With You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a book mostly set in the Galapagos Islands, during the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns. It’s a nice book to read, and thought-provoking as well. And it definitely made me want to explore the Galapagos Islands. Here’s my book review of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult.
Overview of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is a book that will both inspire you to travel to the Galapagos Islands, and also make you think about life as well. My book review of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult might give a few spoilers, but hopefully not too many so you can still enjoy the book!
The book starts in March 2020, just as Covid-19 was starting to spread around the world. Diana and Finn had a dream holiday to the Galapagos Islands booked, where Diana was sure that Finn was going to propose. They have their whole lives and futures planned out.
However, when Covid-19 hits New York, things change. Finn is a doctor so needs to stay in New York to help patients with Covid-19. He suggests that Diana goes to the Galapagos Islands on her own.
Diana arrives on the Galapagos Islands, just as the islands go into lockdown. So she’s trapped on the island. However, she soon starts to make friends and settle into her new life there. She meets Beatriz, a slightly troubled 14 year old girl. And she meets Gabriel, who is Beatriz’s father. Her relationships start to develop.
And, while Diana is living a new life away from Finn, she starts to think about her life at home, and all the life plans she had. She starts to wonder whether she actually wants all that, or whether she now has new priorities.
However, there’s a twist in this book. Suddenly, Diana’s trip to the Galapagos is cut short. I won’t give the big spoiler here – you’ll have to read the book! But when Diana is back in New York with Finn, she’s a different person. And their relationship isn’t the same.
Buy yourself this book to read this weekend here.
What I liked about this book
I really enjoyed reading a book set in the Covid-19 pandemic. I feel like the pandemic and lockdowns were hugely significant. But I haven’t seen that many books, TV shows or films that reference it. I enjoyed reading a book that was set during Covid. I especially like the parts that were from Finn’s perspective, as a doctor in the Covid-19 wards. It’s so important to understand more about what medical staff went through during Covid, and this book helps that.
I also really enjoyed reading the parts of the book set in the Galapagos Islands. The descriptions of the area were beautiful. I really felt like I was on the beaches and in the volcanoes, seeing all the wildlife with Diana. It definitely inspired me to start planning a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
Another aspects of the book that I loved was how Diana started to think about her life plan while she was in the Galapagos Islands. I really identified with Diana’s character, in that she had a whole life plan with various milestones that she wanted to reach at a certain age. She had her career planned out, when she was going to get married, and everything planned. However, when she’s isolated in the Galapagos, she starts thinking more. And starts to wonder whether these things are actually what she wants. And that’s one of the things that I love about travel – it gives you the space to think, and look at things differently. I’ve definitely changed my perspective on life and what’s important in life while travelling. And I liked reading about Diana’s internal journey in this book.
What I wasn’t so sure about
I enjoyed this book, so my book review of Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult is positive. There wasn’t much that I wasn’t sure about.
I wasn’t so keen on the sections of the book that focussed on Diana’s art career and told these stories through flashbacks. Some parts were interesting, but I just didn’t find it that interesting. I felt like these flashbacks to her old career didn’t add too much to the story and weren’t the most interesting.
I’m also not sure how much I liked the big twist in this book. It was definitely unexpected – I wasn’t expecting it at all. And I like unexpected twists in books. However, I was really enjoying the story as it was, and the twist took away that a bit. I still enjoyed the twist, but I think the story could have also been really nice without it.
Would I recommend Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult
I’d definitely recommend reading Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult. It’s a great book to inspire you to travel to the Galapagos Islands and have adventures there like Diana did. It’s also a great book to read if you want something that covers the Covid-19 pandemic. And this book will also make you think about your own life plan, and maybe like Diana you’ll start to reconsider what you once thought was important.