Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult – a Review

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Description:
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 Gal�pagos–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.

Review:

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a standalone novel.  We meet our heroine, Diana O’Toole, who is an associate assistant at Sotheby’s, being an art specialist; who is hoping for a promotion if she can convince a legendary artist, to sell her masterpiece at Sotheby’s auction.  When the artist decides to hold off, Diana is set to go on a vacation to Galapagos with her doctor boyfriend, Finn.  The day before they leave, the hospital has declared an emergency, with all employees to be available, as the Covid virus is beginning to wreak havoc.  Finn tells Diana to go anyway, since they cannot get their money back.

Reluctantly, Diana agrees to go, and when she arrives in Galapagos, everything starts to go bad, as she learns the country is going into a quarantine lockdown, and her baggage is missing.  Things go from bad to worse, as the hotel she had reservations closes, a language barrier causes problems understanding those she goes to get help, leaving her isolated, and the internet/wifi is spotty.  Finally, a local woman offers her a place to stay, and she meets some new people (Beatriz & Gabriel) who in a short time befriend her, and show her the island, and the wonderful sights and animals; she begins to enjoy as much as she can of the island, allowing her to see a different kind of life. Diana manages to send letters to Finn, since they had no other way of communication, and she reads about the heartbreak going on in the early stages of Covid.

Half way through the book, Picoult gives us a twist, bringing in the terrifying details of Covid. We get to see doctors and nurses doing all they can to try and save people’s lives, the suffering and loss of life. The heartbreaking losses, grief, pain, isolation, which shuts down most of the world.  To say too much more would be spoilers, and ruin the book for you.  You really need to read it all.

Wish You Were Here is an emotional story line that will pull on your emotions.  Diana was a fantastic heroine, as we couldn’t help but care about her. Wish You Were Here was so very well written by Jodi Picoult, who takes us on a journey of life, changes, a beautiful island and horrible pandemic.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher