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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
Great book, loved the surprises in between!!! but I absolutely hated the open ended ending! I wanted to know the choice and how it affected everyone!
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Definitely not my favorite Jodi book. I really enjoyed Boston chapters but found the Egypt ones filled with history. While I understand some of it is necessary, not the entire book needed to be a history lesson. By the end of the book I wasn’t enjoying the Boston chapters as much and just wishing it would be done.
I am unhinged by this book. An emotional wreck.
Jodi Picoult does it again, and this time I think it may be my favorite book.
This book is wonderful — it combines, so amazingly, Egyptology, quantum physics, and questions about our existence and our deaths. And at the same time, it is so full of love and the relationships that we seek.
I am destroyed by the questions the main character, Dawn, faces. When her mother is dying, her life’s direction changes so drastically. And weaving together the past and present, Jodi Picoult explores the haunting “what if?” that we all experience in our lives.
There are people who think this book is too heavy in Egyptology and quantum physics (calling it “textbook heavy”), but I think it enhances this book SO much. Dawn, Brian, and Wyatt are so smart. It would be a shame to include less of their research and dumb this book down.
Seriously, bravo! This book deserves a standing ovation.
Jodi Picoult does it again, and this time I think it may be my favorite book.
This book is wonderful — it combines, so amazingly, Egyptology, quantum physics, and questions about our existence and our deaths. And at the same time, it is so full of love and the relationships that we seek.
I am destroyed by the questions the main character, Dawn, faces. When her mother is dying, her life’s direction changes so drastically. And weaving together the past and present, Jodi Picoult explores the haunting “what if?” that we all experience in our lives.
There are people who think this book is too heavy in Egyptology and quantum physics (calling it “textbook heavy”), but I think it enhances this book SO much. Dawn, Brian, and Wyatt are so smart. It would be a shame to include less of their research and dumb this book down.
Seriously, bravo! This book deserves a standing ovation.
Had a hard time paying attention at the beginning, but it kinda picked up. I feel like there wasn't much of a plot.
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This would have been a 1 star if it wasn't for the very fascinating sections on being a death doula. Otherwise, this was my least favorite book by Picoult. I could get through the text-book levels of detail about Egyptology, but the main character Dawn ruined this book for me. The more I got to know about her, the less likeable she became. For being someone who's supposed to be incredibly intelligent, her logic skills are seriously flawed and her morals are almost non-existent. I was left hoping that both men would just drop her and find someone better, and I ached for her daughter and her abandonment throughout this novel.
Also, what kind of mother leaves her troubled teenage daughter for THREE WEEKS without any sort of warning/discussion beforehand? Terrible mother. Terrible wife. Terrible book.
Spoiler
Dawn is a selfish asshole and a hypocrite. She goes off on Brian for 'thinking' about cheating on her(which he doesn't actually do), and then jets off to Egypt and abandons her family in order to sleep with her ex...thus cheating on her husband?Also, what kind of mother leaves her troubled teenage daughter for THREE WEEKS without any sort of warning/discussion beforehand? Terrible mother. Terrible wife. Terrible book.
As other reviewers have said, this book needs to come with a warning. There is A LOT, and I mean A LOT, about Egyptology (the main character was an Egyptologist). I had a Western Civ class in college, which I didn't enjoy, and this book felt like I was back in that class.
There are also a lot of heavy topics, namely death and the fat shaming of the main character's daughter.
Finally, at the end, the main character makes her decision... a decision she's struggled with during the entire book. However, the book ends without revealing what choice she made. I get why authors do this, leaving the reader to come up with her/his own ending. In this case, though, after going through so much, it would have been nice to have a real ending.
There are also a lot of heavy topics, namely death and the fat shaming of the main character's daughter.
Finally, at the end, the main character makes her decision... a decision she's struggled with during the entire book. However, the book ends without revealing what choice she made. I get why authors do this, leaving the reader to come up with her/his own ending. In this case, though, after going through so much, it would have been nice to have a real ending.
emotional
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was WAY long. Also, I found it both gripping and infuriating.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I felt confused at the end. But the history and the storyline was great un til. The end.