Take a deep dive into Egyptology with this engaging story. In typical Picoult fashion two ways means more than just two ways, and our anti-heroine (lets face it she cannot seem to figure out which way she wants to follow) finds several ways to deal with death. On the one hand she studies tombs which provide paths to life and death, and on the other hand she is a death doula who ushers the dying into a peaceful beyond. The book is a wonderful, real-life romantic romp with a dash of mother/daughter dynamics and a trail down to soul searching. Of course Jodi's fans will devour it and she will gain many more fans out of first time readers.

Ms Picoult has the ability to kidnap you from daily lives and take you into a story. I enjoyed this book very much and can’t wait to share with my customers .

There have only been a handful of books that I've read that have moved me as much as this one.

I admittedly have never read a Jodi Picoult book. I have always wanted to, so I am so glad I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. I will definitely be checking out her other books after this one.

The book starts with Dawn Edlestein on a plane ride when the plane crashes. This brush with death makes her re-think her life and the man she left behind 15 years earlier when she was in graduate school to become an Egyptologist. In 2003, Dawn McDowell, fell madly in love with Wyatt Armstrong as they were in graduate school in Egypt.

Dawn finds out her mother is dying, so she rushes back home to Boston and life takes her on a completely different path. She meets Brian in the hospital as one of his family members is too dying, and life throws another curve ball when she becomes pregnant with their daughter Meret. She has to stay and raise her younger brother Kieren so she gives up her graduate studies in Egypt and Wyatt, to lead her life with Brian and their daughter.

Due to Dawns experience with her mother's passing, she becomes what is called a death doula. I never knew this was a career, but after reading this book I think this one of the hardest professions one could take on.

You get to experience Dawn's work as a death doula, by her relationship with Win. Win is dying of cancer, and she and her husband Felix hire Dawn to help the both of them through the end of her life. Dawn and Win develop a deep friendship, and they both teach each other a lot in just a short amount of time.
"Oh Win. There's really no such thing as a right or wrong choice. We don't make decisions, our decisions make us."

This book tells two stories, one where Dawn goes back home to Brian and her daughter, and her life as a death doula, and then another where she travels to Egypt to find one what could have been with her career in Egyptology and her relationship with Wyatt.

I loved that this book took on the flow of The Book of Two ways' two paths through the afterlife, Land and Water. Land was Dawn's life with Brian and Water was her time in Egypt with Wyatt.

The whole book I am wondering which path will Dawn choose??

I love the little twist at the end, and how the book ends. To me, it was perfect.

"I mean, who gets such an embarrassment of riches? One love that sends you into orbit...and then another that guides you home?"

The Book of Two Ways is described as a “what if she’d chosen this path instead of that one in her life”, and I absolutely adore that trope. Technically, this book does deliver on that description. Unfortunately, interspersed with that enticing storyline is a mountain of scientific/historical context that really detracted from the flow. Sure, some of that was necessary to lend a feeling of realism and understanding, but there was WAY more than necessary. I ended up skimming numerous sections to make it through.

Thanks go to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Great, as always. I have a fascination with Egyptology, so that may have made me love this book even more. Highly recommended.

Categorically speaking, this novel would fall under the Sliding Doors trope.

It "slid" in setting. In choices. In tension. In so many other things I've always found to be literarily enticing.

On top of that, as a reader, it also plunged me into the emotional depths of "what if" like few other books of this genre have done before. It took me to a place where my heart could get caught between two slats and be squashed or squeezed until it swelled, until it bruised. Until it shattered into various irreconcilable pieces that hurt almost as much as they healed--always in ways I never would've foreseen.

I liked how I felt compelled to exhume the turmoil and suppressed yearning those two little words - what if, what if - could render whenever they're thought together, spoken together, felt together. Or in the case of Dawn specifically...lived together.

The Book of Two Ways juggled a lot of balls, I won't lie.

I imagine some people will be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of Egyptian terminology and quantum physics talk, for instance. Perhaps even put off by it. For my own part, however, I wasn't. Even though there were spots where the specificity could've been tampered down some - trimmed, rather - I thought it worked. I was riveted, tantalized. It made me feel like I was part of the archaeology of it all: the spark, the science, the burning passion that could lead to self-discovery.

The layered minutiae only enhanced the tapestry of the plot and its characters for me. I really the enjoyed the wealth of feeling it opened up in me and I'd definitely recommend it.

Put it this way: Jodi Picoult would be on my "must read" list if she hadn't already been before.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House, and Ballantine Books for the ARC!

Thank you NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy of this book.
I love Jodi Picoult and have read every book she has written. I was very excited to read her new book, The Book of Two Ways. Unfortunately I found this book difficult to read. The concept was interesting. A woman taking an opportunity to see if she made the right decision to leave the man she loved in Egypt for the man she is married to. I like the. usual dilemmas that the authors set her main characters into. However, this book read too much like a text book on Egyptology. I found myself skimming sections when the subject became too detailed and labored.

I am a fan of Jodi Picoult but I think this is one that I may have to listen to during the drives to work rather than read. I simply could not get into it and found myself rereading quite often. I think if you are a history or technical reader you may find this book very interesting. However, I cannot give it a fair rating because I could not finish it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for sharing this ARC in return for an unbiased review.

Having read most of Jodi Picoult's books, I found this one a bit different. Generally she explores social issues, which I find fascinating as they aren't generally black and white. But this one was more of a personal issue, dealing with a marriage betrayal and views on death, served with dose of Egyptology, which is not of a personal interest, but was still fascinating, although a bit too technical for my tastes. The exploration of who we might have been if circumstances had been different is one of my favorite subjects, and this one did not disappoint, as the characters were allowed to experience second chances, and the effect that has on the ones they love. The additional theme of death, and how it's approach affects the dying and the ones they are leaving behind, was tough, but very thoughtful. Highly recommend. .

Jodi Picoult's latest novel offers a glipse of how life might have turned out if different choices had been made.
Dawn Edelstein is on a plane that is free falling. Instead of her life flashing before her eyes, she finds her thoughts landing on what might have been. An intriguing novel about being human, the consequences of our choices, and what matters most when we cling between life and death. Well written and emotionally stirring. Thank you to NetGalley for making this available to me to review.

I really liked the premise of this book and I really wanted to love it because I enjoy Jodi Picoult’s books, but it was not my favorite book she has written. There was a lot of the book where I felt like I was getting a history lesson on Egypt and while it was informative, it was not what I thought the book was going to be about. There was not as much about the characters as I would have liked, that part of the book was interesting to me as I found the parallel worlds fascinating. I liked the relationships Dawn had with her husband Brian and with Wyatt but when she was with Wyatt, I started to dread those chapters because I knew it would be another long section about Egypt again. For those that really enjoy history and in depth lessons about Egypt, you will really enjoy this book. Picoult’s writing is captivating as usual and you feel as if you are right there with Dawn as she is in Boston or Egypt. Overall, I would give this book 3 stars. Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

Thank you NetGalley & publisher for an ARC of this new title. The Book of Two Ways centers on Dawn, a former Egyptologist who left the field after the death of her mother. Dawn has since married, had a daughter, & embarked on a new career comforting they dying during the final days, but her thoughts often turn to Egypt & Wyatt, the man she left behind. Dawn returns to Egypt & reconnects with Wyatt, but finds herself pulled to both the excitement of her life with Wyatt in Egypt & the comfort of her marriage & motherhood. As always, Jodi Picoult exquisitely develops her characters & settings so the reader feels entranced by the narrative. However, instead of focusing on a societal or social issue & its complex intricacies as Picoult’s novels usually do, The Book of Two Ways deals with the more personal topic of how we chose love & the irrevocable consequences of our choices.

After a near death experience onboard a plane causes Dawn to rethink her life's choices, two versions of her life are laid out- one where she goes back to Boston to come to terms of what's left of her marriage and continue with her career as a death doula or one where she flies to Egypt to confront her past relationship with fellow Egyptologist Wyatt and the degree she never got to finish.
I really enjoyed the how the subject of death was handled in both versions of Dawn's life- especially with Win. I could have taken or left the romantic aspect and the big reveal at the end regarding Dawn's romantic life as I thought the idea of seeing two roads of your life and how different they would be much more interesting.

I was very disappointed by Ms. Picoult latest book. I normally love her books but just couldn’t connect with the characters. I didn’t finish the book which is very unusual for me. I received an advance ebook from the publisher and this is my unbiased review.

I'm so torn on this review. I really love Picoult's writing but I just didn't love this book. I found it way too wordy and a bit eye-roll worthy. This just wasn't the type of book for me, I guess.
Others may love it and the writing is great so I would still recommend it, just not to everyone like I usually do with her books.

*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley.*

Darn you, Jodi Picoult. Way too many spots made me tear up. I had to look away several times and remind myself that none of these people are real....it’s FICTION for goodness sake! Let’s just say you better have some Kleenex handy when reading this one and not for the reasons you’d expect.

The first scene....airplane crash...death doula? You got me, I’m in. What the heck is a death doula anyway and if there is such a thing I want one!

One critique I have on this one: WAY too many Egyptian scholarly facts....trying too hard to show how much they researched. Egyptology blah blah...skim...hieroglyphics blah blah...,skim....King this and Queen that...skim. Just get me back to my main characters please.

My favorites:
Scene with Kieran-“Things have a way of working out the way they’re supposed to,”
Also:
“After fifteen years, love isn’t just a feeling,” he says. “It’s a choice.”

That ending though....come on!!!

I have read all of Jodi Picoult's books and always eagerly anticipate the next one she publishes. I admire the research she puts into all of her books and am amazed at how she is able to pack so many seemingly unrelated topics in a story and have them intersect to teach me something about myself and make me more sympathetic to others.

After the first chapter, I was a bit worried. I personally am not super interested in Egyptology and feared the book would become too technical - how would I ever remember all of those words and names? But my worries were squashed as I continued reading.

I was also a bit confused as to the overall timeline - I couldn't tell if the time in Boston and the time in Egypt were running in parallel or not. Did they both actually happen? I never did quite understand this but chalked it up to maybe that in an of itself being on purpose when thinking through some of what I read about Egyptology and Quantum Mechanics and parallel lives and such. Maybe it isn't supposed to be clear but instead left up to some interpretation.

From Egyptology and Quantum Mechanics to Death Doulas and Superstitions. Jodi Picoult morphed all of those topics together into a story that was easy to read and took you on Dawn's journey to find herself. Oh and the ending! Yeah, I can't wait to talk with folks about that ending. Well done.

Thank you NetGalley, Jodi Picoult and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for the ARC in return for an honest review.

Dawn has the world by the tail. She is young; she is a recognized Egyptologist; she is in love with her soul-mate; she has an unfettered and secure future. In a blink her life turns upside down. Her mother is diagnosed with terminal cancer and Dawn returns home to care for her. In that moment she turns a sharp corner and begins to live another life - not better or worse, just different--for fifteen years.

Jodi Picoult has written a complex book that immediately grabs readers. She explores the intriguing question: If given a chance, would people return to another time in their lives and make other choices? Is that possible - is that right? What are one's obligations to others compared with one's personal journey? Should one disrupt others lives for the sake of personal fulfillment? What is happiness; what is love; what is forgiveness? These questions are considered against the backdrop of Ancient Egyptian practices at the time of death juxtaposed against Dawn's current profession as a death doula.

The Book of Two Ways is filled with a variety of rich primary and secondary characters who each contributes greatly to the plot. Time is not linear in the telling of this story, and once again Jodi Picoult delivers her signature, unexpected punch at the end.

I was so excited about Jodi’s new book. I’d been looking forward to it since she posted about it. As usual, she keeps you on your toes with the time jumps which I enjoy. I would recommend this book to a friend. Personally, though, I wasn’t thrilled with the ending but I understand why the author ended it that way.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED this book. I am a huge fan of Jodi Picoult's books, and this one was no exception. The story is about Dawn, who was pulled away from her grad studies and love affair in Egypt to return home to Boston when her mother was dying. She was never able to return to Egypt and became a Death Doula, married, and had a daughter. She's haunted by the life she thought she would have but left behind.

Have you ever wondered about who you would have become if you had made different choices? I think most everyone has, and that's part of the allure of this book. We watch Dawn explore what she left behind. She gets to make another choice.

This book is heavy in a lot of ways. There's a lot of information on Egyptology, some quantum physics, and a lot about the process of dying. But it's also emotionally heavy as Dawn grapples with her family in Boston, the career and love she left behind in Egypt, the person she wanted to be vs. the person she is.