Wish you were Here by Jodi Piccoult (unmarked spoilers in review)

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 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. 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.

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.

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Hmm. What to say about this that won't seem really mean?

Jodi knows how to write. She knows how to tug at a heartstring and how to make a compelling read. She clearly did a lot of research and poured it all into Finn's emails and discussions. She writes good characters.

But I feel lied to by that twist.

That's silly, right? A twist should take you by surprise, there shouldn't be any hint of it in the blurb, and if you can't guess at it, that means it's well done. But there should also be a chance that you can guess the twist, because if you can't, it's not a twist. And looking back at this, I see one moment where in hindsight you can see the join, but not when you read it first.

I still kept reading, and the second half, the new story, was interesting too, in a different way. I liked it well enough. But I'm not sure I'll ever trust Jodi again, and that's a shame. It's not a bad story. It was just told in a way that didn't suit me.

Wish you were Here publishes on the 25th of November, 2021 in the UK (top image) and on the 30th November, 2021 in the US (lower image). I received a free copy and am giving an honest review.