A review by thebakerbookworm
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
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