Once Upon a Book Club is a subscription that offers a unique reading experience. Each month, you’ll receive a book to read, a 5″ x 7″ quote print, along with 2-4 corresponding gifts to match a quote/item mentioned in the book. Readers are advised to open the gifts as they finish the corresponding page to make them feel as if the book is coming to life!
You can choose between Once Upon a Book Club’s Young Adult edition and Adult edition. This is the review of the Adult box.
DEAL: Enjoy 10% off your first box. Use coupon code BOOKNERD.
The box interior looks lovely with those words in script.
The items inside were neatly stacked inside the box.
The box includes a Book Club Kit guide.
At the back, there’s a recipe for Habib’s Egyptian Omelettes!
Inside, there’s an Author’s Note featuring Jodi Picoult. There are also read along dates and some discussion questions.
There’s really no such thing as a right or wrong choice. We don’t make decisions. Our decisions make us.
– Jodi Picoult, The Book of Two Ways
A card contains a message from Jodi Picoult for all the readers.
I’m excited to open the gifts!
Everything in my box!
This lovely bookmark reminds us to only open the gifts when we get to the page indicated on them. No peeking!
The back has the Once Upon A Book Club logo.
The Book Of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult ($38.99)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light comes a “powerful” (The Washington Post) novel about the choices that alter the course of our lives.
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: Prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband but of a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, their beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, in which she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients.
But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a career Dawn once studied for but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
After the crash landing, the airline ensures that the survivors are seen by a doctor, then offers transportation to wherever they want to go. The obvious destination is to fly home, but she could take another path: return to the archaeological site she left years before, reconnect with Wyatt and their unresolved history, and maybe even complete her research on The Book of Two Ways—the first known map of the afterlife.
As the story unfolds, Dawn’s two possible futures unspool side by side, as do the secrets and doubts long buried with them. Dawn must confront the questions she’s never truly asked: What does a life well lived look like? When we leave this earth, what do we leave behind? Do we make choices . . . or do our choices make us? And who would you be if you hadn’t turned out to be the person you are right now?
The book has the Once Upon A BookClub 2020 Selection sticker!
The book cover is pretty. There are also a few reviews for the book at the back along with a photo of the author.
The inside flap has a brief overview of the story.
The story follows Dawn Edelstein, an Egyptologist-turned-hospice worker and she shows us the power of our choices, specially the ones we make under pressure.
There are two timelines in the book: a past and a present, where the former shows Dawn as an Egyptology student that does her internship in Egypt where she meets Wyatt (her “the one that got away”) and they had a thing going but she eventually had to leave due to certain circumstances and the latter where Dawn lives in Boston with her husband and daughter. The two timelines eventually meet-up with each other.
The first gift should be opened when you reach Page 41!
The box looks really good with the hieroglyphics design that is just perfect for this book’s theme!
Upon opening, there’s a bejewelled compact nestled inside.
The color of the jewels remind me of the Egyptian desert, with the endless view of sand all around.
The back side is made with stainless steel. I like how convenient and easy this is to bring anywhere.
Inside the compact are two mirrors. This is perfect for touch-ups!
The next gift can be opened upon reaching page 146.
They really did a great job with the packaging this month. This one features an illustration with a vintage feel.
Inside is a painting and it’s the actual scene that was just described in the book!
It came in a frame that has a rustic feel to it. You can either use the stand to place this on your desk or use a hook to hang it on your walls. Either way, the frame has what you need to display it.
The photo depicts the heart being balanced on a scale against the feather of Maat, which is the way to determine if the soul of the departed will reach the afterlife.
The last gift can be opened upon reaching page 319.
This gift is stashed inside a yellow velvet drawstring pouch.
Inside, there’s a soft and plush pillowcase. I love the texture of the fabric!
In the middle, there’s a limestone with a hieroglyph that means “forever and ever”.
There’s a total of three gift items in this month’s box!
I like reading books sent by Once Upon A Book Club because not only do I get to enjoy the story, but I also get little keepsakes to remind me of it! This month, my favorite gift is the compact mirror because it’s something I could use and bring with me just about anywhere. Of course, I also loved this month’s book and its Egyptian theme. I think the writer, Jodi Picoult, did an amazing job researching every single detail and building the fiction around existing realities. It was surely a great read! For bookworms who love surprises, this box makes a nice monthly treat. They also have a Young Adult option for YA fans!
What do you think of this month’s Once Upon a Book Club?
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