Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC ebook in exchange for an honest review.

While I am never disappointed in a Jodi Picoult book, this one is not one of my favorites. I did enjoy the storyline, but several times Picoult got carried away with descriptive, almost textbook-like, Egyptology information. I found the information educational, but it also bogged down the flow of the story.

This is a Netgalley ARC review. All opinions are solely my own.

WOW!! This book is packed full of content. Having read all of Jodi Picoult's books I was not concerned by the reviews about how this book ends. I know that she likes to make her readers become introspective regarding her topics.

Jodi Picoult is an author that I don't need to read the blurbs for because I know I'm going to fully be immersed in her world. The Book of Two Ways is no different. This book was amazing.

This book is packed with content and told from a single point of view. I feel like it overall stays true to her style but she does veer from her usual patterns. This book has so many messages that it was intense but in the most delightful way.

At 73%, I thought I knew where the author was taking us and I was wrong.

After reading almost 30% of this book, which incidentally ended up being about 3 very very long chapters, i have decided not to finish. While I was and am still intrigued by this story, I feel like I was spending more time reading a dissertation on Egypt or physics depending on the chapter. This made it incredibly hard to connect with any character. Overall, I was just bored.

So, first, brace yourself. Do NOT approach this book like a “regular Jodi Picoult.” This novel is intensely deep into the worlds of Egyptologist, the Middle Kingdom in Egypt, and the storyline where the main character helps dying people find peace.

Yes, that is a lot, but having said that, getting a deep dive takes you deep into the characters’ souls with this novel. I think Picoult does a tremendous job with her background research prior to writing a novel and I am so thankful for that- it makes the story real.

The story line follows Dawn as she lives her two dual lives as an Egyptologist and a death assistant. Two completely different and perplexing storylines at the beginning, but it does make sense the further you read.

My only complaint? Infidelity. That’s my hangup in novels, and I just can’t digest that easily as a common place behavior in novels.

You will walk away with a definitely heightened awareness of all things Egypt and I enjoyed this aspect of the novel very much.

The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult is a highly recommended novel about the choices we make and the regrets in life, along with two possible futures.

Dawn Edelstein is on a plane when it is announced that passengers need to prepare for a crash landing. Dawn, who has been married to Brian for fifteen years, thinks not of her husband, but of Wyatt Armstrong, her first love. She last saw him fifteen years ago in Egypt on an archaeological dig site where the two were working. Doubts are suddenly raised that she should be with Wyatt.

In her current life she and Brian have a fifteen year old daughter, Meret, and she would have said they have a good life. Brian is a physics professor and Dawn is working as a death doula, where she helps those who are dying. But she still wonders what her life would have been if she hadn't had to rush back to the states for her dying mother. What if she had returned to Egypt and Wyatt and got her PhD in Egyptology? What if fate is offering her a second chance?

The novel consists of two possible futures narrative and follows those timelines. The first option is for Dawn to stay with her family and continue on with the life they have together. The second would be to return to Egypt, Wyatt, and the archaeological dig site she was working at to continue her research on the Egyptian The Book of Two Ways, which is a map of the afterlife. Then, on the two timelines the novel explores the question what does a life well lived look like? Dawn, who as a death doula helps ease people into their death has been immersed in this question since she was first first studying The Book of Two Ways.

Obviously, Picoult is an accomplished writer so the quality of the writing is excellent. If there are any faults in The Book of Two Ways it is the overabundance of information about Egyptology. She inundates the readers with facts and figures and timelines, which is all interesting, but a little goes a long way. This is combined with too much additional information about what a death doula does and stories about helping people die. I'm not sure if it is the overwhelming stressors of the current year, but it was all a bit too much. Even the choices and regrets Dawn suddenly is faced with in regards to her life while looking at her current life with Brian and her previous relationship with Wyatt is enough of a complicated, emotionally complicated examination.

Characters are well-developed and they all have strengths and flaws in their depiction. It is a character driven novel, though, and clearly makes the point that there are often no good, perfect choices in life. This is a novel about the Egyptian Book of Two Ways and a person's life regarding two different paths that her life could have taken.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of Penguin Random House.
The review will be posted on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

I have loved Jodi's books since 2005 when I read Mercy for the first time and I've read all but one of her books, it's on my shelf though! I was so excited to get this galley copy to read and review.
I read this book in 2 days! I was drawn in immediately and I just didn't want to stop reading. Picoult is a master of storytelling and of pacing. It feels different than what I'm used to from Jodi in some ways, but really good as always. Congratulations Jodi all the best and I look forward to another.

Unlike other Jodi Picoult books, this one took a long time for me to get into it. Once I did though I understood the importance of all the detail about ancient Egyptian beliefs about death and quantum mechanics. It is sort of like going to school. You learn all the facts, but its not until you are grown that you can put all the pieces together from your former classes and make connections. Dawn, who is a death doula helping people die, thinks she is going to die as the plane she is in plummets to earth. She lives, but in those few minutes reflects on her life and wonders if she had done something different what her life would be like. So after the crash, instead of returning to her rock-steady quantum mechanics professor husband and her teenaged daughter, she boards a flight to Egypt to find the man she loved before having to reshape her life after her mother’s death. She was a brilliant Yale Egyptology graduate student who was working on her dissertation about the “Book of Two Ways”, an ancient Egyptian book about death. She was working with a man whom she loved on a dig in Egypt when her mother’s cancer forced her back to Boston to be with her mother and raise her younger brother. While with her mom in the hospice home, she met Brian, the professor she loved. And here’s where the background Picoult has set forth in the first part of the book becomes important. She gets her degree in social work and becomes a death doula helping people die. When a client dying of cancer asks her to take a letter to a former lover in Britain, Dawn starts questioning choices she made in choosing to marry Brian instead of returning to Egypt. The book requires some heavy thinking, as Picoult looks at the various facets of being a woman, motherhood, and choices. The story is complex with “what if” questions that are not easily answered.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the early copy of this book in exchange for a review.

I saw Jodi Picoult and requested this book without even really looking at the synopsis. I've been a long time fan and figured it would be good. If I had picked this up at a bookstore by another author, I'd probably set it down and not think twice. The book is about a woman who is a death doula but who had previous experience of studying Egyptology in graduate school and working in Egypt. The book of two ways is a book associated with the ancient Egyptians related to afterlife.

This book was a little confusing to me with the timelines. It was about Dawn's life in the US as a death doula with a husband and daughter. There was an alternating story with Dawn back in Egypt with her life long live interest, Wyatt.

I really enjoyed the way this book talked about death and grief. I wasn't fascinated with the aspects of Egyptian history but got through them. Overall this book was pretty good for Jodi Picoult fans, especially if this is a topic of interest to them!

I have in the past really loved Jodi Picoult books.
However, this one made my head hurt. There was just so many historical details. Way too many. I spent have the book wondering what was going on and should I take notes to research what was being said.

This was not what I was expecting, I really wanted to read this book I kept reading so many great reviews and I do love the cover but definitely something was missing.

it was 30% and I still didn't feel close to any character, I feel like something was not there, the warm, the love it was a story that had so much description, the main character Dawn kept internalizing so much so in my own experience I felt like she was always drowning in her thought and emotions and she was never happy.

I don't have anything wrong or negative to say about The Book of two ways, it just wasn't for me, too much talk, too much thinking, too much description is like too much going on and I felt like there was no action, no moving forward.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves details and characters who internalize every single detail of their lives..

Dawn is a death doula living in Boston with her husband and teenage daughter. Her marriage is at a stand still and one of her terminal clients gets her thinking of the alternative life and what if you were meant to be with someone else. Wyatt was her rock, the life she walked away from when her mom became terminally ill and she was now responsible for raising her teenage brother. The book alternates between two parallel lives, one in Boston with her husband and one in Egypt with Wyatt, with the end bringing the story together

Too many heavy topics weaved throughout this book - Egyptian history and quantum physics were the most prevalent. I found myself skimming through a lot of the technical parts of the book. If you make it to 30% of the book, then you are on a path to make it. If you get to 5o%, stick with it. The underlying plot of maybe and what could of been are heart wrenching, but it takes so long to get there.

This book. Wow! I’ve read some other reviews. And yes, this book has a lot of Egyptology facts and quantum physics facts. It can be a little overwhelming. But it’s needed to give the book the total package.

It’s hard for me to write a review about this. I don’t want to give any spoilers. This book makes you think about everything you’ve done so far in life. Do you have regrets? Do you wish to change? Dawn is married for 15 years and has a 14 year old daughter. She is a death doula. Her life is turned upside down and she questions everything about her life when she believes her husband has been unfaithful. She is remembering her past as an Egyptology student. Her coworker in Egypt and lover, Wyatt, who she had to abruptly leave 15 years ago, because of an unforeseen tragedy.

This book goes from Dawn’s past to present until they collide. The decision she is forced to make actually broke my heart. Someone will be hurt.

I love books that will make you think days and weeks later. And this book will do just that. This is another winner by Jodi Picoult!

In true Jodi Picoult fashion, we have a book surrounded by deeper topics and a TON of research.

Dawn wanted to be an Egyptologist before life threw her curveballs and changed that projective. Before that happened, she spent time in Egypt following her passion and falling in love. Fast forward 15 years, and she’s married to a different man with a teenage daughter. But surviving a plane crash changes everything for her.

There were aspects I really enjoyed with this novel, and others I did not. I was really intrigued with learning about death doulas and how they help end of life patients and their families. I also enjoy learning about Egypt and mummies, but holy cow. Go into this knowing that there is A LOT of talk surrounding both scientific aspects, and Egyptian knowledge. I found my eyes glazing over a few times and speed reading, but hey, if that is your thing, this is the book for you.

There are always the twists that you don’t really see coming when it comes to Picoult, so when it happened, I thought, “there she is!!” And I became instantly more invested in the characters and their endings.

Overall, I learned quite a few things, and had my emotions messed with, so I would put it in the success column!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @randomhouse for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

Dawn was once a Yale grad student in Egyptology, on track to get her PhD. The only wrinkle seemed to be Wyatt--her longtime rival, who suddenly becomes her lover. One day, a phone call changes her life. She leaves Wyatt and Egypt, returning to Boston from Egypt to say goodbye to her mother and care for her much-younger brother.

Fifteen years later, she is content with her life--she works as a death doula, copes with her mercurial teenaged daughter, and believes herself lucky to be married to the steady, adoring Brian. Until one day Brian makes her doubt his loyalty. Then a cascade of events--revelations from her new client, Win, that have parallels to her own life; a plane crash; and ancestry test--make her question every decision she made that fateful summer.

This novel explores regret, lost love, decisions, and death, as it meanders through past and present, making the reader question if there are alternative versions of the present time. No spoilers here, because Picoult leaves the reader hanging. I welcome thoughts on what others think Dawn decided. #TheBookofTwoWays #NetGalley

My review of The Book of Two Ways is live on THRIVE GLOBAL today Sept 22, 2020 on publication day!

"Which Path Will You Pick? Jodi Picoult’s The Book of Two Ways"

https://thriveglobal.com/stories/which-path-will-you-pick-jodi-picoults-the-book-of-two-ways/

Jodi has written about a wide variety of subjects, but the one thing all her books have in common is her knowledge and respect for her chosen topic. She has written about a mass school shooting, organ donation with a major twist, murder, suicide, affairs, family secrets, and now, the archeology of historical ancient Egyptian burial sites. This is a huge jump but Picoult does it with her same degree of emotion and detail.
Dawn Edelstein is torn between her history and her present. Her history was in Egypt working with Wyatt Armstrong, a man who she deeply and madly falls in love with. Her present is with Brian, her husband, and the child they’re raising Merit. These two worlds collide when Dawn survives a plane crash alongside her beloved Wyatt, and her husband and child learn the truth when they race to the hospital.
As we look back at Dawn’s life with her husband, then further back to her time with Wyatt, it becomes painfully obvious that Dawn has to make a decision as she heals and attempts to move on with her life. With each page, my opinion of what she should do flipped; I simply couldn’t settle my conscience with either choice. This alone kept me reading; how’s Jodi going to get us out of this mess? Her characters are so deep, sincere, emotional, and clarified; her plot and weaving of human emotion, weakness, and errors are mesmerizing. This is yet another classic Picoult that will keep you enthralled to the very end.
Thanks to NetGalley and Ballantine for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review. The release date is September 22, 2020.

Never underestimate the power of a few words. Prepare for an unplanned landing are definitely at the top of the list of life altering statements. One would think the first thoughts that comes to mind are your husband and child so it comes as a huge surprise that they are not who pop in to Dawns mind. It is the man she left behind years ago. So begins Dawns journey down the rabbit hole of “what if”. This book reminded me a lot of the movie Sliding Doors. An accident and through mental images and memories what her life would be depending on which road she chose. Dawn gave up her beloved dream career of being an Egyptologist when her mother became ill and she returned to the states to take care of her much younger brother. She met and married Brian, had a daughter and built a new career as a death doula. She seemingly loved the life she created. And then the crash and all of the memories it brings to her make her question each and every choice she had made. Did she make the right choice for her, think about the consequences or was she lying to herself, her husband, her daughter and the man she left behind? Yes and no. I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult and love how she teaches us, navigates through difficult emotional terrain and holds nothing back. I started out enjoying the read and finding the info about Egypt very interesting and educational, though it became a little too much, more like a text book. Again, I liked the info and found myself wanting to learn more, but that was not what the intent of this book was supposed to be, at least not for me. Her style of writing shows characters to be real. Not all perfect or all bad, like actual real and flawed humans. And yet this is the first of her books where I really did not connect or like the main character at all. I found her to be selfish at her very core, a hypocrite, withholding, a cheater and a liar and those are least negative things I could say. She was in my opinion horrible and treated people that trusted her most like they were not as important and valid as she was. There were a lot of twists and turns true to her style of writing and there are always surprises in the end, but this one just made me mad and disappointed I spent a few hours reading about such an awful person. She was in my opinion not worthy of my time.

I will always read a Jodi Picoult book, especially after reading Small Great Things. I was expecting something as poignant with The Book of Two Ways.

This novel follows Dawn, a death doula, as she's learning more about herself following her own brush with death. When the plane she is traveling in must make a crash landing, Dawn's "life flashing before her eyes" moment doesn't flash to her daughter or her husband, but the man she left behind in Egypt. Wyatt and Dawn worked together in Egypt and did a little more than work (if you know what I mean).

I liked this novel and was excited to learn a little more about Egypt in the process. I've always been fascinated with mummies and their extravagant tombs, and Picoult delivered. This was thought provoking and and emotional but just didn't hit the mark for me like her previous novels did.

Thank you to the Author, Publisher and @netgalley for this ARC.

This book is OUT TODAY!

The Book of Two Ways is my first Jodi in a long, long time. I read a few by her when I was a teen and haven't picked any of her new books up since for personal reasons.

Picoult does not shirk away from the tough, scary topics. This book has an overwhelming theme of death, the afterlife, near-death experiences, and how weighty our everyday choices and decisions can be.

That being said...it was exceptional. The research poured into this book about Egyptology, tombs, and the Ancient Egyptians was phenomenal. The thought behind the symbolism and narrative layout (which is a Picoult strength, I have come to find out) of the novel is breathtaking.

It is very clear the story was written by a master author--I can only describe this as a piece of art. So many tiny, important details all came together in a beautiful conclusion. Wow. A must read!

The Book of Two Ways is the newest book by bestselling author, Jodi Picoult. It is the story of Dawn Edelstein who survives a plane crash. In a single moment everything changes that as she prepares for the crash landing, her thoughts are not about her husband or daughter of a man she hasn’t seen in fifteen years. After the crash, she is given the option to be taken anywhere she wants to go. She knows she should go home to her husband and daughter but instead she hops on a plane to Cairo, Egypt where Wyatt Armstrong is an archaeologist studying the ancient burial sites. She wants to continue the work she left behind in Egypt as she was studying the Book of Two Ways, the first known map of the afterlife. It also means confronting her and Wyatt’s unresolved history. As the story unfolds, Dawn has two possible futures ahead of her and she confronts questions of what a life well-lived looks like, what do we leave behind when we leave this earth, and do we make choices or do our choices make us?
I have been a fan of Jodi Picoult’s for many years and I eagerly delved into The Book of Two Ways. Unfortunately, after the excitement of the opening chapter, I was quickly bored as the story gets bogged down with so much detailed information of hieroglyphs, Egyptian cultures, and quantum physics. It is a book about love and loss, life and death, and Egypt. Lots and lots of Egypt. The overload of information caused me to lose track of where I was in the story and how the information even fits into the story. This overload overpowers the emotional, human aspects that is usually characteristic of her books. It was hard to care for Dawn and her journey. At one point, she has sex with her husband after an argument and her husband thinks everything is fine, she proclaims that just because she had sex with him, everything was not fine. So why have sex with him? It is just one example of eyerolling moments. As a fan of Ms. Picoult, I say give The Book of Two Ways a pass.

The Book of Two Ways is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook.