Wish You Were Here Audiobook By Jodi Picoult cover art

Wish You Were Here

A Novel

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

Auto-renews at $8.99/mo after 30-day trial. Cancel anytime
Try for $0.00
More purchase options
Buy for $22.50

Buy for $22.50

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Small Great Things and The Book of Two Ways comes “a powerfully evocative story of resilience and the triumph of the human spirit” (Taylor Jenkins Reid, author of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six)

Look for Jodi Picoult’s new novel, By Any Other Name, available August 20!

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. Women's Fiction Fiction Literary Fiction Genre Fiction Sagas Scary Adaptation

Critic reviews

“Stealthily surprising and very moving . . . absolutely a must-read.”—Booklist (starred review)

“A satisfying and thought-provoking narrative.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“Jodi Picoult once again proves she is the master of wading through the darkness to find the light.”—Taylor Jenkins Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Malibu Rising

“Wish You Were Here is a transporting and transcendent novel about seeking out glimmers of light in the darkness, and following them wherever they lead. Jodi Picoult is that rare, one-in-a-million writer whose books both squeeze your heart and expand your mind. Her latest is wise, surprising, and utterly extraordinary.”⁠—Emily Henry, #1 New York Times bestselling author of People We Meet on Vacation and Beach Read

“In Wish You Were Here, Jodi Picoult does something brilliant, cracking open something extraordinary. I am just overwhelmed by this book. I actually finished it at three in the morning and started reading it again.”⁠—Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of With or Without You

Editor's Pick

Isolation and transformation on the Galapagos
The first question I asked myself before choosing Wish You Were Here as my pick this month was, ''Is it too soon? Can I handle a COVID-19, lockdown-themed listen while (still) working from home?'' But the whole idea of spending quarantine on the Galapagos Islands, especially in the hands of a writer like Jodi Picoult, fascinated me. And with Marin Ireland narrating! I was sold. So many people out there have spent the last many, many months reevaluating life choices on all levels, and some find themselves (like the characters in this story) reemerging changed, dare I say evolved. It’s not too soon to contemplate these things. To hear how Picoult’s characters fare in these bizarre times is simultaneously gut-wrenching and comforting—and totally entertaining. —Tricia F., Audible Editor

Thought-provoking Twist • Vivid Galapagos Descriptions • Exceptional Narration • Detailed Medical Research • Soothing Voice

Highly rated for:

All stars
Most relevant
Maybe I should have read the plot first and gotten a better idea of what this was about. JP is such an amazing author and I have disliked VERY few of her books. This one though, was not my favorite. This book is primarily about Covid. She frequently writes about actual events, so I shouldn't have been too surprised, but the WHOLE book revolved around it and frankly, I read to ESCAPE reality... not be reminded of it (and hear her clear political opinions.) It's ironic that in the author's note at the end, she states that Covid isn't a political matter, but she makes it pretty known what her affiliations are. It's tiresome. The book wasn't bad, I just didn't love it like I hoped I would. Alas, she's still a phenomenal author, I just wish I hadn't spent money on this one

not my favorite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This might be of value if someone in a 150 yrs wants to research how a pretentions, spoiled, urban millennial might have whined through the inconveniences of travel and faced the reality of a pandemic. One example is the main character insulting with commentary about people who travel alone just for instagram photos. Umm, many of us traveled alone, just because we could, well before internet. The do-gooder side story about the self-harming teen just felt pretentious to me. I regret paying for this audiobook which I did for a book club but then, when the person choosing for the month started reading it, she changed her mind! The plot twist was a surprise and I think it effectively gives insight to a reader what some people experience in severe cases. Gained a star for including the coma dream examples and mentioning DMT.

Juvenile

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I found myself listening and wishing it would end. I am a Picoult fan and will continue listening to her books, just can’t recommend this one. I was not invested in the characters at all.

Definitely not my favorite Picoult

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As I read this, I remembered back to my AP English and college English Literature Courses that featured books that represented times unknown to me, imagining that one day this may be the book that teaches others what it meant to be alive 2020-2021. Picoult perfectly captures the events in the unfolding pandemic (the politics, the decisions made as we all entered the unknown, the awful and the beautiful). Finn's emails had me in tears as my heart ached for all of the front line workers who sacrificed their well being to fight this virus. The book featured themes of connection and disconnection, which was such a prominent theme in our collective experience in this pandemic. The story grabbed and kept my attention; there were twists and turns that I did not expect. It all came together in the end, and I appreciated the epilogue that offered some explanations that further convinced me of the brilliance of this work.

The reading of Wish You Were Here was also good, but I wish the narrator did not overact so much (e.g. sounding shocked when it was not warranted).

Important and Enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I did enjoy the story. I did not enjoy the political undertones that ran through the entire book.

Political

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews