Jodi Picoult’s Wish You Were Here Book Review
Hi Friends! I’m back today to discuss a book that I have a lot of feelings about. It’s the story of a young woman in 2020 trying to navigate the Covid 19 pandemic in the best way that she can. I’m writing this review in 2025 when we are a couple of years removed from the worst of the virus, but it’s very surreal to revisit those times through fiction. Keep reading for my full Wish You Were Here book review.
What is the story of “Wish You Were Here” about Jodi Picoult?
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. (from Amazon.com)
Trigger Warnings
2020 and beyond was a very difficult time for very many people. It was a scary time where people got very sick. As I write this review, it is 2025 and we are a couple of years removed from the worst of the virus. But the memories are still there. If the Covid 19 virus was a traumatic time for you, I might suggest skipping this book. It’s an interesting story but it’s also very surreal to revisit those memories of when the virus was first discovered and people had no idea what to do.
My Initial Thoughts
It’s very weird to read a book about the 2020 pandemic. I could feel myself getting anxious during the first couple of chapters because I remember the uncertainty of not knowing what to do or where to go. Is is safe to go to the grocery store? Is it safe to go to the pharmacy? Should I wear a mask? And if I should, where should I get a mask?
I felt like Jodi Picoult did a good job of writing a realistic story. Because while it would be easy to judge Diana for traveling during the pandemic, she was really in a tricky position. Her surgeon boyfriend may have been require to be on call at the hospital, but she was not. And their trip was non refundable. So with the little information that was known about the virus about the time, of course she decided to take her once in a lifetime vacation to isabela island, part of the galapagos islands.
Cool Elements of this Book
I really enjoyed this book because of the details in the story. One of the main plot points from the beginning is that Diana works at Sotheby’s, which is a global auction house and real estate company that sells luxury items. She interned there while she was in college and eventually landed her dream job. Right before she leaves on her trip, she receives some unfortunate news from one of her clients, which puts her job in jeopardy.
Another interesting element to this story is Diana’s surgical resident boyfriend Finn, who works at a New York hospital. His emails that he writes to Diana while she is in the Galopagos feel so real. I imagine author Jodi Picoult did a lot of research and maybe even knew someone in the medical field in order to write these scenes. His descriptions of the Covid ICU in the hospital are so terrifying that I have to assume that’s what it was really like. Jodi’s descriptions of Finn’s work were very engrossing.
Diana is a little Naive
I liked Diana as a main character. She was sweet. But I can’t help but feel that she was a little naive when she arrived on the island. I understand that it was a nonrefundable trip, but it’s crazy to me that she went by herself when she doesn’t even speak Spanish. I guess Finn knew Spanish and so he was supposed to do the translating for them, but to go by herself was kind of wild. She couldn’t even use Google Translate because of the lack of service/wifi. Add in the fact that there was a global crisis going on and it seemed a little silly for her to go on the trip at all. Diana’s experiences were not always positive.
BUT… to be fair. I know she didn’t have all that much information about Covid. So I feel like it’s not fair to judge her for going on the trip when she had no idea how bad Covid was about to become. I guess I’m just surprised by her lack of preparation by the time she actually arrived at Isabela Island. By the time she got there, there weren’t many people around to talk to. And not knowing the local language was definitely an issue.
I’ve Really Missed Jodi Picoult
I was a big fan of Jodi’s books when I was younger. I loved going to the local library and looking at her long lineup of books on the shelves, trying to remember which ones I had read and which ones I hadn’t. And then she kind of dropped off my radar. So even though this was a harrowing story about the early days of covid, I still found myself really enjoying it. Especially because of the plot twist
At the End, This is a Book You’ll Remember for a Long Time
This book went in a completely different direction than I thought it would. Which is crazy because I really thought I had everything figured out. But that’s the thing about life. You can think you’re on one track and then suddenly, everything changes. The pandemic taught us that. All of us that made it through are so incredibly lucky. Reading Finn’s emails throughout the book really made me realize how scary it was for medical professionals during that time.
Jodi Picoult’s books have always gripped me, and this one was no exception. This book came out in 2021 and I think writing a covid novel so soon was pretty risky. But Jodi’s thought-provoking narrative of a woman who lives through covid, but completely changes her life afterwards is special. I think it’s special because a lot of readers might share some similarities with Diana O’Toole’s Life.