Wish You Were Here
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4.1 • 274 Ratings
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- $12.99
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
In the breathtaking beauty of the Galapagos Islands, Diana will learn who she really is, and the person she wants to become, in Jodi's deeply moving novel about the resilience of the human spirit.
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 not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend Finn, a surgical resident, is about to propose - days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.
But now she is stranded, alone on what was planned to be a romantic idyll with Finn. Unfortunately, Finn is trapped thousands of miles away, and Diana is on one of the world's most beautiful islands with no food, no luggage, and no place to stay, forced to test her personal limits to survive.
Struggling to find her feet, Diana gradually connects with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to her. As Diana helps her fight her demons she learns more about herself, and about the islands of Galapagos, where Darwin developed his theory of evolution. The dramatic and sometimes dangerous terrain reflects Diana's own experiences, her new relationships and growing awareness that she too is evolving into someone quite different.
A near-death experience brings Diana abruptly back to familiar city surroundings, where she tries to pick up the threads of her old life. Has she changed or have the people around her? Diana is no longer prepared to be just a follower, at work or in her relationships. She breaks down years of estrangement with her mother, takes the initiative in her career, and looks at Finn through new eyes.
Jodi Picoult's matchless ability to portray the full gamut of human emotions is once again on display in Wish You Were Here, along with her characteristically meticulous research into today's burning issues.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Picoult's beguiling page-turner revisits the premise of two alternate worlds, as explored in 2020's The Book of Two Ways, this time with the Covid-19 pandemic as a backdrop. It's March 13, 2020, in New York City, the day after Broadway theaters shut down because of a new contagious virus. Diana O'Toole, an associate specialist with Sotheby's, is on the verge of closing a career-changing deal and expecting her boyfriend, Finn, to propose. But Finn, a surgeon, has just been informed he cannot take their planned Galápagos Islands vacation because the hospital needs all hands on deck for the predicted inundation of virus-infected patients. One couldn't ask for more opposite places: the isolated Pacific Ocean islands with native iguanas, prehistoric turtles, and exotic flora and fauna, and the grim world of packed ICU wards, staff burnout, and the debilitating reality of an onslaught of deaths that cannot be stopped or prevented. In the Galápagos, Diana befriends a teenage girl, begins an affair with the girl's father, and second-guesses her conformist, status-oriented life plans. While a major plot twist feels both contrived and implausible, it serves to examine how catastrophes can strain the characters' relationships while time apart can inspire complex soul-searching. As always, Picoult is eminently readable, though even the author's fans will find some of this wanting.
Customer Reviews
Captivating Story
When I started reading, I thought that this was interesting but not really going anywhere.
It didn’t take long to change my mind
Totally enjoyed reading and feel I have learnt a lot
Ok read
I’m a big fan of Jodi’s older work so I didn’t find this book as interesting but it was ok.
Struck a cord
An emotional read for me having very recently lost my mum (not to covid) and having been restricted in spending time with her due to border closures. This book is both an escape and a reality check. I loved it, and it’s one I would definitely have told mum to read if circumstances were different. Though I think she may have been reading it with me.