Capturing COVID…. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

⏰ 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐫: Diana O’Toole is the proverbial New York “has it all” girl: amazing job, dedicated boyfriend, a wondrous, goal-oriented life planned out in pristine perfect detail. Until she doesn’t have anything. COVID interrupts and Diana is separated from it all – stranded on the Galápagos Islands where the virus has shuttered the island. Diana makes due, makes a few friends, adapts to her new life, and in the process questions every one of her life choices…

💡𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: Picoult has done an astonishing job of recreating what COVID has been like for many. Reading the author notes – she focuses on the word “isolation.” The weird thing is for me? I don’t relate to most people’s experiences during the past few years. I spent 2014-2019 out of work as a teacher with a mysterious illness. I returned to work full time in 2020 after diagnoses (5 chronic health conditions)- yup, smack dab in the middle of COVID. I was isolated BEFORE COVID and then again during. I’m single and self-supporting. I may have been the only person who DIDN’T feel the sting of shutdown as badly as others, but more like an old friend had returned -the one you politely let in but secretly wish would leave after 2 days? That’s COVID isolation for me.

Picoult opens up our collected experience of strange we’ve all managed, coped with, and wrestled with the past 2 years. And man, she nails it. Who hasn’t considered changes or been forced to make them? Who hasn’t looked at their partner during COVID and thought, “Should I be with this you?” Darn you Picoult – you’re making us all ADMIT it!

This book is one that rattled my brain, made me think deeply about the past 2 years and realize how lucky I am that my family made it through unscathed. My illness shored up my resolution to be an amazing teacher and I fought like hell to get back to the classroom. COVID was just another hurdle in my long race. Many of my colleagues have faced opposite decisions and realized they were done teaching. We all share the EXPERIENCE, and for that I applaud Picoult because she absolutely captures a unique time in our history where we all shifted our foundations and questioned what the heck we are doing with our lives.

𝗔𝗹𝗹 𝗺𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗦𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆𝗠𝗮𝗴𝘀.𝗰𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻.

📚𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Contemporary Fiction

😍𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: All the book clubs HAVE to discuss this. For all the readers…

🙅‍♀️ 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨: If COVID is too raw for you it might feel “too soon.”

Thank you to the author, NetGalley and Random House Ballantine for my advanced copy in exchange for my always-honest review and for making me analyze and think – like a good teacher should. 😉