I do enjoy a book with more than one timeline. The story of Edward, sole survivor of a plane crash which killed his family as well as almost 200 others, is told as snapshots of the flight from boarding to crash as well as Edward's life after the crash. Living with his aunt and uncle, and befriending the girl next door, Shay, Edward has to come to terms with life without his family, especially his adored older brother. This only really begins with Edward and Shay's discovery of a bag of letters addressed to him in his uncle's garage, all from family members of crash victims. Ann Napolitano manages to convey a real sense of the despair that Edward feels, and the snapshots of the lives of the others on board the flight are compelling. I loved the ending, post-discovery of the letters, staying up way later than I should have and finished the book with a real sense of satisfaction at the ending.

I found this story about Edward very moving and gripping. I was routing for him the whole way through. It was well written, the dual timelines worked well and the ending was satisfying. With thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review an e-ARC of this book

Edward is the only survivor of a plane crash in which he lost his parents and brother. The book takes us through the events leading up to the crash ,and tells us how he eventually learns to cope with the tragedy . Well written and enthralling.

Dear Edward was not what I thought it was going to be when I requested it from Netgalley UK, but what it was, was great.

Starting with 12 year old Eddie and his family boarding a plane along with all the other passengers, the flight is supposed to be heading to Los Angeles, next thing the plane has crashed and everyone is dead all except Eddie a miracle child according to the press. but Eddie has gone and Edward is left in his place a boy trying to learn how to live his new life.

The story jumps between Edward and his life now and the run up to the plane crash. Who the passengers were and what they were running from, and why did the plane crash.

A real life affirming book that would make a great movie if the chance ever arose.

Despite looking forward to this one, and expecting an emotional ride, I had to DNF it. I couldn't continue for the same reason I had to DNF Beartown by Fredrick Bachman: there were too many characters that I couldn't latch onto, and I was waiting for disaster to strike. I think I'm almost alone in this, as this book is getting great reviews.

A plane crashes, killing 191 people. There is one survivor, a 12 year old boy. Edward. His life is changed in an instant, and so he must learn to live a new one. But how do you live with being a miracle? Why did he survive when so many others didn't? And what should he do now, to ensure that he honours the dead and lives a life of meaning?

I have to say, I've been almost saving this book. It's like I knew it would be special, so I saved it for when I had no distractions, and could really engage with and appreciate it. And I'm so glad I did, as this is truly one of the best books I've ever read. Even if you don't read the rest of this review, please, do yourself a favour and buy this book immediately. You won't regret it.

The book is told in alternative chapters following two timelines - the first is set on the plane, and counts down from takeoff to the time of the crash, and the second follows on from the crash itself, as Eddie attempts to recover from his trauma and build a new life as Edward. The use of dual timelines is absolutely masterful in this case, as it creates this awful sense of tension - you know that the plane will crash, and so reading about the passengers and their lives gives you this terrible feeling of suspense as you wait for what you know is coming.

Not only is Napolitano a master of suspense, but the writing is also incredible. In this sense, this book in an odd way reminded me of Alice Hoffman. Not in terms of plot, but the writing style seemed similarly beautiful to me - the language used is honest and brutal, and the syntax is a very unique combination of efficiency and beauty. Napolitano is able to describe any situation, even the seemingly mundane, in the most beautiful of prose, while an awful tragic event is made even more striking by the scarcity of the language she uses. It is truly masterful, and something that it is rare to find in any author, yet alone one of such a young age.

'Dear Edward' is best described as a haunting and melancholic exploration of a brutal and shocking tragedy and it’s resulting trauma. But it is also a book about how to face challenges in life, and about how to work through even the darkest of times in order to live a life of meaning - to live, not just survive. I'll end with a quote that I feel sums up the heart of the book incredibly well:

'I want to know what to do,' he hears himself say... The statement is a relief. He wants to know what to do. She taps the centre of his hand. 'That's easy. The same thing we all must do. Take stock of who we are and what we have, and then use it, for good.'

Disclaimer - I was fortunate enough to be provided with an advance copy of this book by NetGalley and Penguin Books. This has not affected my review in any way, and all opinions are my own.

A sensitively written tear-jerker about a young boy's life after a huge scale tragedy. This story is beautifully written and captivated me for the entire book. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for an ARC egalley.

I don't want to write much about the plot of this book, as I had the pleasure of reading it without having any idea what was going to happen, and I wouldn't want to take that away from anyone. Suffice to say Jordan and Eddie are brothers. They should grow old together. They are three years apart - 15 and 12 - so they live in different worlds as three years makes a big difference at that age. Jordan has a secret girl and has discovered that he can exert his rights; to be a vegan or not to walk through the security scanner at the airport while Eddie is still happy to get lost in playing the piano. But they are close. As brothers they share an understanding which is beyond what their parents can grasp. A look may pass between them and as much information is conveyed as in a conversation.

So when Eddie is thrown into a situation where he is going to have to live without Jordan his world is more than turned upside down. The closest he can physically get to his brother is wearing his over-sized clothes, but how is he going to repair the emotional scar? And at a time when Eddie can hardly cope with being himself, he discovers that a huge number of other people have enormous expectations of him.

I was completely engrossed in this book from start to end. It moves very cleverly between two time periods, showing how we can drift along from day to day in our routine way unaware that in any one moment our lives could be turned upside down. I thought Ann Napolitano handled Edward's character very sensitively. Initially he is coping with physical pain and limitations, but he also has to learn how to operate in the world again and to connect with people. Many people help him along the way, from the school's head teacher who gives him the responsibility of caring for his precious collection of ferns, to the girl next door who is totally accepting, no matter how odd Edward's actions may seem.

I know it is only January, but I am sure that this is going to be one of my top books of the year. It is a tense page-turner, but with 'ordinary' characters you can easily relate to who are thrown into impossible situations and have to try to keep moving forward.

My sincere thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for a review copy of this book.

I absolutely loved this book. An amazing premise sensitively handled. The compassion with which the author dealt with each character was beautiful. I was enjoying the book so much that I took my time to savour and live in it. The structure of the book was brilliantly handled and I loved the relationship between the two brothers, each of which we got to know more over the period of the novel. This is a book that will really stay with me. It is right up there with one of my other favourite book, A Widow for a Year John Irving in terms of richness of emotions and creating a fully believable world and lives. Thank you so much for allowing me to have a pre publication copy of this book.

This is a really good story about survival after a crash.
It not only makes you think about the survivor who struggles to come to turns with surviving, but also about the families who have lost people.
A wonderful read.

A tearful but totally absorbing, traumatic and intense book with tragic consequences. Non of us could ever imagine what the situation portrayed in the book could ever be like in real life, but this author has done this very well.

I was unsure if this book would be just a bit too YA but it was actually a perfect version of crossover fiction. It was an unpatronising account of a young boy’s life after tragedy alters his life. The relationships he forges after the event are interspersed with flashbacks to the details of the other unrelated individuals involved in the air crash which left him as the sole survivor.
It was a really well written novel which detailed his coping mechanisms and those of his aunt and uncle who care for him after his release from hospital while dealing with their own personal issues.
There is a real sense of “life goes on” and how that plays out in reality.

The reactions he receives from everyone connected and unconnected with the crash are interesting and create a realistic picture of the other passengers and their backgrounds.
Highly recommend this.

An interesting idea for a story which Ann Neapolitans handles carefully in fact maybe a bit too carefully. The book keeps you guessing as to the motive for writing it which by the end you still haven’t got an answer for, what could have been very good somehow falls short.

This powerful and haunting novel tells the tale of 12-year-old Edward who is the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills 191 – among them his parents and brother. We follow him in his struggles to come to terms with what’s happened and as a study of grief and loss the book is both compassionate and deeply insightful. Edward is a wonderful child narrator and the reader immediately becomes invested in him and his plight. As well as his grief he also has to come to terms with his resultant fame as the “miracle boy” who lived when everyone else was killed, an event which captures the imagination of a whole nation and makes people feel they somehow have ownership of him. The novel is told in alternating chapters and follows two timelines – the hours leading up to the crash and the years after as Edward attempts to rebuild his life. This dual time-line approach allows the author to create a tense page-turner – we know from the beginning the plane is going to crash but the suspense about how and when is almost unbearable – and an empathetic coming-of-age novel. It’s a heart-breaking story but never descends into sentimentality or resorts to banality. The tone is measured and the pacing excellent. Although it focuses on Edward and his family, we also meet some of the other passengers on the doomed flight and these too become an essential part of the narrative. Although I loved the book, and have given it 5*, there are, it has to be admitted, one or two false notes, the depiction of the flight attendant, Veronica, being one of them. But overall the book is so good that I found it easy to ignore any slight faults. It’s a strength of the novel that it also questions some assumptions about such tragedies. Someone comments how “lucky” Edward has been and this raises a whole other debate about the survivors of catastrophes. Overall this is an intelligent and thought-provoking novel and one which I highly recommend.
It’s also, I have discovered, inspired by a true story. In 2010 a commercial airliner from South Africa on its way to London crashed in Libya. All on board were killed, including the parents and brother of a 9-year-old boy – who survived. I would like to know how he has fared since, but having read Dear Edward I can’t help feeling that this would perhaps be intrusive. An interesting – and relevant – dilemma.

