Jodie Picoult is an author that I follow and I have read all of her books. There are some books that I have liked more than others. Each of her books have been well written and are usually quite interesting. The Book of Two ways did not hit the five star review status for me. That being said, I did find the chapters dealing with the main character Dawn, being a death doula, to be most enlightening. The chapters that dealt with her earlier student days when she studied to become an Egyptologist, were too detailed and sometimes tedious to read. If you are interested in Egyptian history you may enjoy this section more than I did.
There are two dueling alternative chapter choices that Dawn makes after her own near death experience. This is a new twist. It reminded me of the “choose your own adventure books” my kids used to read.
Dawn made some impulsive life altering choices as an adult married women and mother. At times this seemed a bit unbelievable.
The Book of Two Ways is about love and loss and I am happy that I had the opportunity to read it. It was just not one of my favorites from Jodie Picoult. I thank Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC copy of the book.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I got past all of the Egyptology details, I could really concentrate on the dual story lines happening here. I found myself very drawn in to the drama AND I even learned a few things about archaeology along the way.

This book had me hopeful. The premise, the concept of death doulas..these were all things that drew me in. However, I was admittedly not in love with the way it was so research heavy. Now, I love a nonfiction book, and I can also appreciate when an author clearly does his or her research on historical subjects. However, I didn't quite expect this going into this book and for it to be so heavily involved in the research, so I ultimately was not a fan. I think other people would love this book, it's just unfortunately not my interest.

I really enjoyed this book. Character development was good. The plot was very interesting. Not a lot of typos.

I love Jodi’s book but this was one I could not finish. I might go back at a later date but more than half way through I had to stop.

The premise of this book is basically the path not taken. When you hit a crossroad in your life, which path do you choose and how does it affect the rest of your life? Dawn is the main character and narrator, and she's forced to think about her past when she's in a plane crash that makes her examine her life choices. The characters were incredibly likable and there were some beautifully written phrases. I've read several of Jodi Picoult's books and, as usual, this one did not disappoint.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is a novel about choices we make and their possible outcomes. The book opens with a plane crash, Dawn's survival, and the split second decision she makes about where to go from there provides a pivotal moment. Instead of returning to her comfortable life with her husband, teenage daughter, and career as a death doula, she gets a flight to Egypt to revisit the site of her love affair fifteen years earlier. As a young woman she was a brilliant Egyptologist involved in an exciting dig in middle Egypt, but her career--and steamy affair--were cut short by her mother's terminal illness, death, and her obligation to raise her younger brother. At her mother's hospice she met and fell in love with physicist Brian, and married him within the year. Fifteen years later a dying client's last request raises issues that Dawn had thought put to rest, prompting her to seek out her former life. Brian's research into parallel lives offers a convenient counterpoint to all of the "what if" questions Dawn and her client have, and help the second plane crash scene at the end of the book make sense. This novel provides an interesting glimpse at the role of a death doula. However the amount of description of the history of ancient Egypt and the archaeological process seemed quite didactic, and I found myself skipping much of it. I also found some of the motivation behind Dawn's actions difficult to understand and therefore to sympathize with.

Jodi Picoult’s books are always very good. She is one of those authors whose books I read as soon as they come out. I am still remembering when I read My Sister’s Keeper and how bereft I felt as I closed the novel, exhausted and emotional over the entire story.

The Book of Two Ways is her latest. Since the main character, Dawn, is studying to be an Egyptologist, there is heavy archeology and Egyptian references throughout the book which, at times, can slow down the flow of the story.

Look at the interesting premise:

Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.

Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.

But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.

After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious option for Dawn is to continue down the path she is on and go home to her family. The other is to return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.

As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?

There must have been a ton of research into ancient Egypt and belief in an afterlife along with quantum physics in this book. While I enjoyed most of it, I wished the book was a little lighter in the heavy details. But still, it’s a book I’d recommend to fans of Jodi’s work!

This will be published on September 22, pre-order now!

There was a period of my life that I really loved reading Jodi Picoult. However, it’s been a while since I’ve read one of her books. When I saw this one on NetGalley, I requested it immediately in hopes to get back to reading her books.

When looking at the plot, there were parts that intrigued me while other parts that did not. I liked learning about what death doulas do because I will admit this is a profession I have never thought about or knew existed. When explained in this book, it makes sense why some would prefer to have a death doula to assist with those last few months, weeks, days, hours to be there for a caregiver and their loved one. Dawn seems very caring to the patients she works with, which I can imagine is extremely important when someone is facing their inevitable end. There were also parts where learning about Dawn’s daughter’s self-esteem is touched upon that I wish I knew more of.

Now, for the parts that I wasn’t not a fan of…For one, I felt there was just too much talk about ancient Egypt, pharaohs and such. I found myself skimming these parts since it didn’t really advance the plot and were parts I simply had zero interest in. The timelines were also pretty frustrating throughout most of the book. At the end, the author clarified the timeline, but for most of the book it was hard to tell what was the present. It didn’t help that while the author flipped from Boston to Egypt, there were references to the past in both places. I had to keep reminding myself that there was a current timeline in each place and that eventually I will learn what the actual present timeline was.

Another aspect that I just can’t stand reading about is infidelity. This was such a major theme in the book, whether it was spending time with someone of the opposite sex, having sex with a past love, or trying to reach out to a past love even though it could tear apart more than one family. I know it happens in real life, but I don’t believe it’s right by any sense, so reading about it constantly throughout this book really irked me. Also, I could have done with less sexual scenes (not that there were too explicit at times), but I don’t need to be reading about how times Dawn had sex and with whom. Again, it doesn’t advance the story and it just shows what a terrible person she is in some scenes.

Because of this, it was extremely hard to feel any sympathy toward the protagonist, Dawn. Not only do I feel her decisions were pretty horrible, her selfishness comes out when Dawn pushes her teenage daughter who has weight and self-esteem issues aside to fulfill whatever needs she feels like she needs to fulfill. If Dawn needs to do something erratic for whatever reason, the least she could do is to keep in touch with her daughter and not leave the poor girl frightened and unsure if she’ll ever see her mom again.

Speaking of characters, I really wanted more time with Meret rather than Dawn and her Egyptology love. I know Meret’s issues weren’t the center of this story, but it seemed more interesting than what Dawn went through.

Overall, this wasn’t a book that I enjoyed enough to want to continue reading Picoult’s future books. Perhaps I’ll try one of older ones and see if I feel the same way, but this just wasn’t for me. For those who don’t mind reading about infidelity and pages of Egyptology might find some joy in this one.

I was surprised that it took me a while to get into this book. I knew it had to be good
and it was. It's totally different from anything I have ever read. The book of two ways
sure gave me a lot to think about. In my opinion, it's not one of her best books. That
said, the book was written very well

Thank you so much, Jodi Picoult, your publisher, and NetGalley for giving me
A chance to read and review this great book!

I have loved reading Jodi Picoult since her very visit novel and I eagerly await each one that follows. I have loved them all. She is not afraid to tackle difficult issues and she does them so Weill that you don't even realize you are learning something important. I was excited to read an ARC of The Book of Two Ways. Jodi Picoult always does an amazing job of discussing important and challenging things and that’s exactly what happened in this book. I loved it - it was a pleasure to read. Well done!

Oh boy! I was so excited to read this book. I stopped all my other TBR’s as soon as I received my wish from the publisher and Net Galley. Thank you so much! I love everything Jodi Picoult has written and Once I read the description of the plane crash and her looking for her ex because he was who she thought of as the plane was going down... I was so excited to see the plot of him seeing her for the first time and what happens with her husband... and then I read the book.
It started out good. Plane crash drama and her trip to see her ex. All of a sudden you find out that she used to live in Egypt with him and they used to study the tombs and the mummies. AND then the book turns into an archeological class on hieroglyphics and Egyptian coffins. It had an enormous amount of information and facts on the Egyptian history. It was so bombarded with so many textbook terms and educational facts on the archaeological finds that I feel I can write my own dissertation on all this research. I’m so sorry to say this because I really love her work but it was too much. It sort of killed the mood for me and the drama I seek with reading fiction to escape everyday life.
In between all the facts and research you do have a nice story between her ex and her husband. It also has some good life stories about her job as a life and death coach. Her research on the history of Egypt’s mummies is super impressive but it was overwhelming.

Thank you so much to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for advancing me a copy of this book in turn for my honest review.

I really struggle with rating this one because I can tell Picoult put so much research into this book and it is very well written. However all of these references make this book feel so dense and difficult to understand without previous knowledge of these subjects. I was really looking forward to this one but unfortunately had to DNF it because I just couldn’t take anymore of the heavy writing style.

Dawn survives a plane crash that has devastating consequences for so many people. It gets her to thinking about her life. She left her career as an egyptologist when her mother was dying g from cancer. She also left behind her love interest, Wyatt. She stood by her mother's side till death took her. Than stepped up as a mother to for her brother. She was married with a child. And she felt happy, but something was missing. After her near death experience she flew to Egypt. There she finds Wyatt, after fifteen years he's older, but still the charismatic man she remembers. There love is like fire, all consuming. She has her answer. Then she finds out he's engaged.
A scintillating story of love, choices and heartache. How far would you go to reclaim a lost love?

I whole heartedly loved everything about this book!!! So very much to learn about and how all the details are symbols for the converging and diverging theme of the story! Egyptology, quantum physics, family dynamics, death, love, the path not taken, and so very much more! This book was definitely a long cool drink of water for my overheated brain. Thank you NetGalley and Jodi Picoult for the ARC!!!

I received a free ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

This one took me a little bit to get through, but overall I would say it was worth it. Picoult does a really good job throwing twists at you - I definitely did not see the big one coming. Interesting writing style about Egyptology and academia, but fell a little short of the line drawn by "Discovery of Witches" here.

Definitely not my favorite Jodi Picoult. I understand the premise of wondering how your life would have been if you had chosen a different path, but this book had too much information about archaeology and history and it was kind of dull.

I’m a HUGE Jodi P. fan. Huge. I’ve read almost everything ages published and always look forward to her next book.

That said, this book fell flat for me. One thing I enjoy about this author is that she makes you think about things you never have. I never thought of a death doula. Never thought about ancient Egypt archaeology. Whereas usually Jodi makes me care, this time I didn’t. I think the Egypt portions went too far in depth and pulled away from what could’ve been further developed between the main character and her ex.

It was just...ok.

The problem with that is I’m used to stellar from this author.

Jodi Picoult has done it again. She has woven a beautiful tapestry about life, choices, and the curiosity we feel when we look back and wonder if those choices were ultimately the right ones. Do we settle into our choices and don't look back? Or do we always wonder if we could have chosen better? Throughout this story, threads and strands come together, slowly and deftly, revealing bits of the story that revealed with each stitch what had happened before and why certain choices were made. We go from archeological sites in Egypt fifteen years ago to present-day Boston, back and forth. Ms. Picoult's knowledge of Egyptian tombs, artifacts, and hierglyphics is impressive, and she passes much of that knowledge to us in a way that is informative and adds to the story. You will understand why Dawn loved what she did fifteen years ago. And why she's not doing that now. If she'd been able to do things differently, would she? I had lots of questions as the story unfolded. And I became conflicted about what I wanted for Dawn and those around her. A tapestry becomes beautiful one threaded strand at a time until it becomes what it's meant to be. That's how this was for me. A question answered, one strand at a time. I became riveted to this book. I think you will too. Thank you to Netgalley and the author for the advance reader's copy. I will remember it for a long time.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A woman study Egyptian history and archeology leaves her studies after a family crisis. In addition to leaving behind her academics, she leaves her graduate school lover. She marries a kind man and together they raise a daughter. Life continues and the woman finds her way back to gain closure with her former lover.