I have always been a fan of Jodi Picoult but this book I just couldn’t get behind. I tried hard to give it a chance. But I felt like I was taking a course in a foreign language that I didn’t sign up for. I could fee a good story just around the corner but I felt like I was in a glass house and could never find the right corner.

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult gives us a story about choices and where they lead us. Dawn has been married to her husband for years and loves her daughter. However, after a near death experience, it is her first love, Wyatt, she thinks about. Now she has to make a choice and decide which pate she will take. What choices would you make if you had a second chance? The story gives you history, will make you thin and provide so many feelings throughout. A complex story about life, choices and so much more.

Happy reading!

this is the kind of book that will make you question all of your life choices.

The Book of Two Ways (romance/gen fic): ★★★★

Firstly, I would like to say that this is a LONG book. I spent almost my entire day reading it, which is rare. It normally takes me around 4 hours to finish any given book; this one took almost 7. But I couldn’t put it down.

When Dawn is almost in a plane crash, her life flashes before her eyes. The man she sees in her mind as she’s plummeting to the ground is not her husband- it’s a man she left in Egypt many years ago. She decides to take off to Egypt and see if she made the right choice, and how different her life would’ve been if she had stayed.

There are so many highlight-able quotes in here. So much truth and despair and pain and longing and regret that I cried multiple times. Somehow, I didn’t see the big plot twist coming, and the way that Picoult circled back to the beginning of the book toward the end was just genius writing. This was such a unique book- there truly cannot be anything else out there like it.

The only reason this book didn’t get five stars is that sometimes the information overload made my head hurt. So much detail about hieroglyphics and quantum physics that I skipped over entire paragraphs and pages. I definitely appreciate that I was learning things in the midst of a beautiful work of fiction, but it still made my head hurt.

This is a good one. It’s one of those books that makes you simultaneously terrified about life and amazed at the beauty of it. Excuse me while I go have an existential crisis.

Jodi Picoult’s newest book is not my favorite by this author. The Book of Two Ways sometimes reads like a research report or lecture on Egyptology and quantum physics. Then she draws on this to connect to present day love stories. Add to this too many coincidences and I struggled to hold on until the end.

It takes a long time to know what you are reading here. It is part of what keeps you involved in this weaving of past and present. As we begin, there is a plane crash and a decision. From there we splinter off into two lives, The life of a "death doula", there really should be a better name for that, and a grad student studying Egyptology. Each section was practically a novel in itself, so as I was reading back and forth between them I would become completely invested in one. It was always a disappointment to be pulled out of Egypt to go back to Boston and then equally as distressing to be pulled out of Boston and back to Egypt.

The idea centers around a book for the dead that Dawn is basing her entire doctoral dissertation upon. One is by land and one is by water, Dawn is similarly drawn between two worlds, her current world with herIts husband and daughter and her previous one as a grad student documenting tombs in Egypt. The book could have been much shorter but for the deep delving into the lives and careers of each story. One plays with physics and deals with death and the other describes the mysteries of ancient Egypt. Did we all have a brief obsession with Egypt when we were younger? Just me? It's still there a little bit. Even though the conditions sound absolutely horrid and it is basically disturbing and robbing graves, it still has its appeal.

I would like to say that no character in this book is perfect. Few are even that likable. It doesn't really matter. i could have skipped a lot of the drama and reveals and just enjoyed the philosophical discussion that take place throughout. I'd like to thank Jodi Picoult, Netgalley, and Ballantine Publishers for allowing me to read this book.

My first Jodi Picoult, so I can't speak to how it relates to other works of hers. We follow our main character Dawn as her life seemingly diverges onto two separate paths. Years ago, she made the decision to abandon an Egyptology PhD and a relationship with Wyatt, a fellow researcher. Instead, she has been building an imperfect but comfortable life in Boston with her physicist husband, Brian. What would happen if she tracks down Wyatt at their old dig site? What would happen instead if she went back to her usual humdrum life? In alternating chapters we follow these possibilities as they tie into both Egyptian death lore and quantum physics. A lot of information about both of those topics is thrown at us and ultimately there's some major unlikable main character vibes. If this storyline piques your interest, it's worth a read, but not a book I would go out of my way to recommend.

I liked the premise of this book with Dawn looking back at the choices she had made in her life and looking to what she wants in her future. Her job as a death doula was most interesting to learn about as I had never heard of that, but it was quite fascinating. I found all the characters quite well developed and enjoyed their backstories. I do have a certain interest in Egyptology, but this book went in too much detail and eventually went over my head. I really tried to understand this, but it was just too technical for my taste.

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When faced with a life or death situation who or what would flash before your eyes? If you were to survive would you make changes based on how you felt? That is what these characters are facing. After surviving a plane crash and realizing she still has feelings for some one from 15 years prior sets her on a new path.

Jodi Picoult is a favorite author who knows how to write books that can be both controversial and comfortable. Her research is so well done, no matter the topic she has chosen to write about. This latest offering is so well-researched, however, that I felt bogged down with facts and didn't really have all the emotions I have come to expect with Picoult's work.

The Book of Two Ways is ambitious but fails to tackle a cliche in a new and thoughtful way.
Dawn's life changed when she is on a plane that has to make an emergency landing. In a typical near death fashion, Dawn stars to think about the life that could have been. She leaves her life with a daughter and a professor husbands to chase after a college love and ancient Egypt.
The biggest flaw of this books is that there is ti to much education and not enough plot. I like learning new things but Jodi Piccoult seems to use Egyptian history as a way to fill up cracks in gthe plot. While a little of this does some have some direct connection to the plot, most of it isn't needed and just wastes space,
I kept waiting for a grand twist; the husband is a professor of quanta mechanics. This is mot a sliding doors story. At most, it's a story playing with the perception of time. This was not particular meaningful as I wasn't invested in the main character and felt sad for the daughter and husband.
Honestly, Dawn is shallow and selfish. This story sounds more like an Emily Giffin. Lost love re imagined. I expected a beautiful twist from Piccoult but she does not give it and the ending s left in the air. This goes with the quantum mechanics but honestly I didn’t like the idea she would have her cake and eat it too.
Over all The Book of Two was is both boring and insipid. Not one of her better novels, i wouldn't recommend it.

I typically enjoy Jodi Picoult's books and I was looking forward to reading this book. I found it to be dry and not really appealing. I was disappointed.

I enjoyed all of the Egyptian history in "The Book of Two Ways." As a history lover, this element was one of the highlights of this interesting and thought provoking novel.

Dawn told her story through both the past and present which I found very compelling. This book made me think about life and death and consider what's most important in life.

This was my first Jodi Picoult book and now I'm hooked - I can't wait to get read some of her backlist books!

Picoult uses the rich imagery of Egyptology to illustrate the dualities of love and loss. Death and life are inseparable as her characters wrestle with the intersection of past and present. A dying artist with a deathbed secret and a marital indiscretion inspire an adventure that culminates with an unexpected revelation.

I haven't read this author in a while. I used to love her books, but man did I struggle to even finish this one.

There was so much technical jargon regarding Egypt and such that I got bored. Also the timelines jumped around it it was just very difficult to follow along and it just didn't work for me.

I WANTED to love this book, but I just could never get invested. I didn't like Dawn and found myself not really caring at all about her story.

I'm at a loss for words. This book wrecked me in the best possible ways. I was so emotional while reading this book; I had to set it down from time to time to regain my composure. The Egyptology aspect, at first, was a little confusing. It felt like there was A LOT of information, and it was hard to determine what needed to be studied and what was there for background information. Once I was about 25% in, though, it got a lot better and I couldn't put the book down.

My only complaint is the ending felt really....weird. Throughout the book Dawn is in two timelines, then at the end she's in one, but it was hard to me to determine what had actually happened in her past in her current timeline. She referenced both timelines as if they were one, but timing wise it didn't make sense.


I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

This is two stories. One is her life with her husband and daughter. She is a death doula that assists patients that are slowly dying. The other is her adventure in Egypt with a guy from her past. How do the two lives intertwine together?o
I struggled through this book. It was just too slow.

I have read several of Jodi's books over the years and Small Great Things is one of my most favorite books EVER. I enjoy her style, her research, her characterization....but The Book of Two Ways was a miss for me. I struggled to finish this book. I felt that it read more like a textbook throughout and all the details of Egyptian facts dragged the story down that I could hardly remember what it was bout. I did not feel that the main character was likable either which made me stop caring about halfway through. I was pretty close to DNF but was holding out hope the ending half would redeem the book but honestly, it did not. Perhaps those more interested in history or details of this subject would find it interesting but I was bored throughout.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Another good book by Jodi Picoult! There is her trademark ethical issue when Dawn learns her plane is going down and her first thought is not of her husband and family but of her lover from 15 years ago. Maybe most of us don't go down in a plane crash, but don't we have that moment of either affirmation or regret when we are forced to see the path not taken? Picoult adds tons of Egyptology, and I definitely learned something new. If you are a fan of Jodi Picoult's books or just need to get lost in some meaty fiction, give The Book of Two Ways a try!

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (3.75)

Dawn has a comfortable life at home with her adoring husband and daughter. But when a plane crash causes her life to flash before her eyes, she sees the life and love she left behind in Egypt. Is fate offering her a second chance or should she leave the past in the past?

I was excited to read this newest Jodi Picoult because I have loved her books in the past. One aspect of her writing that I love is how much research goes in to her books. She approaches topics most of us don’t know much about and becomes a master in them. I always learn something new when I read her books and I love that so much. The reason I gave it 3.75 stars is because while it was well written, the structure had me confused. The whole time I was a little unsure if I was missing the bigger meaning of the book by not understanding the plot points. However, her beautiful writing and topics made up for this and I still really enjoyed it. If you’re a Jodi Picoult fan this is a great addition to your collection!!

Thank you @netgalley for providing me this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jodi Picoult has always been one of those authors that I will definitely buy the week a book is released from her. I was so excited to be approved for this new release. Unfortunately, it just isn't the Jodi that I have grown to love. I feel like she has changed her way of writing. I love her old style much better.

One thing about her writing is her her passion for whichever subject she is writing about. I learned the hard way Egyptology is not for me. I feel like I can teach this course now at a university but would feel guilty for boring the children.

I feel bad for writing g a negative review about this book. I just saw Jodi Picoult and requested to read without reading the description . I've never not liked one of her books. In the future, I will read the description beforehand. Therefore, if it's your thing, you may love it.

Thank you Netgalley for letting me read this book in exchange for my honest opinion.