Death has unfortunately been the prevalent theme of the past month for me, with the recent loss of a close family member and the shock of the death of a prominent celebrity, as well as, of course, the ever-present pandemic making everything seem fragile and uncertain. It seemed kind of fitting, then, that I came to read this book at this time. I didn’t actually realise that it was about death – in fact, I didn’t know much about it at all when I came across this title on NetGalley, but as a long-time fan of Jodi Picoult’s work, of course I had to request it, and I was so excited when I was approved for an e-ARC that I started reading it immediately (sorry to the rest of the books I was planning on getting through this month!)

This book carries all of the classic traits of a Picoult book. It was astoundingly well researched – I always finish a Picoult book feeling like an expert in at least one new subject, and this time was no exception. I’m actually unsure as to which theme I found most interesting: the deep dive into Ancient Egypt, the discussion about physics and parallel universes, or the really fascinating insight into the role of a death doula. As mentioned, death and loss are some of the main themes of this novel, and I thought they were covered really well. Having lost someone close to me recently, there were some passages that hit really close to home, but were also quite comforting to read and that I found myself highlighting and thinking about even after putting the book down.

The topic of Ancient Egypt was really interesting, too. (MILD SPOILER) There was one particular scene where the characters enter a newly discovered tomb that had me so sucked in that I really felt like I was experiencing a significant moment in history – I had chills reading it.

Honestly, this probably wasn’t the best book I’ve read this year, and definitely not my favourite Jodi Picoult book. I was expecting there to be a classic twist as there is in most of Picoult’s books, and I actually thought I had guessed what it was around halfway through (I hadn't). Actually, I found the ending itself to be the weakest part of the book for me and I thought it fell quite flat (I actually wish my theory had been true!). The main character, Dawn, was actually one of my least-favourite characters. I found her quite annoying and it was difficult to sympathise with her. A lot of the other characters were quite cliched and predictable, too, so I don’t think I really cared much for any of them. For me, the strength in Picoult's writing lies in her ability suck you into a place, period, or topic that you had no idea about but end up becoming really interested in (seriously, I don't think anyone else could make me, a history grad, more interested in the sections describing complex physics theories than the ones describing historical discoveries!)

Despite the downsides, I rated this book four stars because really, I’m just a sucker for Picoult’s books. I think that’s partly because they carry a sense of nostalgia for me. I vividly remember reading The Storyteller around 2015 and it instantly becoming my favourite book. I then proceeded to read every single book that Picoult had written and would tell everyone that she was my favourite author. While my reading tastes have changed a bit over the years, I have still kept an eye out for and read any new books she has released and will likely continue to do so. I also definitely think this book will hold a special significance to me as I read it at a time where I really needed to take in the lessons of death, loss, and remembrance that this book shares.

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

I have read a fair few of the authors previous books and this did not disappoint. You can tell it was heavily researched.

I have come away from reading it having learned something.

Beautifully written and a piece of skilled writing, this book was multilayered and shows you all the ways you can love.

Thoroughly enjoyed.

I have enjoyed most of Jodi Picoult's books so I was pleased to receive an ARC from the publisher and Netgalley in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.
However,this one was a real disappointment.It's just so different from her other books,with long passages explaining details of Ancient Egyptian history,quantum physics and the role of a 'death doula'.I lost the will to live myself ,reading some of it, and I have to admit to skipping passages which went into great detail about death experiences.
The book tells the story of Dawn,who gave up her dreams to be an Egyptologist to look after her dying mother and in the process lost contact with her great love,Wyatt.After 15 years of marriage,circumstances allow her to return to Egypt on a whim,where she is reunited with him and has to choose the course she wants her life to take.I found Dawn a really irritating character and didn't really warm to her.I couldn't understand her motivation for her actions and her lack of consideration for her husband and daughter as she tried to go back to her old life.
.Maybe it just wasn't the sort of book I wanted to read in the middle of a global pandemic when there have been so many people dying.Sorry-this one definitely wasn't for me

Thoroughly enjoyed this! While I think some of her more commercial fiction fans may find the detail involved in the Egyptology and quantum physics side too much, I felt it gave a lot more depth and interest to an otherwise familiar story of a struggling marriage and a woman with regrets and questions about 'what if'. I had not heard of a death doula before and was fascinated by that part of the story as well. It did take a little bit of time to get into the alternating timeline and stories but once I did the story flowed really well and I was very engaged and sympathetic with all the characters. The ending also made me think about what my choice would have been in those circumstances for quite awhile once I had finished it.

Dawn is a death doula who helps people transition between life and death. She finds herself on a plane plummeting from the sky and although her life is seemingly perfect she finds herself thinking about a life she left behind 15 years ago in Eygpt. There's quite a lot of Eygptology in the book and I found it hard to follow with the changing timeline. I am a big fan of Jodi Picoult but I found this book didn't quite hook me in like hers normally do.

I thought this was one of Jodi’s best books to date.

The Book of Two Ways is an actual collection of Coffin texts that ancient Egyptians included in the coffins of their dead. This depicts two paths a soul can take to the same destination. Both paths are full of strife and temptation where the soul gets tested.

It’s a perfect entry point for the story. Its about two choices, two very different lives, both with joy and heartache. But the book synopsis almost makes this sound like a time travel or reincarnation story. Its anything but!!

I am tempted to advise new readers to just dive in blind.

There are two main stories that are told in conjunction and contrast to each other.

One is about Dawn who is a death doula (what an interesting career choice!), married for 15 years to a loving husband and a daughter who hates her own body. This was initially the more pedestrian story for me but as it progressed, I enjoyed this one more and more.

The other is about a younger Dawn, a student of Egyptology working hard towards her doctorate. I love how the Egypt story showed how this culture revered death with so many rituals to honor the departed. Juxtaposed with the western culture where any talk of death is avoided at all cost.

These two Dawn’s are incompatible and vastly different from each other, yet they are on a collision course.

There are so many themes that gets covered. Love, loss, regret, body image, death, the struggles of marriage and the watershed moments that changes your life forever.

And the amount of research that must have gone into writing this book is impressive. The book tackles subjects like hieroglyphics and quantum physics in a way that made this not only an insightful read but a very interesting one as well.

Absolutely recommended

This is the 28th book by Jodi Picoult that I’ve read, so I think it’s fair to say that she is one of my favorite authors. Even though my average rating for her books are 3.2 stars I love that I mostly get exactly what I signed up for.

What makes JP unique is that she is so good at showing both sides of the story and making you understand and feel equally and deeply for both POV’s. But in The Book of Two Ways what had most impact for me, was how much she was able to pack into this story. I loved that I learned about being a death doula, about Egypt (history, religions), quantum mechanics, art, oppositional defiant disorder and even the science of tears. But being Jodi there is always emotional sharing as well – how to deal with an overweight, insecure teenager when both parents are skinny; small things to consider if you are dealing with a loved one dying or are dealing with a caregiver of someone that is dying or has just passed away etc.

Imagine my surprise when the reason for most of the lower ratings on GR is because people felt that JP tried to cover too many issues and subjects. Different strokes for different folks I say.

The only reason this did not get a full 5 stars is because the ending felt just too perfect. I was interested to read in the Author’s note that the Jodi wanted a different ending. I would love to know what that ending was, and if it would have worked better for me.

With the 4 stars it falls just short of my absolute 5 star favorites: My Sister's Keeper, Small Great Things, Keeping Faith, Nineteen Minutes and House Rules.

There are some beautiful and poignant observations that resonated with me deeply, and the writing is, as always compelling.
The history lessons were actually hugely enjoyable and very interesting even though I don't feel they were necessary for the storyline. They added to the bigger picture of life and death which is an important theme throughout.
The thing I found most difficult was the plotline, especially the ending! It just didn't sit right. The last 25% of the storyline just seemed to tie up too neatly. It could have been much more powerful to end with a death, possibly Dawn's own.
Brian's depth of love and kindness towards her also was hard to believe especially for a man who was on the verge of an affair and needs a magazine article telling him how to behave. His 'niceness' also only made me dislike Dawn more and more as I found her irritatingly selfish and shallow.
The last tiny thing that niggled throughout was Wyatt's name! It's a name that is usually only a surname here in England as is considered very modern and American. For a traditional British peer to be named Wyatt is barely believable, although of course not impossible. For his ancestors to have attended Yale seemed doubtful, as years ago American universities were not as highly rated as Oxbridge. He would have had to be from a very progressive family, but we are told that his father doesn't approve of his career, and the message he left on the phone was sterotypically repressed British. It just didn't make sense. Also Anya is also supposed to be from nobility, yet her language is more Paris Hilton than posh!
Overall, despite some beautifully crafted observations the book was a disappointment.

I have read all of Jodi Picoult's books, and have become used to the way she jumps back and forth between characters/places/timelines then ties everything together at the end. In that regard, this book is no different however, it now feels more like a chore. It is apparent that Jodi Picoult has done extensive research into Egyptology and wants all of that authenticity and expertise to pour out of the pages, which it does, but it's at the expense of the narrative and characterisation.

