Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult @jodipicoult @randomhouse #fiction #contemporaryfiction #romance #womensfiction #bookreviewers #bookbloggers #bookbesties

Susanne’s Review:

Cue the tears.

Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult: A novel I thought I was prepared for.. and it kicked me in the gut anyways. 

In ways I never imagined possible.

Covid. This novel centers around Covid and it’s as real as it gets. If this book is on your to-be-read shelf, prepare yourself…it’s gonna be a tough one. In addition, prepare yourself for the fact that it’s also NOTHING like you think it’s going to be.

Emotional Heartbreak. Devastation. Shock and Awe. Self-Discovery. Introspection. Love.

When Covid strikes, Diana and her boyfriend Finn are preparing for a trip to the Galápagos. Finn is a physician at a hospital and given the situation, needs to stay. Not having any idea how bad it’s going to get, Finn urges Diana to go on her own, and so she does. It’s a world away. Lockdown and quarantine occur. Upon her arrival in the Galápagos, Diana is isolated, without internet and the ability to go anywhere, while Finn is facing Covid every day and trying to keep patients alive. He emails her often, and though she receives them, she is unable to reply due to spotty internet. His haunting portrayal of life, treating patients is heartbreaking and so very realistic. Tears filled my eyes and streamed down my face, knowing everything he was writing happened in real life all across the world and continues to do so. Diana, on the other hand, lives a very different life, on an island knowing hardly any Spanish, having access to very little, and meeting only a handful of people, some of whom have a major impact on her. 

Diana and Finn’s lives couldn’t be more different and yet each one is compelling, moving, and stirring in their own right. 

It is here that my heart was torn asunder in more ways than one. I have no words for it and cannot say more without giving away spoilers.  

Shock, Bewilderment, Heartbreak.  

This novel is raw, honest, heart-wrenching and so brilliantly done. Through many tears, I read this and at times felt wholly shattered and can only applaud Jodi Picoult for what she accomplished here.  

This was a buddy read with Ms. Kaceey and it impacted both of us greatly. Kaceey – thank you for reading this with me. Let me just say that I know how hard this was for you to read. I can’t thank you enough for everything you do each day. You are my hero. 

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House – Ballantine Publishing Group, and Jodi Picoult for this incredible read.  

Published on Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Kaceey’s Review:

Inhale exhale. 

To be completely honest, I was nervous as hell, beginning this book. I love Jodi Picoult, but a book revolving around covid…I wasn’t sure I could pull it off. 

Diana and Finn have planned the ultimate dream vacation. A once-in-a-lifetime trip to the Galápagos Islands. But when New York is ravaged by Covid, it looks like their dream holiday will have to be shelved. Finn is a resident at a large New York Hospital and things are about to hit the fan. It’s all hands on deck!  

Jodi Picoult brought the stark reality of the pandemics’ first wave to life. Capturing the consuming fear and exhausting moment of every healthcare worker called into the fight to deal with the nightmare crisis. No sensationalism here…just the brutal reality of it all.  

The structure of the chapters midway had me subconsciously holding my breath! (You’ll understand once you read it). I was captivated, nearly frozen in place.  

My emotions were raw as tears endlessly flowed down my cheeks for the final 20%. Even when simply trying to describe the book to a friend they start flowing again. 

I’d love to go into more detail, but the less you know going in the better. A must-read for 2021!  

A buddy read with Susanne 

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group- Ballantine.