Wish You Were Here: A Novel
#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)
Look for Jodi Picoult’s new novel, By Any Other Name, available August 20!
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.
Look for Jodi Picoult’s new novel, By Any Other Name, available August 20!
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.
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Readers say *Wish You Were Here* by Jodi Picoult vividly portrays healthcare workers’ experiences during early Covid-19, especially in NYC, with emoti...
After reading Small Great Things and the Storyteller (both amazing stories), I was a little let down by this book, esp. when I got to the twist in the middle. Diana's exploration of the nature of memory as impacted by illness helped smooth that transition a little bit, but the bit she got from the psychic just seemed a bit much.
I do appreciate the detail Picoult went into about what it was like for doctors and nurses in the early days of Covid, in an area as hard hit as NYC. I'm afraid too many Americans have forgotten what that was like or minimized it b/c the reality was just too traumatizing.
I do appreciate the detail Picoult went into about what it was like for doctors and nurses in the early days of Covid, in an area as hard hit as NYC. I'm afraid too many Americans have forgotten what that was like or minimized it b/c the reality was just too traumatizing.
I read this book twice, the first time was in 2023, I got to chapter 2, and I had to put the book down. I didn’t put it down because of the subject matter; but because I didn’t enjoy the way the story was going. I had to reread it for book club, which meant I had to finish it. This time getting past part one and getting into part two, I started to enjoy the story. The first time when I reviewed it on Goodreads, I said it would not make a good book club read. I had to rethink that when I read it completely and I found it was thought provoking. I will say I enjoy the book, because I think she didn’t put politics in the story. She put just straightforward the way people felt on living through this time in history.
I have read most of Jodi Picoult's books and have enjoyed most of them. This is one of her better ones. Yes, she wrote it while on lockdown like everyone else in the world. Yes, it is about Covid but it takes a turn different than you might expect. It is very well researched (as all her books are), well developed characters, and thought provoking.
The two main characters, Diana and Finn, are a millennial couple living in NYC when the pandemic strikes. Diana is an art acquisition specialist and Finn is a surgical resident. They are planning a bucket list trip to the Galapagos in March 2020. Unfortunately, Covid hits NYC hard and Finn is unable to get away from the hospital. He encourages Diana to still go. It is a no refund trip, after all. Once Diana gets to the Galapagos, the island is shut down and she is stranded (without her luggage) in a country where she doesn't speak the language. She never planned to be there alone. She tries to make the best the situation and becomes involved with a few local residents. The internet is spotty but she manages to get some emails from Finn where he details the experiences he is having at the hospital. Diana is feeling very isolated being so cut off from the rest of the world. I could sense that she was starting to question if her perfect life with Finn was really what she wanted after all but I was not prepared for the twist that really does happen. This comes about 1/2 way through.
This book is meaty, with big issues (besides Covid) like life choices, relationships and parent abandonment. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was formed in the Galapagos & Diana finds herself wondering if she too has changed and evolved. If you have been directly affected by Covid, this might not be for you. Regardless of your views on it, the book was insightful and very well written. Would be a great bookclub pick!
The two main characters, Diana and Finn, are a millennial couple living in NYC when the pandemic strikes. Diana is an art acquisition specialist and Finn is a surgical resident. They are planning a bucket list trip to the Galapagos in March 2020. Unfortunately, Covid hits NYC hard and Finn is unable to get away from the hospital. He encourages Diana to still go. It is a no refund trip, after all. Once Diana gets to the Galapagos, the island is shut down and she is stranded (without her luggage) in a country where she doesn't speak the language. She never planned to be there alone. She tries to make the best the situation and becomes involved with a few local residents. The internet is spotty but she manages to get some emails from Finn where he details the experiences he is having at the hospital. Diana is feeling very isolated being so cut off from the rest of the world. I could sense that she was starting to question if her perfect life with Finn was really what she wanted after all but I was not prepared for the twist that really does happen. This comes about 1/2 way through.
This book is meaty, with big issues (besides Covid) like life choices, relationships and parent abandonment. Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection was formed in the Galapagos & Diana finds herself wondering if she too has changed and evolved. If you have been directly affected by Covid, this might not be for you. Regardless of your views on it, the book was insightful and very well written. Would be a great bookclub pick!
Wish You Were Here is a timely, emotionally layered novel that explores how quickly life can shift and how identity is often shaped in moments we don’t choose. Set against the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the story follows Diana as a dream vacation turns into unexpected isolation, forcing her to confront love, loss, and the version of life she thought she wanted.
Picoult excels at capturing uncertainty and emotional disorientation the quiet loneliness, the longing for connection, and the internal questioning that arises when plans fall apart. The novel gently examines themes of grief, privilege, purpose, and self-reflection, asking what it truly means to live a meaningful life when control is stripped away.
While parts of the story move slowly and feel introspective, that pacing mirrors the stillness and suspension of the moment in history it portrays. The ending offers a thoughtful, if bittersweet, reflection rather than a neat resolution, reinforcing the idea that growth often comes from sitting with discomfort.
Wish You Were Here is a contemplative read perfect for readers who appreciate emotional depth, moral reflection, and stories about becoming rather than arriving.
It was an interesting read. Liked that it was a different story than I thought it would be. Pulled emotions out of me that I wasn’t expecting. My heart still hurts.
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