On one hand, you could say that this book is a fascinating exploration of death across the ages, and how we as humanity faces death in different cultures. Perhaps we can look at Dawn's experiences as compared to the experiences of Ancient Egyptians and ponder what we have to learn from them. For those who wish to consider those themes in depth, there's a lot for you in this book.

For me, a book is all about the characters and I just don't feel as though I really got to know any of them terribly well. I genuinely didn't care what happened to them, I was disconnected emotionally and I skipped pages at a time when there was a long, rambling section about the Egyptians. I'd sooner watch a documentary, where I can see these drawings etc. for myself - the material is just dry without being able to see/visualise what I'm supposed to be reading about.

The supposed twist is too obvious and the book ended just as I was getting interested. Normally, for me, Jodi Picoult's books are about the dynamic between characters and how ordinary people fare when faced with hardship and exceptional circumstances. I felt as though a lot of what I love about her books was lost in her eagerness to educate us.

As always, it is beautifully written with her typically intricate descriptions of people and places. It's not a bad book by any means, but not one that adheres to her usual style and not one that I enjoyed reading.

A new Jodi Picoult book is always a treat - some are more indulgent than others, but all satisfy the book equivalent of a sweet craving. I'd say that this one is a bit like a cream tea - well done, enjoyable, but maybe not quite as flashy as a full-blown afternoon tea with champagne and fiddly cakes. The information about Egyptian tombs etc was fascinating, and you could sense the author's interest in the field, without it feeling like you're being "taught something". Would recommend, although maybe not as a place to start for people who haven't read the author before.

I adore Jodi Picoult and this book definitely has not disappointed. This is a fantastic read which has been completely worth the wait. I haven't wanted to put this down.

Public Review to follow on publication day

Wow! This really is a stunning book. I can’t begin to imagine the depth of research that had to happen to make this story possible. The Quantum Physics blew my mind a bit but the Egyptology was so detailed and so interesting! It takes a highly skilled author to weave both of these areas into a beautiful story that their readers can relate to. Highly recommended!

#i'm a big fan of Jodi Picoult and this book does not disappoint. It shows the outcome of two different choices made by Dawn, the main character following a plane crash. It is beautifully written and the references to Egyptology and history are well done and informative.

I’m a big fan of Jodi Picoult and was thrilled to be approved for the ARC.

This book is a slow burner. The strands are carefully woven and suddenly, hours have passed and you are completely enthralled. There is an incredible amount of meticulously researched technical information in this book- both about Middle Egypt and Physics. It can feel a little off putting but I found I was able to skim read without really needing to understand- the characters needed to share their thoughts and explain the importance but I really didn’t need to know why.

As always, Jodi Picoult creates characters we care about having relationships we can identify with. I absolutely loved the mother/daughter relationship between Dawn and Meret. I have my own teenaged daughter and so much of their relationship echoed my own experiences.

All in all, I really enjoyed this book and found it refreshingly different and interesting. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my copy of this book.

As a huge fan of Jodi’s, I was so grateful to offered the chance to read an early copy of her latest novel. Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity.
A different type of novel to most of her previous, The Book Of Two Ways is predominately a love story centred around the life of one woman, Dawn, who begins the book by surviving a traumatic plane crash. Once she is checked over, she is given the option of a flight anywhere in the world. The question is, as in The Book Of Two Ways, which place will she choose - home, to her husband and daughter, or Egypt, to a previously love and a previous life.
I could not put this book down and the story will stay with me now that I have finished it. Thank you Jodi and NetGalley.

Jodi Picoult’s books rarely disappoint. As with most of her books you get completely absorbed with the characters and start to think about your own life. There are a lot of history and Egyptology elements to this book which might not suit some people but these parts are essential to this story about life, love, death and choices.

I was already a Jodi Picoult fan so I was delighted to be able to read this book and it didn’t disappoint. I was hooked from the first page. The great thing about Jodi Picoults books is that they are never formulaic and this is true for Two ways which has a really fascinating premise. I learnt a lot about a topic that I can’t say I was interested in particularly and the well drawn characters kept me hooked until the final page. I love this book and would recommend it highly.

