Synopsis:
Diana O’Toole’s life is going perfectly to plan. At twenty-nine, she’s up for promotion to her dream job as an art specialist at Sotheby’s and she’s about to fly to the Galápagos where she’s convinced her surgeon boyfriend, Finn, is going to propose.
But then the virus hits New York City and Finn breaks the news: the hospital needs him, he has to stay. But you should still go, he insists. And reluctantly, she agrees.
Once she’s in the Galápagos, the world shuts down around her, leaving Diana stranded – albeit in paradise. Completely isolated, with only intermittent news from the outside world, Diana finds herself examining everything that has brought her to this point and wondering if there’s a better way to live.
But not everything is as it seems . . .
Review:
Such a poignant story, incredibly close to home and written superbly. I was hesitant at first as I’ve read other books featuring covid recently that didn’t sit well but once I started this one I simply couldn’t put It down.
I felt like I really understood Diana – her narrative was so incredibly easy to follow and I was immediately invested in her, probably a times when I shouldn’t have been.
I must admit that it was weird and haunting to read back descriptions of the early pandemic whilst we’re still not out of the woods. I did also find there were elements of things I felt were from the UK despite being set in America, but that might just be my ignorance more than anything.
The descriptions of the Galapagos in particular were breathtaking and crafted so exquisitely. I was truly Travelling with Diana through the pages and could really imagine it all.
The end of part 1 was so unexpected that I cannot even begin to explain my feelings… if I thought I was gripped before, now this was a different level. I sped through from this point needing to know how it ended and boy did Jodi Picoult deliver…. The ending literally gave me goose bumps.
I’d recommend this to everyone with the caveat of the fact it touches some very heavy topics and did have my tearing up more than once.
A huge 5/5 stars from me!!
Purchase Link – Wish You Were Here
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