Wish You Were Here

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of mental illness, as well as illness or death.

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

1. Like Picoult's Small Great Things, this novel employs a dramatic twist. How do the two novels compare in their use of perspective shifts that are designed to challenge readers' assumptions?

2. What emotions did you experience as you read about Diana's journey through the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic? How did your own pandemic experiences influence your connection to the story?

3. The novel opens with Diana helping her father to paint the Grand Central Station ceiling and leaving one spot untouched to show "how far you've come." How does this metaphor echo throughout the story's exploration of personal growth and change?

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences.

1. Diana struggles with the validity of her experiences on Isabela, even though they felt completely real to her. Have you ever had an experience that felt deeply meaningful to you but was difficult to explain to others? How did you reconcile this disconnect?