I received an ARC of The Book of Two Ways in exchange for an honest review. I was so excited to receive this ARC as Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite authors. However, because I received the book, I had a feeling it wasn't going to be one of her best. It's a good story, as most of her books are, however, there was an overload of information. You will learn more than you want to about Egyptology and Quantum Physics. While I like to learn new things as I read, this was a little bit extreme. I found myself skipping over pages to get to the real story. The real story is good, as Jodi Picoult is a good storyteller. I would have enjoyed the book much more without all the extra information.

3.8
I should have already knew by the description in this book that it would be a trigger for me. Everyone in life makes choices and they are not easy ones. Some we look back and regret and things in life get complex but, personally i am really sick of excuses people give for their own responsiblity of keeping things together, of making good choices, of thinking before jumping. I do not like stories where the story tries to make it right for someone to cheat. I mean if you are not happy and thinking of going a different way then have that conversation sooner than later and end something so as to give the other person a say and choice. The main plot of this book already bothered me so it is no wonder it would knock down my score...HOWEVER...picoult always does an amazing job at bringing in lesser known subjects to educate her readers about. I did enjoy learning about eygptian culture and so forth. She also gave the characters more intellect not just boring personalities. It was a painful subject that alot of the book was put to the side for all the information on eygpt and medical issues (which i liked learning but wanted to get back to the story). I enjoyed the information and thoughts and reflections in the book but, not so much staying on it so long and delaying the story and not so much the craving for affair and what i feel she knew was a lie. So i give it a good rating but not fantastic. Thank you for allowing me to read what is one of my moms favorite authors and to review for netgalley as well.

Jodi Picoult writes novels that tug at your heart strings. The Book of Two Ways is no exception. Ms Picoult takes the reader back and forth in time until the timelines merge, and back and forth between the United States and Egypt. As usual with Ms Picoult there may be a few tears. I want to thank NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an early copy to review.

This was a great read - once I started, I couldn't put it down. I have loved Jodi Picoult titles in the past, but I think this is my new favorite.

This book was fantastic. I loved the way that she told the story as a reflection of the idea of multiple dimensions and as if she chose to go via Land or Water like in the Book of Two Ways. As usual, Picoult heavily researched her subject matter and I learned a lot about the Egyptian afterlife.

Dawn is a death doula. She helps her clients make the transition between living and dying. Giving comfort to those in the last moments of their life, whether it be being by their side or fulfilling any of their last wishes. She's been doing this for the last fifteen years since she returned from Egypt to take care of her dying mother. Dawn lives a basic life with her husband and their fifteen year old daughter until one airplane ride knocks her whole world upside down. Being one of the thirty six survivors Dawn decides to go back to where her life ended in Egypt. There is a man named Wyatt there, a man she left behind fifteen years ago...

Alright, I am a Jodi Picoult fan and have read several of her novels but this one wasn't as good as I thought it could have been. It wasn't bad....but it wasn't great.... Dawn is an Egyptian studies doctorate candidate and she has this epic love with a fellow doctorate, Wyatt. Picoult puts so much effort and background knowledge of Egypt and it's history, that while fascinating at first, gets annoying quickly. I found myself skimming any background history because I just didn't care, it took away from he story of Dawn and Wyatt and was starting to sound like a textbook.

The novel also jumps between four different timelines: Dawn fifteen years ago doing her thing in Egypt,  Dawn when she leaves Egypt and meets Brian, Dawn right before the plane crash and Dawn after the crash. These are a lot of timelines to keep track of, and while they do jump pretty seamlessly, it does take a couple moments to realize where you are.

Then there is the concept of her being a death doula. While equally fascinating, there are SEVRAL extremely emotional parts to this book. I'm all for a good cry, but I was crying ALL THE TIME reading this, and that also becomes cumbersome. While this book has a lot of tragic trajectories, I was expecting the ending to go a certain way as it was unfolding. There are classic Picoult twists at the end, and I will say the book deserved the ending that it got. It was satisfactory and fulfilling. 

This won't be a favorite Picoult novel, but it's worth the read, if you got it from the library.



Rate: 3/5

Fiction

Author : Jodi Picoult

Wow. First of all-let me say that this book is not for everyone. Every one of Picoult's books is about a subject that she has exhaustively researched and sometimes the subject matter isn't for everyone. That being said, I loved the Egyptology subject matter here! Dawn is married to Brian and they share a daughter Meret. Dawn goes through a plane crash and is left with questions about life choices that she has made. She's spent the last 15 years as a social worker/death doula (interesting profession) but it meant that she had left a graduate research project in Egypt and her first grand love-Wyatt. Her project was based on The Book of Two Ways-an ancient Egyptian belief system/hieroglyphic rendering detailing the two pathways to eternal rest. Picoult's book also hopscotches back and forth through both of Dawn's lives and choices. Because I am familiar with Picoult, I knew that there might be a twist and I figured it out early. It did not take away from my enjoyment of the book. I had skimmed some other reviews of this book early and realized that there might be crazy amounts of information downloaded so I prepared for that. It's not necessary to really follow all of it to get an emotional sense for this book-Egyptology, hieroglyphics, hieratics, quantum mechanics, life and death philosophies, etc. Dawn's family life is well-explored, as is her early life with Wyatt. If I had a critique, it would only be that the ending was a little frustrating. In the author's notes at the end, she mentions that she changed it-I wondered what it was before she changed it. I will probably end up re-reading this at some point, just really enjoyed it.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House/Ballantine for an ARC  in return for an honest review.

I was really excited about this book, but I couldn't stay engaged because I felt like I was reading a textbook. Although I appreciate the information it was providing on Egypt, archeology, and astrophysics, I just couldn't stay engaged. Thank you, NetGalley for the advanced copy!

I always look forward to a new book by Jodi Picoult and I enjoyed this one.  Her books are always well researched and about a subject all wrapped up in an intriguing story.  This one is full of information on Egyptian archeology and tomb excavation.  It also features a woman who has become a death doula - a person who assists the terminally ill and their grieving families in the process of dying.   I didn't know these existed and I found the concept interesting.

Dawn Edelstein is married to Brian and they have a daughter they adore, Meret.  They live in Boston where Dawn is a death doula and Brian a physics professor.  They met at a hospice when they both were losing a loved one.  As the story begins, Dawn is on a plane that is crashing and she is thinking of the life she could have had when she had been working on her PhD in Egyptology and studying The Book of Two Ways - the ancient Egytian path to reaching the afterlife.  She remembered spending her time in Egypt on a dig with a man she loved and had so much in common with, Wyatt.  She left all this when her Mom was sick and then met Brian.  They have been together for fifteen years.  She is torn between her current life with Brian and Meret  (although their marriage is having difficulties) and the life she left behind.

I found this book insightful and compelling as it focused on the choices we make in life and how they affect not only the person making the choice, but those close to them as well.  It is about regrets and missed opportunities.  It is about complicated relationships.  And it is about change.

I did find the extensive focus on dead Egyptians and the parts about quantum physics to be difficult at times as my eyes glazed over a little and I'd start yawning - so I give this one four stars instead of five.  Don't get me wrong, it is still a really good book I would recommend it - just be warned it's kind of an intellectural read.  

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine through Netgalley for an advance copy.

I liked the story.  Picoult did a huge amount of research for this book.  It was full of facts and knowledge.  That made the book a little heavy for me.  It took me a bit to get through the whole book.

I was confused here and there where I was at and if I was in the present or past.

I started and re-started this book a couple of times, but could not get into it. The parallel story/match to the Egyptian book of Two Ways was hit me over the head obvious, but I think what really turned me off was that I didn't have any investment in either of the two main characters. I will avoid posting a review to goodreads as I believe it would hurt your campaign.

I got about a third of the way into this book before finally giving up. I had too many other books in my queue that I was enjoying, and this one just didn't hold my interest.  Too much about Egypt, which doesn't particularly interest me, and not enough of a plot to keep me reading.

I am super disappointed with this books. I am a big fan of Jodi’s books but this book fell very short of the mark for me.  The beginning was so good.  I couldn’t read it fast enough.  So much promise with the talk of peoples journeys to their death and then the plane crash.  I felt like right after the crash that the story also came to a crashing halt.  All of a sudden we are transported to a text book history lesson of Egypt.  Although the story line occasionally would bring me back to being interested I felt there was way too much text book like information that I had to slog my way through.  That really took away from the good parts of the story for me.  I felt myself disengage way too often to actually enjoy the story.

This book grabbed me for the first chapter and I thought it was going to be a 400 page freefall, and then the second chapter and the third happened, and 50 pages in I thought I would be disappointed. But, no, Jodi Picoult didn't disappoint, even if there were some s-l-o-w parts that I wish I had that time back in my life. With the timeline all over the place, it is a disconcerting read, as I think it was meant to be.

Dawn is a death doula: she helps people as they reach the ends of their lives. And she helps the people around them. She does whatever they need, whether that is errands, final wishes, or just being there. Before she was a death doula, before she was married with a family, she was an Egyptologist. Or at least a graduate student of Egyptology at Yale.

She left her life of exploration and discovery in Egypt when her mother became ill and died. Dawn was left to care for a 13-year-old brother and found a new life as a social worker and then a death doula. While her mother was in hospice, she met Brian and he was so stable and together and caring, how could she help but start a life with him.

This book traces Dawn's relationships with Wyatt and Brian and her daughter, Meret. It deals with choices to be made and those that are made for you. She is not always the most likable character, but I suppose none of us are  likable all the time.  And when she survives a plane crash, she has to face herself and deal with what's there.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars- I have read a few books by Jodi Picoult and enjoyed her stories and her writing style. I was excited for the opportunity to read her newest title, The Book of Two Ways. This was an interesting story. I enjoyed the dual storylines and the glimpse it gives you into two different life paths caused by different outcomes to one moment. The author did a good job weaving information about Egyptology and about Schrodinger's cat and parallel universe theories. I liked that the reader didn't quite know what was going on, but I enjoyed the read to find out. I liked not knowing the ending and being surprised as I got further in the book. It was quite interesting and unexpected. I didn't always like where it went, but I enjoyed the book and seeing the different possibilities. It's a good fiction book that makes you think

Whew. This book is such a journey. I always enjoyed Jodi Picoult’s books - they make me think and stay with me - and this is no exception.

Dawn leaves her graduate program in Egyptology when her mother is diagnosed with cancer. She meets Brian at the inpatient hospice where her mother is dying, and they build a life and family together. Dawn becomes a death doula, and when her new client shares a confession, Dawn can’t stop thinking about Wyatt - her rival in graduate school and the one who got away. The book opens with Dawn walking away from a plane crash, and unfolds into a story about loss, love, and discovering what matters most. 

If I have any complaint it’s that this book is heavy. It’s incredibly well researched and at times it felt like the author was showing that off, but it was written in an accessible enough way that you could easily get through some of the weeds. 

Thanks to Ballantine and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

The Two Ways refers to two paths which zig - zag across a dangerous landscape beset with obstacles and demonic entities towards Rostau – the realm of Osiris. Jodi Picoult's steers through life and death. The chapters alternates between land and water just like the black and blue lines of Egypt’s map. The author takes us on a parallel journey through Dawn’s life, complete with demons, hitches and all the impossible possibilities.

Dawn is a Death Doula, while her husband Brian is a Physicist. They have a lovely daughter and a perfect home in Boston. But Dawn didn't set out to become a Death Doula from the beginning. Her journey started out as an Egyptologist on her way to PhD. But that now seems like another universe. Married for fifteen years, she suddenly  has unanswered questions and an itch to find them out. 

Wyatt met Dawn when they were put together to work in an Archaeological site with Dumphrey in Egypt. Just when love seemed to be blossoming between the two, Dawn gets a call that changes the entire course of her life. Her mother is diagnosed with cancer and Dawn heads back leaving everything behind to be with her in her last days. Just before she leaves, Wyatt confesses his love for her. Little did he know, she wouldn't come back and he would never hear from.

A plane crash makes Dawn realize - “Did you ever wonder who you would have been if you hadn’t become who you are?”. That is when she has to choose between going back to Boston or going to Egypt. Where of Who is Dawn's home, because - Home isn't Where, it's a Who. 

- Does Dawn ever return to Egypt?
- Is Wyatt still waiting for Dawn?
- Do we make decisions or do the decisions make us?
- Where they meant to Stay Together or Be Together?

Rating - 5/5 Stars
Recommendation - Very High

Conclusion,
This book alternates between Land/Egypt and Water/Boston. Amazing plot development and the characters have so much meaning and depth, that this book left me awestruck. Detailed and thoroughly researched, this is a very well written book. An absolute page turner, it leaves you beguiled right from the beginning up till the very end. Words fall short to describe this enticing and utterly captivating read. Overall a brilliant read.

Jodi Picoult has initiated more discussion than any author I know. She writes magic, ethics, and family. 
I recall sobbing over "Leaving Time," and "The Book of Two Ways" will likely find a more than a few wet eyes.  
     Our main character, Dawn, is an Egyptologist who is finding love and history on a dig in Egypt. Tragedy calls her home, and her life takes another path. Years later, she is working as a death doula, and her trip to fulfill the wish of a dying client takes her on a very unexpected journey filled with discovery, pain, love and history. I don't put spoilers in my reviews. 
The research that Picoult must have done to sound like an Egyptologist in this novel is incredible. She is equally skilled in her description of hospice care and death doulas. (As a hospice nurse, I would know.)  The real beauty of her writing  is in the relationships, the futility of love and death, and the beauty of art, nature and memories.

Surprisingly underwhelming. The plot offers too much in the way of “Egyptology”, science, and the great unknowns. The story itself had promise but Piccoult put the reader through several mini anthropology lectures along the way. She did offer multiple plot lines that wove nicely around one another and gave the reader a greater contemplation. 2 stars

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and give an honest review of this book.

I was looking forward to reading this book when I discovered it involved archeology and Egyptology.
It also involved physics principles and theories. After a while there was so much of each that it was necessary to skim over some of the information.

The story went back and forth between Boston and Egypt. If that wasn’t enough it also jumped time periods without any transition. Sometimes these quick jumps were disorienting and hard to put in perspective. The constant back and forth was often hard to follow.

The characters were pleasant enough and thoroughly developed. The side story involving Dawn’s job as a “death doula” was interesting and her last client’s life had some parallels to Dawn’s own life.

I have read other books by this author and enjoyed them. Thus, I was eager to read this one..
It just wasn’t the book for me. 

I also like some closure at the end of my books.