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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: Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Infertility, Vomit, Homophobia, and Sexual content
costamiri's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is about Covid. Didn't want to.
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This would normally be out of my own genre-spectrum but the description seemed interesting and I wanted to challenge myself a bit. For as long as the teased action took place, I was entertained in some way, but I found the length of the chapters very confusing. The book has 18 chapters packed into two parts, but nine of them are only one or two pages long, resulting in stressfully long chapters of around 30 pages. Diana is stranded on a lonely island and it is quite nice to see her struggle her way and build relationships with Gabriel and Beatriz. I was interested in their journey as people but their trips around the island felt quite repetitive and boring. Then the turn, the great split in the middle, happened and it felt like betrayal. All the before in a new light, and many new questions. I was disappointed at that and the remaining second part was very different in a way I wasn't able to enjoy. Her relationship to Finn is very weird during the plot. As they are disconnected, his parts are solely about Covid, about a pandemic she has avoided, every single email just tells COVID from March 2020. It's annoying. And it got worse later in the book. The book description hinted nothing to that, contrary I thought it would tell more about an escape. Disappointment. Finn did not reflect the person she is in love with or was. Not even *a person*, Finn is just the tool to tell about covid, a window about the weeks when this pandemic started. The ending of the story again was very predictable and exactly what I expected after reading the description and the epilog ending was even more predictable. Not a good feeling.
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This would normally be out of my own genre-spectrum but the description seemed interesting and I wanted to challenge myself a bit. For as long as the teased action took place, I was entertained in some way, but I found the length of the chapters very confusing. The book has 18 chapters packed into two parts, but nine of them are only one or two pages long, resulting in stressfully long chapters of around 30 pages. Diana is stranded on a lonely island and it is quite nice to see her struggle her way and build relationships with Gabriel and Beatriz. I was interested in their journey as people but their trips around the island felt quite repetitive and boring. Then the turn, the great split in the middle, happened and it felt like betrayal. All the before in a new light, and many new questions. I was disappointed at that and the remaining second part was very different in a way I wasn't able to enjoy. Her relationship to Finn is very weird during the plot. As they are disconnected, his parts are solely about Covid, about a pandemic she has avoided, every single email just tells COVID from March 2020. It's annoying. And it got worse later in the book. The book description hinted nothing to that, contrary I thought it would tell more about an escape. Disappointment. Finn did not reflect the person she is in love with or was. Not even *a person*, Finn is just the tool to tell about covid, a window about the weeks when this pandemic started. The ending of the story again was very predictable and exactly what I expected after reading the description and the epilog ending was even more predictable. Not a good feeling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia and Sexual content
kimveach's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Like the best of her books, the author looks at separation during the beginning of the Covid pandemic with so many insights. I loved the characters, the setting, and the plot. You can't ask for much more than that.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Dementia, Grief, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Confinement, and Medical content
Moderate: Infidelity, Lesbophobia, and Alcohol
thebakerbookworm's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I feel like I either love Jodi Picoult's books or I hate the ending...and this one fell into the latter category! :(
The beginning was slow but I had heard that there was a twist in this one so I kept reading because I wanted to know what the twist was. I kept trying to guess the twist too, and at one point I was convinced I had it right...plot twist in my head, I was completely wrong, I didn't get anywhere close to guessing the twist lol. But I did actually like the twist. It brought new life into the plot and kept me reading for the latter half.
But then...the ending happened and it made me realize that I did not like Diana at all the whole time I'd been reading. Diana of course does a lot of introspection on the Galápagos and realizes that she's not as happy as she thought she was (I feel like this is not a spoiler to say as it's pretty typical of main characters in these kinds of books). Which is fine, she can be unhappy and try to find what will make her happy, good for her—except that she never really does explain what about her life makes her so unhappy and what will make her happy. And maybe she doesn't know yet what will make her happy, but by the end of it I just felt like I still knew nothing about Diana and why she was so unsatisfied, and I was frustrated by her choices at the end when there was no real explanation for why she was making them.When she breaks off her relationship with Finn, she can't even explain to HIM why she's doing it, let alone herself or the reader. Finn wasn't perfect, sure, but there was no good reason given for why she would do that. Especially since he'd been in the hospital for months dealing with covid patients. I just thought she could have handled the breakup way better. Also she never explains why she cheated on him, even if it only happened in her mind. It was just all odd to me.
I liked the supporting characters, but we never really get close enough to anyone else for me to feel really strongly about them. This book had some interesting thoughts on the pandemic, but it also seemed filled with a lot of cliches and not enough depth.
Maybe I just wasn't ready for a pandemic book yet. Regardless, I don't think this one will be very memorable in my mind. And My Sister's Keeper is still my favorite Jodi Picoult book.
Thank you to Libro.fm, the publisher, and the author for my ALC!
The beginning was slow but I had heard that there was a twist in this one so I kept reading because I wanted to know what the twist was. I kept trying to guess the twist too, and at one point I was convinced I had it right...plot twist in my head, I was completely wrong, I didn't get anywhere close to guessing the twist lol. But I did actually like the twist. It brought new life into the plot and kept me reading for the latter half.
But then...the ending happened and it made me realize that I did not like Diana at all the whole time I'd been reading. Diana of course does a lot of introspection on the Galápagos and realizes that she's not as happy as she thought she was (I feel like this is not a spoiler to say as it's pretty typical of main characters in these kinds of books). Which is fine, she can be unhappy and try to find what will make her happy, good for her—except that she never really does explain what about her life makes her so unhappy and what will make her happy. And maybe she doesn't know yet what will make her happy, but by the end of it I just felt like I still knew nothing about Diana and why she was so unsatisfied, and I was frustrated by her choices at the end when there was no real explanation for why she was making them.
I liked the supporting characters, but we never really get close enough to anyone else for me to feel really strongly about them. This book had some interesting thoughts on the pandemic, but it also seemed filled with a lot of cliches and not enough depth.
Maybe I just wasn't ready for a pandemic book yet. Regardless, I don't think this one will be very memorable in my mind. And My Sister's Keeper is still my favorite Jodi Picoult book.
Thank you to Libro.fm, the publisher, and the author for my ALC!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Alcohol, Dementia, Medical trauma, Death, and Medical content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Self harm, and Lesbophobia
shiran_fa's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Death of parent, Dementia, Death, Grief, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
auscaz's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Sexual content
readingwithmeredith's review against another edition
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Self harm
Moderate: Cursing
brookeasmith17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Happy publication day!
I was given an arc of this book through the publishers and Indigo Books as an Indigo employee to read and review.
CONTENT WARNING: This book details living through the covid 19 pandemic and gets quite heavy, if that isn't something you can read right now, come back to this book if and when you get to a place where you can.
This is one of those books that leaves you feeling changed by the end.
I never thought I would read a book about covid, but I'm glad I did. This book was oddly comforting and wildly relatable. It almost felt therapeutic to read about something so relative to my life.
Wish You Were Here is essentially a story of survival, resilience and living for yourself. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of living through life-changing events and finding your path after trauma.
Jodi Picoult is a master in this book. Her writing is poetic and honest, filled with vivid and beautiful imagery that feels so alive. I often felt myself and thoughts reflected in her words. The way she depicts the journey of the pandemic arriving in North America is spot on and she does a beautiful job of having you reflect on the past year and a half of what we all lived through.
This novel is both heartbreaking and empowering, with flawed and multi-faceted characters and a story that reminds you of the preciousness of life and truly living it.
It is by no means a perfect book, and it will not be everyone's cup of tea, but the journey I went on while reading this book makes me think it deserves 5 stars.
Read my full review here:
https://www.myantiquesoul.com/book-review-wish-you-were-here-by-jodi-picoult/
I was given an arc of this book through the publishers and Indigo Books as an Indigo employee to read and review.
CONTENT WARNING: This book details living through the covid 19 pandemic and gets quite heavy, if that isn't something you can read right now, come back to this book if and when you get to a place where you can.
This is one of those books that leaves you feeling changed by the end.
I never thought I would read a book about covid, but I'm glad I did. This book was oddly comforting and wildly relatable. It almost felt therapeutic to read about something so relative to my life.
Wish You Were Here is essentially a story of survival, resilience and living for yourself. It's a beautiful and heartbreaking tale of living through life-changing events and finding your path after trauma.
Jodi Picoult is a master in this book. Her writing is poetic and honest, filled with vivid and beautiful imagery that feels so alive. I often felt myself and thoughts reflected in her words. The way she depicts the journey of the pandemic arriving in North America is spot on and she does a beautiful job of having you reflect on the past year and a half of what we all lived through.
This novel is both heartbreaking and empowering, with flawed and multi-faceted characters and a story that reminds you of the preciousness of life and truly living it.
It is by no means a perfect book, and it will not be everyone's cup of tea, but the journey I went on while reading this book makes me think it deserves 5 stars.
Read my full review here:
https://www.myantiquesoul.com/book-review-wish-you-were-here-by-jodi-picoult/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Self harm and Medical content
Minor: Sexual content
content warning: covid 19, pandemic,travelthrupages's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Confinement
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Infidelity, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual content
This is such an interesting book about COVID-19, surviving and realizing what life really should be about. I really enjoyed the parts where Diana is in the Galapagos. This part was so enjoyable. However, this isn't what it seems. During an almost life-ending emergency, Diana is no longer in the Galapagos, but back in NYC. COVID is rampant and she has been in the hospital for a few days with, nearly dying. She soon realizes that all the plans, the wants, the nonsense doesn't matter anymore. She goes on to change many things about her life because of her near-death experience. This is pretty powerful, but I felt like it was lacking a bit. Like I said before, the story in the Galapagos was very good. I just felt like the story was going to go in a totally different direction. The ending is OPEN-ENDED. Be warned. I looked at the last line for a few minutes before I read the author's notes (also pretty important information here so don't skip it). Thank you #Netgalley #RandomHouseBooks and #JodiPicoult for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my review!
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