Book of the Month- Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult

Jodi Picoult is known for her plot twists but WOW, this BOOK. The year is March 2020, the setting: New York City. It is wild. Below is the synopsis, so I don't give it all away!! I listened to the audio, LOVED IT. Up until recent, I have always read hard copies of books. But some months are just so busy it's hard for me to sit down and read. So, audio books are the best of both worlds. I can read my book for book club and get a workout in, go grocery shopping or clean the house. However, I like to switch off here and there because I do love a good hard copy book.

If you are a long time Jodi Picoult fan or if this is your first book, I can't recommend it enough. The book draws you in, it paints a perfect picture of every setting. The main character is Diana and I just related to her so much. Don't we all think we will have our life together by a certain age, kids, career, wedding, home, etc? This book put a lot of things into perspective for me, but one thing is that we move so quickly through life instead of truly living. On to the next thing before it is our time. Quickly racing through to check off the boxes instead of experiencing all that is in front of you. Here is my favorite quote from the book - "We don’t need things to feel whole. We need to wake up in the morning. We need our bodies to function. We need to enjoy a meal. We need a roof over our head. We need to surround ourselves with people we love. We need to take the wins in a much smaller way. Did I wake up this morning? Do I have a roof over my head? Are the people I care about doing, okay? You don’t need the things you don’t have. You only need what you’ve got, and the rest? It’s just gravy."

Synopsis

Diana O’Toole is perfectly on track. 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 an associate specialist at Sotheby’s now, but her boss has hinted at a promotion if she can close a deal with a high-profile client. She’s not engaged just yet, but she knows her boyfriend, Finn, a surgical resident, is about 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 has appeared in the city, and on the eve of their departure, Finn breaks the news: It’s all hands on deck at the hospital. He has to stay behind. You should still go, he assures her, since 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. Her luggage is lost, the Wi-Fi is nearly nonexistent, and the hotel they’d booked is shut down due to the pandemic. In fact, 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.

In the Galápagos Islands, where Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection was formed, Diana finds herself examining her relationships, her choices, and herself—and wondering if when she goes home, she too will have evolved into someone completely different.

Wow, right?! Leave me a comment if you have read this book! Let me know what you think about it!

Until next time,

Bee