Book Review- Jodi Picoult's The Book of Two Ways

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group/ Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of Jodi Picoult’s latest novel, The Book of Two Ways, in exchange for an honest review.

While working on a dig in Egypt, graduate student Dawn Edelstein receives a call that her mom has terminal cancer. Dawn rushes back to the United States, both abandoning her dreams of becoming an Egyptologist and leaving behind a new, yet very passionate relationship with a fellow student named Wyatt.

While her mother is in hospice, Dawn meets Brian, a physicist whose grandmother is dying. Responsible and thoughtful, Brian is the polar opposite to the charming and adventurous Wyatt. Dawn realizes that with her mother’s death, her life has changed; she can no longer afford to complete her degree and she must assume guardianship of her underaged brother. Rather than reach out to Wyatt and explain her situation, she simple moves forward with life, marrying Bryan, and soon discovering that she is pregnant.

Dawn’s interest in Egyptology centered around death and the afterlife, so it wasn’t surprising that she found purpose in her new career as a “death doula.” A bit different from a hospice worker, a death doula provides emotional and spiritual support to the dying and their loved ones. Dawn helps fulfill final requests to allow the terminally ill to end their lives in peace.

Brian and Dawn settle into their routines and their relationship suffers. Dawn has trouble relating to her teenage daughter, Meret, who has more in common with Brian. Often, it feels as if Meret and Brian have teamed up against her.

After being involved in a plane crash, and having her own life and death experience, Dawn realizes that she must return to Egypt to take care of her own unfinished business. She calls her family to tell them she is okay, but rather than catching the next flight home, she hops on a flight to Egypt, where Wyatt is now the professor in charge of the dig site. Can Dawn fix the past? How will her past influence her present?

I’ve read many of Picoult’s previous novels and I’m a fan. I was thrilled for the opportunity to read The Book of Two Ways. It’s a beautiful story about love, loss, and the choices that we make.

The passion between Dawn and Wyatt is electric. I was blushing from what I was reading and it almost felt like I was intruding on their privacy! I don’t generally read romance novels, and The Book of Two Ways is more literary than romance, yet the love story aspect of it is one of the most passionate that I have ever read. I’m just going to admit it, I was crushing on Wyatt!

The other primary relationship is between Dawn and Meret. Meret is having a difficult time making friends in school and she embarrassed that she is overweight. It’s not easy that Dawn is effortlessly thin and cannot relate to her daughter. Picoult does a fine job at creating the dynamic between mother and daughter, but also having them work through their issues in a realistic way. Dawn has complicated relationships with all of the characters, but none are without love.

Prior to reading The Book of Two Ways, I had never heard of a death doula and I found it fascinating. I have been the primary caregiver for several family members who have passed, in fact, I have no close blood relatives alive, and I would have loved to have had the guidance of a death doula. It is such a compassionate and lovely way to help the dying and also to aid their loved ones with grieving.

Overall, I loved The Book of Two Ways. My only small complaint is that Picoult sometimes bogged down the story with explanations of Egyptian history and mythology. It was a bit too much and detracted from Dawn’s story. It was interesting, but it certainly slowed the pace and felt like a different novel entirely- more history textbook than novel.

That said, if you are a fan of Picoult, this is a must read. It’s a raw and honest story of how our relationships and the choices we make impact not only our life, but the way we feel about transitioning to our next life.

Book Review: Lisa Lutz's The Swallows

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group and Ballantine Books for providing me with a copy of Lisa Lutz’s novel, The Swallows, in exchange for an honest review.

Shortly after joining the faculty of Stonebridge Academy, an elite boarding school, creative writing professor Alexandra Witt, begins to notice that dark secrets are being kept amongst the students. The faculty turns a blind-eye out of fear and the professor whom Alexandra had been hired to replaced left under mysterious circumstances. Despite several warnings, Alexandra is determined to reveal the truth.

I’m drawn to stories that take place at boarding schools. I’ve always loved going to school and ever since I was a young child, I had romantic ideas of what it would be like to attend a boarding school. The setting for The Swallows does not disappoint. The campus is lush and the students are privileged. Lutz explores the “Upstairs/Downstairs” aspect of showing perspectives from both the wealthy students and the mostly average-means faculty. These are kids accustomed to power via the privilege that comes with wealth.

The Swallows is both a mystery and suspense novel, but it is also a commentary on our times with the “Me Too” movement. At Stonebridge Academy, there is a strong hierarchy of popular students, which includes a fluid ranking of the top male and female students, but within this group, the boys have their own club. Within this “boys club",” they use their influence against the girls by creating a secret, sex driven ranking system. Alexandra is the type of teacher who easily bonds with teenagers and as she learns what the boys are doing, she uses her influence to help the girls stand-up for themselves. However, it is not as simple as pointing out the wrongs, the girls want revenge for their humiliation.

One of the more interesting twists comes from a student who begins a nightly ritual across campus. Her silent walks with a loud scream at the end, pick-up steam and soon she has begun an entire movement. She never speaks to the meaning of her ritual and others assume that it is in response to her having been raped or assaulted. She never confirms or denies the reason and her actions explode in popularity, attracting the attention of the national news. This situation blurs the lines between reality and the way society likes to attach meaning to situations, regardless of the truth. She becomes a symbol of a movement, simply because her actions seem like they reflect the pain of a woman who has been harmed by men.

Although there are intriguing aspects to The Swallows, I didn’t find myself completely gelling with the story. It was uneven in pacing and I found a lot of it to reek of “shock value,” in a way that made it hard for me to believe or connect. I didn’t entirely dislike The Swallows, but it was a solid 3 out of 5 for me. The most interesting aspect is the ways that the various characters use power to their advantage and this alone made it a worthwhile read.

Book Review- John Marshall's Wide-Open World

As many of my frequent readers already know, I'm taking a memoir class this quarter through UCLA Extension. I'm on a memoir kick, both in my writing and in my choice of reading. I saw John Marshall's Wide Open-World on Netgalley and it looked to be the perfect blend of my love for memoirs and travel writing. Thank you to Ballantine Books for approving my request for an advanced copy of Wide Open-World. 

John Marshall is living an average American life with his wife, Traca and two teenagers, Logan and Jackson. Their hectic lives revolve around work, school and being hooked on their gadgets. Although their lives are blessed in many ways, John and Traca can't help but feel like there is more out there. Prior to having kids, they had dreams of travel and they even spent a year in a Portuguese village when their children were young. On a flight home from a yoga retreat (Traca's idea that John eventually embraced), John had an idea come to him. The words Year of Service popped into his head. 

Traca was immediately on board with the idea of spending a year removed from their current lives, traveling the world as volunteers. Although they had hoped to move quickly, it took many months to get their affairs in order to make it happen. There is an interesting section at the end of the book where Marshall explains the logistics, like finances, renting their home and taking the kids out of school. He is very candid about the financial implications and gives great advice for anyone who wants to attempt a similar trip. 

The original plan was to spend a month in each location, moving to different continents. They would volunteer at an organization that would in turn, provide them room and board. It's not always an even exchange as many places are underfunded, so they need to charge an additional fee. The Marshall family soon realized that they would have to be flexible in their arrangements, as some places were a better fit for them than others and some of their travel plans had to be changed at the last minute. Flexibility and patience were key in many situations. Some of the organizations were located in remote regions, which included long bus or boat rides to reach their destination.

Marshall's memoir was compelling on many levels. It's an entertaining travel memoir. As much as I love the idea of traveling and adventure, I've come to realize that I'm more of a five-star hotel type of traveler. Marshall does a great job of writing for the reader like me, someone who wants to live vicariously through his experiences, rather than actually doing them myself. I love the idea of volunteer-tourism, but the thought of an eighteen hour bus ride through the jungle makes it a tough sell. Eventually the pains of travel are overshadowed by the clear joy that the Marshall family receives from their experiences in the various countries. It's infectious and touching. In particular, the way that the Marshall children learn to embrace the hard work and the relationships that they make is wonderful. It shows that teenagers can easily rise to the occasion, if they are given responsibility. I could feel Marshall's sense of pride in his teens. 

In addition to being touching, Marshall's book is very funny. He has a keen sense of humor as he finds himself out of his element and he does a solid job at translating that in his writing. As a protagonist, Marshall is extremely likable, even when he has a misstep. One of the more horrendous and semi-funny parts of the book was a cautionary tale as to why you shouldn't just rent out your house to the first person who comes along. The Marshall family came home to a huge problem with their renter! Also, watch out for spider monkeys in Costa Rica. 

I didn't expect one of the last chapters, where Marshall reflects on his marriage to Traca, to leave me so heartbroken. He had some very profound thoughts on what it means to be married, thoughts that stuck in my mind for several weeks after finishing the book. I don't want to give it away, but I highly recommend this book, even if you skip to the very end to read the marriage portion.

Wide-Open World is highly enjoyable. I really grew to love every member of the Marshall family as I read this book. I hope that Marshall plans to write more on his travel adventures, as I would definitely want to be along for the ride.