The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult @randomhouse #fiction #bookreview

Susanne’s Review:

Do you ever have those nightmares where you didn’t actually graduate University because you missed a few credits? Reading this book made me feel like I failed classes in Egyptology and Quantum Physics and therefore failed out of College.

This novel is about Dawn, a woman whose life is unfulfilled, even though she is married to Brian and has a teenaged daughter. Years prior, in college, she met and fell for Wyatt who she has never forgotten.

When the plane Dawn is on crashes, she has an opportunity: she can go back home or she can take a trip down memory lane, to Wyatt.

While I loved the first few pages of this novel all of which took place in New Haven, CT, a mere skip and a hop away from my hometown of Woodbridge and loved Dawn visiting all of my old haunts, once this novel delved into Egyptology I was completely lost.

The split past v present storyline was well done and somewhat intriguing and while I did find some part of this storyline and the characters to be enjoyable, on the whole, I skimmed through much of the story which felt like reading a University textbook.

On the whole, having read every single book Jodi Piccoult has written, “The Book of Two Ways” is my least favorite novel this author has written. I struggled to get through this and hope that the author returns to her tried and true the next time around.

This was another buddy read with Kaceey.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine and Jodi Piccoult for the arc.

Published on Goodreads and Twitter,

Kaceey’s Review:

After my first read by Jodi Picoult Small Great Things, which received a multitude of 5-star reviews (including mine), I was excited to get started on her latest release.

Unfortunately, I may have chosen the wrong book to continue the journey. There were so many reviews revealing the primary focus was on Egyptology, while the storyline itself got lost along the way.

Sadly, I couldn’t agree more.

Even though I went in with an open mind, willing to discover something new, it began feeling more like a text book. As though I was back in University looking for the lecture hall for contemporary fiction but ending up in Egyptology 101. Still I tried to power through, though admittedly my mind wandered. So much so I found myself skimming the history lesson and just trying to piece together the rest of the story.

I’m not giving up on this author! Susanne just gifted me seven of her previous novels, now on my shelf waiting for me (us). I just know this one wasn’t the right fit for me.

A buddy read with Susanne.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group – Ballantine Publishing for an ARC to read and review.