also somehow wanted less? The twist was interesting, but I found a lot of what came after it repetitive and extraneous. Overall a strange pace, but it kept me entertained enough. 

erin alise 

Samaa alaa eldin

Can't stress enough how much I hated Diana's character development.

Allison

Sara Borden

this book starts off very slow, but i will admit there was a twist i did not see coming. i found it odd to read about a period of time that we’ve all just experienced. the book left me feeling slightly annoyed, but there were certain aspects of the book i did enjoy!

I love Jodi Picoult for the way that she writes about humanity, and this book is no exception. It is surprising, and it offers a reflective perspective on the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Good book, just not up there with Picoult's very best. 

Bethany Jenkins

I love Jodi Picoult for the way that she writes about humanity, and this book is no exception. It is surprising, and it offers a reflective perspective on the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Good book, just not up there with Picoult's very best. 

Lauren Attaway

This book, this book. I was very anxious to read a book that not only took place during Covid but was rumored to reference it very significantly in terms of the plot, but I am glad that I pushed past my hesitations. If you are going to read a novel about Covid, you want it to be as compassionate and carefully researched at this one. Seriously, I read the entire acknowledgements, because I was so curious on how she got so much right. 

Diana and her boyfriend Finn live in New York City, he is a surgical resident, and she works in Art Sales. They are both very driven and have been planning out their lives with exacting energy. It is 2020, and they have saved for a vacation to the Galapagos for like four years. When Covid first appears in the horizon that March, he tells her to go on the trip without him on their dream vacation, because they cannot the deposit back. She goes and winds up in lockdown on an island, where she gradually becomes increasingly involved with the family that takes her in.

There is a twist after the halfway point that you will not see coming, but this book really did a fantastic job of giving you that look at how easy one choice changes everything. I could not put this book down, and I thought I was sick of talking about the last year. 

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

Jodi has done great work describing the ugliness of it all
The notes from doctor, the bruised faces under masks, the emotional breakdowns, the change in perspective and switch of life values.
The despair of those isolating and being trapped from loved ones.
The confusion that teenagers and kids had to go though.
Watching your loved ones die.
Having Covid yourself and recovering from it.

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Jennifer Dieter

Jodi Picoult always has what I need to pull me out of a reading slump. I couldn’t put this one down! It has the signature Picoult twist that I didn’t see coming. It does center the Covid pandemic but isn’t overly graphic. While well researched, it didn’t feel like the research shadowed the plot and characters as can sometimes happen in a Piccoult novel. I really liked Diana as a character and appreciated her journey toward self-discovery.

Kourtney

It’s publication day for Jodi Picoult’s latest novel, Wish You Were Here. As I just finished the story, I’m going to try my best to sum up my feelings, but first - some warnings.

1) When you read the synopsis, it sounds intriguing - a girl leaves New York at the start of the pandemic for a vacation without her doctor boyfriend and has to learn to become a local of the Galápagos Islands while the world closes down. This is true for 61% of the book. Then a twist happens and it’s most definitely not about that anymore. Sort of. Kind of.
2) This is a COVID story. It’s Jodi Picoult - she does not do anything half hearted. She researches the subject she is writing about and will tell you every good, bad and weird detail there is. This book brings us back to the scary days of wiping down everything and not knowing what’s to come. Of losing our jobs, our homes, and struggling with our new reality. It discusses about being intubated - if you have been touched by a COVID case or death that is hard to think about, you may want to wait on this read.

With those triggers in mind, I thought I would be ok to read this. But I wasn’t. I pushed through because of receiving the ARC and wanting to post a review, but COVID is too fresh for me. Reading about wiping off food and what healthcare workers were going through is difficult enough on a good day. For my reading entertainment? I just couldn’t get into it.

The twist? Genius. Discussing the twist? That felt a bit tiresome. It is an interesting thing but it felt like too much detail.

I was also very surprised at how cavalier Picoult’s character Diana was for COVID safety that were never really addressed. Finn would get mad at her but then 30 seconds later it was like it never happened. Ummm. What?

I don’t know if I would rate this higher if I read it say in 5 years from now. For that reason I will give it ⭐️⭐️⭐️.

Excuse me while I go read a holiday story now.

Thank you to the publishers for providing a copy for review via NetGalley!

Wish You Were Here

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