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moettel98's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Get ready to feel every feeling imaginable while reading this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
bre88's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
While some parts were try hard, the first half of the book was mostly enjoyable. The second half was boring, predictable and incredibly heavy handed. I value the reasons why this book was written and how the author illuminates the stories of Covid survivors and first responders during the pandemic. But wow the whole thing devolved into a Hallmark movie and not even one with top billing…we are talking about a random mid year offering with non union actors.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Outing, and Colonisation
mandi4886's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Infertility, Sexual content, and Vomit
amoore29's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, and Dementia
lpdx's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity
cassiereadsbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, and Death of parent
bethsbookshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Sometimes I think Jodi Picoult uses the novel to showcase fun facts she’s learned since writing her last novel. In this case: snorkelling, the Galapagos, art therapy, artwork and of course, Covid. While all of this information is interesting, this novel felt really info-dumpy to me, lacking an original character arc and a wowing plot.
I was gripped at the start and again in the middle, but overall disappointed, especially by the twist that Diana’s time on the island was a dream, and then again by the fact that Jodi experimented with sci-fi only for that to be written off as Diana being “crazy” .
The character development felt lack-lustre to me. Finn was arguably the most interesting character and all we got from him was a couple of emails, a very short paragraph about his spiralling into alcoholism and a lot of Diana’s inner monologue about how horrible he was, only to never be shown that with any concrete facts. That being said, Diana getting Covid and having this wild dream was all a ploy for her to have this epiphany that the white, middle-class, American dream wasn’t for her. How privileged do you have to be to give THAT up for a little bit more independence? Like really? That was the point of the novel?
The whole theme of needing human connection and how living in pandemic isolation is not natural for our species was nice, but again, not original. That’s all everyone has talked about online since the first lockdown. Again, reflects on Jodi’s white privilege a little bit again when other people were struggling to eat, find shelter, survive during Covid. I know that Diana’s storyline getting covid and being isolated on an island isn’t technically very priveleged, and she has bad luck, but she still thrives and to be honest, a lot of that seems to have to do with the fact that her boyfriend is a surgeon, and again, that she’s good-looking enough on this island to get help. Maybe I’m reading into this too much but I just feel like this didn’t showcase a very fair or unique representation of people’s struggles during the pandemic. Finn would have been a much more interesting character to focus on with his PTSD, or Rodney, with the fact that he had to move back home because he lost his job.
Anyway, I feel like I read 350 pages of information just so Diana could have a very slight character arc that wasn’t really rooted in anything tangible or concrete. Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite others and a huge reason I’m a writer today. She even wrote me a wedding card! But this book missed the mark for me, sadly.
I was gripped at the start and again in the middle, but overall disappointed,
The character development felt lack-lustre to me. Finn was arguably the most interesting character and all we got from him was a couple of emails, a very short paragraph about his spiralling into alcoholism and a lot of Diana’s inner monologue about how horrible he was, only to never be shown that with any concrete facts.
The whole theme of needing human connection and how living in pandemic isolation is not natural for our species was nice, but again, not original. That’s all everyone has talked about online since the first lockdown. Again, reflects on Jodi’s white privilege a little bit again when other people were struggling to eat, find shelter, survive during Covid. I know that Diana’s storyline
Anyway, I feel like I read 350 pages of information just so Diana could have a very slight character arc that wasn’t really rooted in anything tangible or concrete. Jodi Picoult is one of my favourite others and a huge reason I’m a writer today. She even wrote me a wedding card! But this book missed the mark for me, sadly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism and Alcohol
desertmountainreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
I was engrossed in every bit of this novel… my first pandemic book. About halfway through, I said to myself, “this is too soon.” However, in typical Jodi Picoult fashion, she took the story to a level above what you’d expect. The author’s note at the end cemented why Jodi is one of the best there is and why her books always resonate so deeply. And I understand why this book needed to arrive now.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
mmrohbock's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4.25⭐
PG because you definitely read this book with your mom or your grandma
I think this is a book that will be destined to chronicle what the world was like as life suddenly screeched to a halt in March 2020. Jodi Picoult has always covered hard topics such as cancer and racism is a way that teaches and challenges her readers. This book is probably one of her best.
Jodi Picoult weaves together the story of Diana, a woman stranded in the Galapagos islands exploring a beautiful world while feeling completely isolated from her boyfriend, a medical resident in NYC during the onset of the pandemic. I loved the glimpses into Diana's history from her relationships with her parents to her boyfriend to her best friend while also reliving those early days of 2020 where it was easy to say the pandemic was in Italy and France, not the US.
While I thought the majority of this book was phenomenal, I am still so mad about the twist midway through the book which is honestly the only reason this book isn't getting five stars from me. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say it is not my favorite literary choice.
If you're a Jodi Picoult fan or simply enjoy contemporary fiction that will wreck you emotionally, this book will suck you in and spit you out hours later, eyes wet from the last few chapters of this book.
Content warnings for the pandemic, severe illness and death.
PG because you definitely read this book with your mom or your grandma
I think this is a book that will be destined to chronicle what the world was like as life suddenly screeched to a halt in March 2020. Jodi Picoult has always covered hard topics such as cancer and racism is a way that teaches and challenges her readers. This book is probably one of her best.
Jodi Picoult weaves together the story of Diana, a woman stranded in the Galapagos islands exploring a beautiful world while feeling completely isolated from her boyfriend, a medical resident in NYC during the onset of the pandemic. I loved the glimpses into Diana's history from her relationships with her parents to her boyfriend to her best friend while also reliving those early days of 2020 where it was easy to say the pandemic was in Italy and France, not the US.
While I thought the majority of this book was phenomenal, I am still so mad about the twist midway through the book which is honestly the only reason this book isn't getting five stars from me. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say it is not my favorite literary choice.
If you're a Jodi Picoult fan or simply enjoy contemporary fiction that will wreck you emotionally, this book will suck you in and spit you out hours later, eyes wet from the last few chapters of this book.
Content warnings for the pandemic, severe illness and death.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
themoonphoenix's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Full Review: November 30th 2021
Reading Wish You Were Here was like reliving last year.
Two different stories of the same reality intertwine, Diana is in quarantine on an island with not many inhabitants and that luckily there are no cases of Covid, while Finn living in New York, is just the opposite. While she is locked up in paradise, he has to deal with a mysterious disease, thousands of people are getting infected, the hospital is not enough, and not only that, they don't know how to treat the new disease.
It is a story that touches on different topics, of course, Covid, fear, loss, and grief, but also finding yourself, seeking your happiness, that not everything is set in stone and things change. It is a beautiful story, heartbreaking, and very realistic.
Thanks Ballantine Books, the Marketing Manager of Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC
Reading Wish You Were Here was like reliving last year.
Two different stories of the same reality intertwine, Diana is in quarantine on an island with not many inhabitants and that luckily there are no cases of Covid, while Finn living in New York, is just the opposite. While she is locked up in paradise, he has to deal with a mysterious disease, thousands of people are getting infected, the hospital is not enough, and not only that, they don't know how to treat the new disease.
It is a story that touches on different topics, of course, Covid, fear, loss, and grief, but also finding yourself, seeking your happiness, that not everything is set in stone and things change. It is a beautiful story, heartbreaking, and very realistic.
Thanks Ballantine Books, the Marketing Manager of Random House Publishing Group and Netgalley for the ARC
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
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