I really wanted to love this book, and while I did end up liking the story and the characters I felt like the whole book was a really slow read for me. I struggled to get into the book with all of the history behind the Egyptian tombs, etc. I also didn't love how long the chapters were, but that's really a preference thing. After finally getting into the book, I did love the relationship between the characters and really enjoyed reading about Dawn and her role as a death doula. I give this book three stars. If I could have filtered out all of the passages about the history behind the tombs I think I would have given it four.

This book was very different for this author. Instead of every other chapter being told by a different character, the whole story is all told by the main character. Each chapter then goes back and forth between Egypt and Boston.
I had no issues with that but this book didn't work for her, in my opinion, and I wonder if her changing her style is partly why.
The storyline of this book was good...I liked to hear about Dawn's past life, her being a death doula and about the struggle with her family. I like being curious about how current Egypt and current Boston would fit together and wow was it different than I thought it would be!
There was way too much information in this book that just didn't matter. I skimmed a lot! It was so text heavy with science and facts about Egypt past. Some of it was interesting but most just bored me. I don't read novels hoping to find my favorite text book.
Lastly the ending just pissed me off. I can't say more without spoilers.
Thanks to Netgally for giving me this book for an honest opinion.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have to give major props to Jodi for all the detail and research that went into crafting this story. This book will be a mix bag for some people. You are going have people to really love it or not get it at all. For me, it just was a little slow for me. It is still compelling enough to give it a shot.

When Dawn, a death doula who spends her life shepherding people through their dying days, survives a plane crash, she decides to take charge of her own life. Rather than flying home to her husband and adolescent daughter, she goes to Egypt, where she reconnects with her first loves: the band and the dig site she left behind.

Or does she? The original Book of Two Ways shows that there are two paths to reach the other side: through land or through water. In this book, Ms. Picoult explores two paths Dawn may have taken: did she return to Egypt, or did she go back home, and try to rebuild her struggling life there? In alternating chapters, we see alternating choices play out, Sliding Doors style...or do we? Ms. Picoult plays with time and narrative structure here, so while we are reading alternating chapters and lives there is no insight into which life is true, which is current, etc. It is an interesting choice, but for me, it felt more confusing than illuminating (like her last book, which was written backwards).

As usual, Ms. Picoult has done research on her topics, and here, she explores a lot of different ways of thinking about death and life: the viewpoint of the ancient Egyptians, through Dawn's work as a graduate student; the viewpoint of modern physics, and Schrodinger's Cat and alternate realities, which is the work of Dawn's husband ; and the actual experience of the dying, which is Dawn's current work. There is a LOT of information conveyed, all different ways of thinking about life and death. It is interesting, but also often feels like Ms. Picoult is saying "look at all the things I learned about life and death, from ancient Egypt to modern day scientists."

The book is missing one really important element for me, though: stakes, and plot. It's never clear to me why it matters which road she chooses, since neither life seems particularly urgent. As a reader, I wasn't overly invested in either relationship; both guys seemed nice enough, but neither seemed like a great love. There was no urgency to the story, no sense of escalating stakes, just a woman who wonders which life she should have chosen, and through narrative device, gets to live them both...for at least a little while. A late breaking plot twist was an attempt to create some momentum, but for some reason, it didn’t grab me.

Ms. Picoult has written some fantastic books that I love: Leaving Time, the Pact, Small Great Things. But she's also written some that fell flat for me, like A Spark of Light. I would put this one in a middle tier: better than the misfires, but not overly compelling as a read.

Jodi Picoult’s book are always books that stick with me. This one is no different. Wonderful story with history of the area when the story takes place. This book took me away from all that is currently going on, and it was an very pleasant journey. I appreciate that this author does her research and each of her novels is a completely different stand alone book. This show her amazing versatility in storytelling and writing.

Love Jodie Picoults’ books, always so well written so involving.This novel that introduces us to Eygitian culture and so much more.No spoilers just highly recommend #netgalley#randomhouse

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! No spoilers. Beyond amazing I enjoyed this book so very much. The characters and storyline were fantastic. The ending I did not see coming Could not put down nor did I want to. Truly Amazing and appreciated the whole story. This is going to be a must read for many many readers. Maybe even a book club pick.

Dawn’s life in Boston with her husband Brian and daughter Meret is good. But years ago, before her mother’s death, she had another life, a different love, both work wise and personally. One she cannot forget . After 15 years, she returns to Egypt and Wyatt Armstrong, wondering what her life would have been like had she stayed and worked on her Book of Two Ways and continued her research and life with Wyatt. She quickly falls back into the Egypt part of her. After surviving an airplane crash returning to Boston, she knows she has to make a decision, being totally full-filled and challenged and with Wyatt, or staying in her present life as a doula, and being comfortable with her family.
Anyone who is fascinated by Egyptology will enjoy this book, Ms. Picoult has done her research.

Dawn survives a crash landing of the airplane she's on, and her life is split in two from then on. At home is her loving husband Brian and their teenaged daughter, and in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who still has Dawn's heart after fifteen years. The novel takes place in parallel times in the main character's life, and she must choose between the two. Will Dawn continue on to Boston and go home to her family or fly to Egypt to reconnect with Wyatt?

I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This book was just amazing. I just lost myself in this story and didn’t want it to end. It was really well written and just drew in you into these characters lives. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

I started this book several times but couldn’t get past the elongated Egyptian history lesson. Honestly, that’s not why I read a novel. No matter how many times I dug into this, I couldn’t get past the endless details. I was very disappointed since I generally love Picoult’s books.

Thank you Netgalley for for this ARC

Two competitive grad students fall in love while digging in the tombs of Egypt when an abrupt parting changes the course of their lives. Fifteen years later, Dawn McDowell goes beyond social media stalking and physically puts herself back into the space she left behind.

Once a promising Egyptologist, Dawn is now working as a death doula, helping the terminally ill make their final transition. She is married to a physicist and her teenage daughter is showing promise as a budding scientist.

We meet Dawn in the throes of a marital conflict. It has her questioning her entire relationship with a diligent and dependable man who appears out of her league from the start. Though there for Dawn during a vulnerable time, Brian is playing second-fiddle to the man who holds her heart and he knows it. Brian is a despicable character though he is painted as a blameless victim, even by Dawn who never confronts what he has done. However, Brian’s comeuppance is coming in spite of his attempted sabotage of a relationship that existed well before he came along.

After fifteen years of marriage, a love triangle is formed with Dawn at the center. A terminally ill client whose life closely parallels Dawn’s adds another dimension to the fate and free will aspects. However, when Dawn makes a fateful decision that goes against her client’s last wishes even as she makes the opposite decision in her own life, I was left questioning the intelligence of this character both emotional and intellectual.

The story is heavily weighed down by a load of academia. Archeology, Egyptology, quantum physics, hospice care, it’s all in here. The sheer amount of book knowledge impeded the story arc and flow. I found the Egyptian tombs to be the most tedious part but even quantum mechanics which is a topic I enjoy was overly woven into the storyline as a precursor to every life altering decision made. I had to keep reminding myself that I was reading a novel. A little bit of history goes a long way but Picoult’s over-exuberance for her subject matter negatively affected the story. There is way too much going on and in the end, it’s hard to discern where the characters are or where they ended up.
If you are a Picoult fan, you’re probably going to read it anyway but if you’ve never read a book by this author, anything else she has written would be a better choice.
BRB Rating: Read It.

Egyptian lore has a story where the weight of one's soul is weighed against the feather of truth as one of the trials that could grant a person passage to the afterlife. Dawn, a former doctoral candidate in Egyptian studies, was forced home from a dig season in Egypt to deal with the death of her mother. With a young brother in need of a guardian, she changes the course of her life. From falling in love with a new man and raising a child with him to becoming a social worker who operates as a death doula, fifteen years pass swiftly. But a new client forces Dawn to look back at her life and we follow Dawn through past and present as she struggles to assess what's truly in her heart of hearts.
Death, man! What a heavy topic to read about when watching pandemic numbers rise! But the setting fascinates, the passion sizzles, and the questions peek out around corners like ghosts in a haunted house.

I always looked forward to a newly released Jodi Picoult book. I know on page one I will often get transported from my living room directly into the story and I can get lost in my reading for a few hours. I know I will always learn something new. I know there usually is a touch of a romantic story. I debated with this book between 3 and 4 stars as it's Jodi Picoult:) I love her writing for the exact reason I expressed; you can just get lost in the story. However I didn't find the ancient Egyptian history that interesting (not sure of the mass appeal on the topic) and instead of a touch of romance this one was filled with it. I don't think there has been a Jodi Picoult book without a taboo subject and this book is no exception; the language around death and letting go were both beautiful and educational.

I was so excited when NetGalley allowed me early access to this Jodi Picoult (one of my favorite authors) book. And it pains me to say that it was a big disappointment.

There is way too much information regarding Egyptology, hieroglyphics, archeology, burial chambers and more. I think Ms. Picoult had one eye in a college textbook as she wrote The Book of Two Ways.

The characters are painstakingly dreary. Even Wyatt as arrogant as he is, is dreary, and Dawn spends much of the book lamenting the road not taken. The story itself is flat, and it was hard to stay interested. I did, however, find the concept of death doula very intriguing.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

When Dawn Edelstein's plane goes down, what flashes through her mind isn't her husband and daughter; it is Wyatt, a man she left behind in Egypt 15 years ago when she had to quit their Egyptology graduate program at Yale. She has a good life now with her husband Brian, her daughter, and her work as a death doula. However, surviving the plane crash makes her wonder what she missed out on by having to walk away from Egypt and Wyatt. When the airline offers transportation to the survivors to go wherever they want, Dawn has to choose between going home to her current life and family or seeing what might have been in Egypt. The story jumps back and forth between the "Land" timeline in Egypt and the "Water" timeline in Boston.

Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors, but this book didn't capture me the way her books usually do. That is not to say that it isn't a good book, because it definitely is. I just had trouble connecting to Dawn. Usually in Picoult's books,we have a handful of narrators providing different angles from the story. I can see why that wouldn't have worked for this story, but I did miss seeing the different angles. I did think it was neat that Picoult knew she needed to write a story about Egyptology after learning about it while her son was majoring in it.

Jodi Picoult is one of my very favorite authors and this book does not disappoint. Dawn Edelstein is on a plane home when there is an emergency crash landing. As the plane hurtles toward earth, Dawn does not think about her husband of fifteen years, or her teenage daughter. Rather, she thinks of the life she left behind years before, and her first love, Wyatt, whom she also left behind. Dawn begins to question her life choices, and wonder how she ended up with such a different life than she imagined. She has spent her whole life taking care of others, but when is it time for what SHE wants? The book grapples with the question of what makes us who we are. How much control do we have over our own lives? Is it ever too late to back and fulfill our lost dreams? I loved how nuanced the characters are - good people who are flawed and struggle with their own imperfection.

Another winner from Jodi Piccoult! The Book of Two Ways keeps you reading to find out what will happen next. I liked the way the story was set up, switching between stories. Dawn, is an Egyptologist working as a grad student in Egypt. She falls in love with Wyatt, but has to leave abruptly when her mom calls to say she is dying. After leaving, Dawn doesn't return to Egypt for 15 years. The book then tells the story of Dawn reuniting with Wyatt, while alternating with chapters of her life with her husband Brian and daughter Meret. In the end Dawn must choose between the two men.

OH MAN, I really wanted to like this more than I did. The story of Dawn who has studied Egyptology and spent a good amount of time at dig sites in Egypt as a grad student. Then life happens and she must end her studies and head for home.

This story is told in different timelines and well, it is quite confusing at times. I was never sure if we were in a specific time period or if Dawn was reminiscing or if I had fallen asleep and was dreaming. The time warps just did not work for me.

When we are in Egypt at the dig site, the book reads like a text book. Lots of information overload and lots of Egyptian names and hieroglyphs that are hard to understand and make sense.

I could go on, but I really didn't want this review to be negative, because I did enjoy the basic story. I just did not particularly enjoy the delivery of this one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Ballentine books for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in September 2020.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House - Ballentine for this ARC.

Where do I even start?! Jodi Picoult has long been a favorite author of mine. She has always written with such heart & emotion that I find myself sobbing while reading most of her works. Sometimes happy tears, but usually tears from the sadness that her characters frequently exude. Each one has a heart breaking story that comes to light with such detail, that you find yourself feeling everything right along with them.

This story is no different. Without giving away spoilers, bc I hate that, It is essentially two books within one. A story so magically crafted that you find yourself wondering if they are alternate universes or one in the same. In true Jodi style, the topic at hand, Egyptology, has been so well researched that you think that the author herself lived this life with the vast knowledge that appears in each chapter. How she is able to create such stunning stories is beyond me.

Do yourself a favor and preorder this book. You won’t be disappointed.