A review by lindsayslittlelibrary
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

⁣⁣⁣I feel like I’m DNFing a lot of books this year so far. While I’m usually a harsh/brutally honest critic, I do try to at least finish the books that I start. I’m also a longtime fan of Jodi Picoult. I’ve read many of her books, and I’ve liked all of them, if not loved them. For me, this was not only my least favorite of her stories so far, but also just a disappointing read in general. ⠀
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Knowing that this book is about the pandemic and having the story start out in NYC, I expected the author to exhibit the confusion and panic of Covid’s quick sweep through the city. I thought this story was going to take place at this epicenter. Given that one of the initial characters was a doctor treating covid patients, I thought we’d be getting more of a “first hand” experience of what is was like for our medical professionals during the last two years. Nope! The MC ended up being a self centered moron who was willingly ignorant and oblivious of the situation and thought it was a great idea to throw caution to the wind and go on an international trip, leaving her doctor boyfriend behind to deal with the pandemic without her support.⠀
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The portion of this book that I read was slow and full of filler. The MC was truly stupid. So much was happening purely for plot convenience. I was really not enjoying it and was considering dropping it anyway when I had the twist and ending spoiled for me by a friend. I can’t even be mad about it because they saved me time and likely from even more frustration.
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Picoult seems to do so much research on her book concepts, but I feel like this was a huge missed opportunity. I think it’s too soon and in poor taste to exploit a worldwide pandemic that has had such a negative impact on so many lives (and is not even over yet) all for the sake of a fictional story if you aren’t going to base it on an enlightening perspective and educate on a reality so many people have lived through. I hope someone writes a book that pays tribute to our medical heroes.