NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as Featured on Today • A “dazzling” novel that “will break your heart and put it back together again” (J. Courtney Sullivan, bestselling author of Saints for All Occasions) about a young boy who must learn to go on after surviving tragedy NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Washington Post • Parade • LibraryReads • “A reading … Washington Post • Parade • LibraryReads • “A reading experience that leaves you profoundly altered for the better . . . Don’t miss this one.”—Jodi Picoult, bestselling author of Small Great Things and A Spark of Light
What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?
One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.
Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?
Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.
Praise for Dear Edward
“Dear Edward made me think, nod in recognition, care about its characters, and cry, and you can’t ask more of a novel than that.”—Emma Donoghue, New York Times bestselling author of Room
“Weaving past and present into a profoundly beautiful, page-turning story of mystery, loss, and wonder, Dear Edward is a meditation on survival, but more important, it is about carving a life worth living. It is about love and hope and caring for others, and all the transitory moments that bind us together.”—Hannah Tinti, author of The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley and The Good Thief
more
This is one of my favorite books of all time. Read the full review here: https://barbaraclaypolewhite.com/2020/03/20/dear-edward-by-ann-napolitano/
I loved this story. It was truly a page turner. The author mixed past and present but it was done seamlessly and only added anticipation. Great characters!
A heartbreaking novel of loss and finding the strength to learn to deal with that loss. Eddie lost his family and himself. After this loss, Eddie becomes Edward, even though he had a family to look after him after the plane crash he still felt unanchored. I felt that Edwards’s depression was well depicted and you can just feel his despair as he tried to figure out who he had now become. This was a well-written story of loss, family, friendships, and tragedy.
A beautiful story of survival and carrying on after loss. Ann Napolitano is a master storyteller and the book is beautifully crafted.
Wow. I could not put this book down. A story about love, loss and family, about the difference between being alive and living. Napolitano writes with such authenticity about an experience that she could not have known. She creates wonderful characters in a narrative that will grab hold of your heart and not let go. At times philosophical, as when the narrator considers Edward carrying within him 191 lives, “(if) all time and people are interconnected, then the people on the plane exist, just as he exists. The present is infinite, and Flight 2977 flies on, far above him, hidden by clouds.” A wonderfully profound book.
I read Dear Edward for my Barnes & Noble Book Club. Such an interesting concept for a book! It’s about the sole survivor of a plane crash, 12-year old Edward, and his healing process; there are also flashback chapters to the fateful flight and we get to meet other passengers. (And it’s apparently inspired by a true story.) The flashback chapters are suspenseful even though you know exactly what’s going to happen. Edward’s chapters, which cover the years from 12 to 18, are “quiet” yet very moving. u2060I’m not sure I would have picked this book up on my own because the premise scares me a little bit, but I’m so glad I read it! The author does a good job of keeping things from getting overwhelmingly heavy. I walked away feeling good about the story.
Loved, loved, loved this book! There will be laughter amongst tears. I listened via Audible and one of my favorite narrators, Cassandra Campbell, did an excellent job! Cannot wait to see what’s next from this author as she has hinted of a new book with Shay and Edward!!
BEAUTIFULLY written prose. Loved every word.
Before reading Napolitano’s novel, I hadn’t stopped to consider the experience of tragedy survivors who are labeled “miracles.” Nor had I realized how many people write to survivors begging them for favors and how those requests make survivors like young Edward feel. Instead of taking the easy way out and labeling Edward’s depression as such, the author shows us through his smallest actions and quirks how steeped in shock and grief he remains for years.
Unlike most reviewers who found Edward captivating, I found myself in awe of Shay, the young girl without whom Edward couldn’t have made a full recovery. Shay has intelligence, insight and confidence remarkable for her age.
I appreciated how many ethnicities Napolitano included in her novel–Hispanic, Pakistani, African-American, Chinese-American–with a nod to how global our American coasts have become.
I did find myself skimming the chapters where we get to know the airline passengers pre-accident; they held me at arm’s length from the emotional core. The “Edward” chapters post-tragedy were more compelling. It made me wonder if Napolitano could have told us the whole story from Edward’s point of view, adding backstory where needed to fill us in on those who didn’t survive.
Heartbreaking character studies in the face of tragedy and grief.
What do we live for, if it is not to make life less difficult to each other.” GEORGE ELIOT
OMG, I really enjoyed this book. Although, I’m sure it’s going to make me an even more nervous flyer now…
DEAR EDWARD is such a beautiful coming-of-age story about a twelve-year old boy who becomes the lone survivor of a commercial airline flight headed to Los Angelos from Newark and he deals with that and the loss of his family.
Realistic and heart-wrenching but also full of hope.
A profound book on what it means to truly live—One of the best novels I have ever read.
Dear Edward tells the story of 12-year-old Edward, the sole survivor of a horrific plane crash that never should have happened. Told from the hours on the plane and from Edward after the crash and forward, it alternates to give a more complete picture of what has happened and how Edward’s life has changed after losing both his parents and his brother.
I appreciate Edward’s part of the story a lot, it was poignant, and very well told. While this may sound harsh, I didn’t much care for the stories of the people on the plane. The people the author chose to tell their stories didn’t captivate me, there wasn’t anything earth-shattering or meaningful in their lives to me. I really would have rather had more of Edward’s story as the title didn’t come into play until towards the end of the book.
I felt for Edward, so young to lose so much. I could understand the struggle he went through just trying to make it through each day. I appreciate his story and it was well told. But as I said previous, I didn’t love the alternated viewpoints as I normally would. The other characters weren’t multi-dimensional and they didn’t have an engaging story. I think the touching moments in Edwards’s story is what made this a 4-star read.
DEAR EDWARD is easily one of my best reads of 2020!
The story was centered around Edward “Eddie” Adler who was the only survivor of a plane crash where 191 lives were killed. In alternating chapters, the time prior to the crash and Eddie’s present life as he is living his life as the sole survivor. The story is very realistic and takes into consideration the people affected, survivors and those left behind.
The story had amazing characters that were featured during the flight from Newark to Los Angeles. You cannot help but wonder how people would lead their lives and decisions made knowing when their last moments of their lives would be. The story was realistic and believable, and well researched as well.
As much as the premise of the story is quite difficult and sad, I was smiling when I finished this book. The story filled me with emotions and was left with a great sense of satisfaction on how love, understanding and resilience overcome adversities and difficulties. It was a powerful and emotional read that was also positive and hopeful.
I highly recommend this book for its amazing storytelling and should not be missed. It is a reading experience that is profound – broke my heart but Napolitano found a way to stich it back up.
I’m becoming a fan of Ann Napolitano. I’m currently reading her newest release, Dear Edward. Edward is 12 years old when he is involved in a plane crash, and is the only person to survive. He struggles to find a way to live, after having lost everything, including his brother, mother and father. The narrative of his present life is intercut with the hours of the flight, the people whose last hours he shared, who will stay with him for ever.
It’s a bold concept, full of the strangeness of life, loss and death, an ingenious way to examine this eternally puzzling frontier and how we behave when faced with it. There are unexpected consequences that are so emotionally true – for instance, when Edward goes to a new school, his classmates are curious about him, and also suspicious that he is getting lenient treatment. Napolitano makes it believable, down to earth, yet also poetic – I’m enjoying it greatly.
I received a free electronic ARC copy of this excellent modern novel from Netgalley, Ann Napolitano, and Dial Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Dear Edward to friends and family. This is a book that speaks to the heart of the family in all its lights and shadows.
Twelve-year-old Edward ‘Eddie’ Adler, his 15-year-old brother Jordan and his mom and dad, Bruce and Jane, begin a new life’s journey, a family relocation from New York to Los Angeles. Dad didn’t get tenure despite his years of hard work, but Mom was offered a job with prestige and much more money – over there. A move of such a scale is always frightening to everyone. The boys had never moved from the NY apartment they were born into. Never changed school systems, were comfortable in their neighborhood, had their friends, knew their classmates.
On June 12, 2013, the Adler’s and 183 others board a 7:45 am flight out of Newark, NJ for LA. We meet several of the memorable characters who fly with the Adler’s, the boys and dad Bruce in general seating, and mom Jane in 1st class so she can finish the script re-write she is to hand-deliver to her new employers upon arrival in California. we meet the crew, most experienced with many hours in the air. At a little after 2 pm, Flight 2977 crashes into the ground near Greeley, Colorado. There are 191 casualties. And Eddie. Sole survivor, Badly damaged, but alive. and after several hospitalizations, he will live with his mother’s younger sister, Lacey, and her husband John Curtis in New Jersey. He responds only to ‘Edward’. He cannot talk to anyone – it’s too hard to know what to say. He cannot sleep in the house with his Aunt and Uncle because his brother isn’t there. Jordan had always been at Aunt Lacey’s when they slept over. And school? That was going to be really hard.
Physically, he has healed, Emotionally Edward has done as much healing as is possible. Two years after the crash the physical therapist and throat doctor has given him medical releases. Dr. Mike requires another year before he feels Edward has his mental health under control. And with the help of his Aunt, Uncle, and their neighbors Shae and her mother Besa, he holds it all together.
A couple of years in, Edward and Shay find duffle bags filled with letters addressed to Eddie in John’s office in the seldom-used garage. John and Lacey didn’t feel like Edward could handle them when they began arriving immediately after the crash, but they couldn’t throw them out, either. Letters from the families of the victims, from people who lost folks on other planes, others like him who survived and had to learn to live with that. At first, Edward and Shay keep the discovery to themselves, but they are opening and reading the letters, Shay is logging them into a database, Edward is sorting them mentally into piles to answer or contact. Surprisingly nearly three years in those letters are still arriving. John picks them up at the post office box every Friday. Once they talk with John and Lacey about the letters, it becomes a big part of every day for them all, and Edward is finally able to find some closure. And upon highschool graduation, Shay and Edward take a road trip to Greeley, Colorado, to see the memorial in place for the victims, in hopes of finding a way to accept the losses and learn to move on.
Dear Edward isn’t just a beautiful novel, clear-eyed and compassionate even as it pulls us into difficult terrain. It’s an examination of what makes us human, how we survive in this mysterious world, how we take care of each other. It’s the kind of book that forces you to trust that the author, who will break your heart, will also lead you toward something wondrous, something profound. After this brilliant novel, I will follow Ann Napolitano to the ends of the earth.
From its breathtaking premise — a boy is the sole survivor of an airplane crash — to its absolutely rhapsodic finish, Dear Edward is about the persistence of hope, the depth of love, and the unexpected, radiant moments that make up our lives. If I loved this stunning novel any more, I’d have to marry it.
From the first page of this heartwarming and heart-wrenching novel, I was dazzled. Napolitano weaves a story that brims with humanity — with joy and sorrow, love and friendship, survival and triumph, and a cast of unforgettable characters. Dear Edward is a masterpiece that should be at the top of everyone’s reading list.
Very well written and engaging story of a sole plane crash survivor and the journey he makes to heal. I adored Edward’s honesty and found the aunt and uncle endearing. The sense of place was also very well established. I felt like a fly on the wall, watching Edward’s story unfold. (Note: if you have a fear of flying, I wouldn’t read this on an actual plane ride.) Overall, however, I would recommend!