Wish You Were Here

Diana O'Toole has her life perfectly mapped out - at age 29, she's rising in her career at Sotheby's in Manhattan and expects a marriage proposal from her surgeon boyfriend Finn. Her plans change when COVID-19 arrives in New York City in March 2020. While Finn must stay behind to treat patients, Diana decides to take their planned vacation to the Galápagos Islands alone. Upon arrival, she finds herself stranded as the world rapidly shuts down, forcing her to navigate an unfamiliar place amid a global crisis. Cut off from regular communication with Finn and isolated in a foreign environment, Diana forms unexpected connections with locals on the island. Her time there leads her to question everything she thought she knew about her life, relationships, and what truly matters. The novel examines themes of identity, purpose, and human connection against the backdrop of the pandemic's early days. It raises questions about how crisis and isolation can transform a person's understanding of themselves and their place in the world.

Readers found this COVID-era novel resonant but polarizing. Many felt the pandemic setting was too fresh and painful to revisit, while others appreciated how it captured the uncertainty of March 2020. Readers praised: - Strong character development - Authentic portrayal of healthcare workers - Plot twists that made them rethink earlier chapters - Detailed research about art and the Galápagos Common criticisms: - Too soon for COVID fiction - Slow pacing in first third - Some found the protagonist's decisions frustrating - Plot twist felt jarring to certain readers Review scores: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (224,000+ ratings) Amazon: 4.4/5 (37,000+ ratings) Barnes & Noble: 4.4/5 (2,800+ ratings) "Made me question everything I thought I knew halfway through," wrote one Amazon reviewer. Another noted: "The COVID scenes were so accurate they gave me anxiety." Multiple readers mentioned needing breaks due to emotional intensity of hospital scenes.

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🦋 The Galápagos Islands, where much of the novel is set, inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution during his voyage on the HMS Beagle in 1835. 💉 Author Jodi Picoult interviewed numerous COVID-19 survivors and healthcare workers to ensure medical accuracy in her portrayal of the pandemic's early days. 📖 The book was written, edited, and published during the pandemic itself, making it one of the first major novels to tackle COVID-19 as a contemporary subject. 🏥 The hospital scenes were based on real accounts from New York-Presbyterian Hospital, which was at the epicenter of America's initial COVID-19 outbreak. 🎨 The protagonist's profession as an art specialist was inspired by Picoult's daughter, who worked at Sotheby's auction house in New York City.