Book Review- Jodi Picoult's Wish You Were Here

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for a copy of Jodi Picoult’s novel Wish You Were Here.

Diana’s life is going according to her plan. She works at an auction house and is about to orchestrate a career changing sale of a famous piece of art. Her long-time boyfriend, Finn, is finishing his residency at a local hospital and will be a surgeon. Diana is confident that Finn will propose to her on their upcoming Galapagos vacation and soon, they will be married and buying their first home. Life is perfect in early 2020.

Finn’s boss cancels all vacation requests as pandemic worries begin to grow, but Finn presses Diana to take their vacation alone. Nervous to travel solo and missing Finn, Diana arrives in Galapagos, and is forced to make an quick decision; she can either stay on the island or head back to the airport, with no guarantee of making a flight, as the world is starting to shut-down due to the pandemic. She has no cell service and is unaware of the severity of the situation. Diana decides to stay and ends up stuck on a remote island discovering that the hotel where she had reservations, has closed. A kind local woman allows Diana to stay in a small apartment that used to belong to her son.

Alone, isolated, and unable to contact Finn, Diana begins to embrace being stuck in paradise. She befriends a local teenage girl and the girl’s handsome father, who happens to be the previous tenant of the apartment where she is staying. Diana finds a second family and an alternative life in the Galapagos, while Finn is fighting on the frontlines in a New York hospital.

When I started reading Wish You Were Here and realized it was yet another pandemic story, I nearly stopped reading. It makes sense that so many pandemic stories are publishing now and that so many authors would be compelled to write pandemic stories, but it also is a subject that I don’t want to keep revisiting. However, to would-be-readers in a similar state of mind, don’t give up on this one.

Picoult presents both a twist on the pandemic story and a huge, monumental, didn’t see it coming, surprise half-way through. I was just about to stop reading for the evening and I encountered the twist, which propelled me to read for another hour. It was a huge shock and even better, it ties to intriguing themes of the story which are not strictly pandemic related. Wish You Were Here is far more broad thematically and would have been a different story if the pandemic had not occurred, but likely still would have been written.

I’ve read many of Picoult’s books and I’m a fan, but Wish You Were Here, just may be her best one yet.

Book Review- Frank Bruni's The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found

Thank you to LibroFM and Simon and Schuster Audio for an copy of Frank Bruni’s The Beauty of Dusk: On Vision Lost and Found.

In his memoir, journalist and non-fiction writer Frank Bruni details a life-altering medical situation, where a stroke left him blind in one eye. As he was adjusting to his new normal, he also lived in fear of losing sight in his other eye, a problem that some doctors warned could happen. Bruni was middle-aged, in a long-term relationship, and in a very good place in his career, often traveling abroad for both work and pleasure. Doctors warned that his sight could worsen if he spent time in high-altitudes and he began to have trouble seeing in the dark, making driving to destinations difficult, curtailing his travels. Shortly after Bruni’s diagnosis, his partner was unfaithful and their relationship ended. Although not married, they had lived together for many years and the break-up was akin to a divorce, such as dividing shared belongings. Bruni was left alone to rebuild.

Despite all of the challenges Bruni faces, he handles these major life changes with grace. He is surrounded by close friends and a loving family, which help ease loneliness. He finds ways to work with diminished sight and his career continues. Mostly, he embraces the positive aspects of his life. He feels bolstered by all of the travels and experiences that he had prior to losing sight and he stays confident that these experience will continue, even if they are modified. A running theme is to never take anything for granted, but also not to fall into self-pity for things that you no longer have. Bruni shares examples of other people facing challenges to show that everyone has their unique situations. One of the sweetest part of The Beauty of Dusk is when Bruni finds companionship with a dog that he adopts from a family member. I’m a huge animal lover and this just made my heart happy.

The audio version is narrated by Bruni and he has a soothing, easy on the ears voice. I feel that The Beauty of Dusk would be equally engaging, whether you choose the audio or print version. Bruni’s compelling story and poetic words combine for a absolutely beautiful memoir, one that I personally loved and will purchase as a gift for friends.

Book Review: Deb Rogers' Florida Woman

Thank you to a rep from HarperCollins for bringing a galley of Deb Rogers’ novel, Florida Woman, to the bookstore where I work. I was lucky to attend a talk with the rep and her description of Florida Woman made me borrow it from our store’s galley collection and bump it to the top of my shelf.

During a bizarre event at a restaurant, Jaime, unwittingly turns herself into a “Florida Woman” meme and lands in jail. As part of a parole/restitution/rehabilitation scheme, her lawyer finds an opportunity for Jaime to work off the remainder of her sentence at a macaque sanctuary. Jaime will live in the sanctuary, located deep in the wilds of Florida, and work with the founders, a trio of women who have an usual outlook on life. Although remote and rustic, Jaime initially embraces the opportunity, thinking that anything is better than jail. However, as the founders become comfortable with Jaime’s presence, their behavior becomes increasingly disturbing and cultish, leading Jaime to wonder if she has put herself in a dangerous situation.

Florida Woman is a strange and wonderful ride. It takes the idea of “Florida man/woman” and flips it, turning this regional stereotype into an unlikely hero. Rogers has a sharp and dark sense of humor. Her writing reminds me Carl Hiaasen, not only for the Florida setting, but for the bizarre, off-beat characters and style of humor. Rogers keeps the tension and sense of danger throughout and I could not have predicted the journey that Jaime takes. The ending perfectly ties with the title and theme. Florida Woman is a really fun and quirky summer read.