The Book of Two Ways, Jodi Picoult 4/5

Dawn is a death doula, she spends her days preparing people for their own deaths and making their final transitions peaceful. However when a plane she is on plummets, she is forced to face her own reality, not of the perfect life she has now, but of the one she abandoned 15 years ago when she walked away from a career in Egyptology and a man she loved. Against the odds Dawn survives and offered a ticket to wherever she needs to go Dawn is faced with a decision... 2 futures. 1 choice.

Huge thanks to #NetGalley & #Hodder&Stoughton for a ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

Jodi Picoult is just a master of fiction. I’ve followed her work along the years and she never fails to impress. Her stories are always carefully interwoven with difficult decisions and layers of folklore and history. The Book of Two Ways is no exception, Jodi masterfully crafts together a compelling novel about life, death and the choices we make.
This book is rich with storytelling, weaving back and forth through the timelines of Dawns line as she asks complex questions about the nature of what it is to be human.
In particular here, I found Picoults’ explanations of death to be beautifully composed.
This one is more history and factually heavy than some of her others, but it is essential to the story and fascinating to explore.

So I’m a huge Jodi Picoult fan, I’ve read almost all of her books (a few just didn’t take my fancy, I will get round to them though). So when this popped up on Netgalley, I knew I had to try. I requested her last 2 and was rejected for both, so when this one was accepted, I screamed. Everything else got pushed back and The Book of Two Ways went right to the top of my list. It took me a while to get through this, only for the reasons of distractions with 2 at home kids, both with special needs. But I tried reading every night before sleep. Last night I was awake until 1am finishing it, wiping my tears before they soaked my pillow.

The book starts with Dawn, who is on a plane which makes an emergency landing. We don’t know why or what really is happening, but the next step leads us to see where she decides to go next. The Story unfolds over 2 different places and a few different times. We see Water/Boston, which is her home with her husband and daughter, we see Land/Egypt, which follows her in Egypt with Wyatt. The chapters bounce from present to past, but it is easy to follow which is which.

Dawns job is a death doula, which made me think is this a real thing? And wow it is. What a brave job to do, in my opinion. Dawn talks about how she helps a patient at the end, how she will do anything they ask, be there if they wish when they take their final breath, stay around and help the loved ones left behind manage to grieve. My heart broke during the parts she was with a patient, the emotion Jodi put in those pages killed me, I will admit I cried more than once, almost always during those scenes.

The other side of the book is Dawn’s past when she was in Egypt as an archeological student, finding hidden treasures, decoding ancient Hieroglyphs, searching for the Book of Two Ways. I’m not going to lie, at first I found myself a bit confused with all the names of the Egyptian Kings and Queens, but I got used to it fairly quickly. I loved learning about The Book of Two Ways, googling things in the book to see what was true. The beauty behind it is lovely.

The book actually had me internet searching quite a bit of stuff, and I learned a lot! So thanks for that Jodi! The story is one filled with love and regret, hope and friendship. Again, bring tissues as it’s sad at the same time as being wonderful.
You pulled at my heartstrings again Ms Picoult, Thank you x

Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully. But when the plane she's on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago - when she left behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved. Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to - but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain. As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she's never truly asked: What does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?

The plot for this is very different to Picoult's recent novels. It actually reminded me of Picoult's earlier novels which made me apprehensive and to be honest I did not think I would enjoy this. Well how wrong was I! I could not help but fall in love with everything about this. Picoult has such a beautiful, easy writing style that completely swept me away. I was engrossed in the read and captivated by the words and the events that were being told.

What makes this read that little bit extra special though? Well, Picoult captures human emotions perfectly, I do not think I have read a novel where emotions are captured so simplistically, so perfectly and so incredibly moving. The characters in this go through every emotion imaginable, and as the captivated reader, I did too. Words cannot express how stunning this read is and how perfectly Picoult has captured, love, loss and human life.

Which brings me nicely onto the characters. As I would expect from Picoult, the characters are perfectly crafted, and just like the plot, I could not help but fall in love with them. Their story is so pure and so realistic. Picoult does not need to use twists and tricks in this novel as what makes a better story than human life. I just know these characters will stay with me forever.

The other aspect to this novel is Egyptology, a subject I have always had an interest in myself. I have seen comments that say this felt almost like a textbook at times but I disagree. I can see why readers have commented with this but enjoy it, take an interest and learn from the history weaved effortlessly into fiction. Personally I enjoyed this aspect and thought it brought more depth to the read however I agree it makes the read a lot heavier.

'The Book of Two Ways' is another stunning read from Picoult. I did not think I would like it and I ended up loving it; the sign of a masterful author. The portrayal of human love and life left me speechless as I read this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for an advance copy.