Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track with her life: she will be married by thirty, done having kids by thirty-five, and move out to the New York City suburbs, all while climbing the professional ladder in the cutthroat art auction world. She’s not engaged just yet, but knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is going to propose on their romantic getaway to the Galápagos—days before her thirtieth birthday. Right on time.
But then a virus that felt worlds away appears in the city. On the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news that it’s all hands on deck at the hospital and he has to stay behind. He insists that Diana should still go on the trip because it would be a shame for all of their nonrefundable trip to go to waste. And so, reluctantly, she goes.
Almost immediately, Diana’s dream vacation goes awry. The whole island is now under quarantine, and she is stranded until the borders reopen. Completely isolated, she must venture beyond her comfort zone. Slowly, she carves out a connection with a local family when a teenager with a secret opens up to Diana, despite her father’s suspicion of outsiders.
Wish You Were Here is set at the start of the pandemic. Picoult deftly captures the uncertainty, terror, and emotion surrounding the the onset of COVID-19.
Picoult is a prolific writer who creates characters that are flawed and vulnerable, yet demonstrate some of the very best of the human spirit with their strength and compassion. Diana, although a challenging personality, is one of those characters. At times she is frustrating, but the connections she makes with the Galápagos and its people is not only rewarding to the reader, but some of the most beautiful writing in the book.
The feeling of isolation permeates the narrative, whether it is Diana's struggle of not speaking the language and being the only tourist on the island, to the physical separation of Diana and Finn. This ties into the feeling of desolation and loneliness experienced while under quarantine. The depictions of what the pandemic is like for those on the front line are harrowing, anxiety inducing, and quite frankly, terrifying.
Injecting culture, Wish You Were Here also offers a glimpse into the art world. Diana works for Soethby's as an associate assistant—she is working on acquiring a painting to auction from a character reminiscent of Yoko Ono. Her career trajectory is not only an interesting backstory, it also illustrates her passion and drive as well as her tenacity.
And of course, it wouldn't be a Picoult novel without a mind-blowing twist. She completely blindsides and breaks her reader's heart—but leaves them with hope—in this story about resilience and love.
In the breathtaking beauty of the Galápagos Islands, Diana will learn not only who she really is, but the person she wants to become.
JODI PICOULT received an AB in creative writing from Princeton and a master’s degree in education from Harvard. The recipient of the 2003 New England Book Award for her entire body of work, she is the author of twenty-seven novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers House Rules, Handle With Care, Change of Heart, and My Sister’s Keeper, for which she received the American Library Association’s Margaret Alexander Edwards Award.
She lives in New Hampshire with her husband. They have three children.
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