I found Dear Edward to have a wonderful imaginative storyline and thought it an absolute joy to read.
Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash killing 191 passengers on board including his parents and much loved brother Jordan. So this is his story charting his new life with his aunt and uncle which will leave an imprint on your mind long after having turned the last page.
Utterly broken and bereft and with the added burden of being the centre of world attention, I quickly fell in love with Edward’s character as he painstakingly put his life back together. Beautifully written and magical in places the author has given Edward a voice in how to survive such unimaginable loss which takes up most of his thoughts and those around him. No one really knows how to behave so thank heavens for Shay, the girl next door, a wonderfully quirky character who befriends Edward with such ease, almost becoming his saviour. The development of such a lovely, enriching friendship is beautifully observed. It’s not only Edward who benefits from having Shay as his number one supporter but Edward himself provides Shay with much needed social interaction so that he almost becomes a project for her; a complex riddle to solve. The theme of friendship plays an important role in this novel with Edward’s principal at school subtly guiding the teenager through these difficult times using his passion for ferns as an unusual way to build Edward’s trust and belief in himself. I found myself spellbound by Edward’s reinvention of his former self, salvaging what he can from the wreckage of a previous happy life, with the help of these slightly odd individuals. It was like witnessing a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis or a Phoenix rising from the ashes.
I liked the way the narrative switches between events after the plane crash and before, giving the reader glimpses of the lives of other passengers so that this isn’t simply Edward’s story. I was particularly fond of Florida, a woman believing in reincarnation, having had many lives and a necessary metaphor for what is going on in Edward’s life now.
This isn’t just a novel about loss for Edward but also his aunt and uncle who have suffered numerous miscarriages whilst trying to be parents to him. Ultimately this novel is about forging new paths through life whilst absorbing the fabric of the past and finding hope and love and friendship in the darkest of circumstances.
Poignant, uplifting and life affirming with brilliant characters,I highly recommend.
My thanks as always to the author and publisher and Netgalley for allowing me to read in exchange for an honest review.

I was a bit nervous about embarking on a plane crash book with a holiday coming up but 'Dear Edward' was touching rather than traumatic. I loved the different glimpses into the passengers' lives, interspersed with the ongoing story of Edward's recovery. A moving, powerful book of recovery and redemption.

“Dear Edward”, by Ann Napolitano, tells the story of a miracle boy. Edward survives a plane crash that no one else does, although as the narrative unfolds, the question of surviving becomes a more philosophical one. How do you live with the guilt that you’re the only one alive? Why you, and no one else? Can you call yourself a survivor if you’re empty inside and food makes you feel sick?

The parallel narrative is interesting – chapters from the crash are interspersed with Edward’s new life, trying to make sense of being alive without his parents and brother. In amongst those plane chapters, we the reader also get introduced to other passengers on the plane – an old, sick man realising he spent too much time on money and not enough on his children, a young woman who may or may not be pregnant, hoping the trip will signal the start of her new life with the man who loves her as much as she loves him. These vignettes are interesting, but with 191 passengers and we only see a handful, it leaves you wondering who the others were on the flight.

While it was competently written, I felt that the crux of the story, the blurb which drew me to it, took too long to get to. Almost three-quarters of the way in and Edward finally finds letters from the relatives of the people who died in the crash. It made me want to shift the structure of the plot so that the plane sequence ended earlier, and Edward found the letters in the middle of the book and not so near the end. It meant that for me, it felt like 75% beginning, no end and then a wrap up ending.

I did really like the plane sequences – the crash and the aftermath are described so vividly, I could see it unfold. For me, that made the other parts dull in comparison. I struggled slightly with the characterisation of the post crash people – Edward’s Aunt, where all we really know is that she wanted a baby but couldn’t have one. I think this is to do with the view being from Edward as first person – he’s only a child and he’s suffered such a huge trauma that he’s not a reliable narrator.

This was a relatively easy read, and while I was disappointed that the blurb didn’t match the narrative, I finished it and enjoyed it on the whole. I also appreciated the typography information at the end – very useful!

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC!

I found this quite a difficult book to read as it kept jumping all over the place. Different timelines and reading on my kindle made it worse as it just didn’t flow very well. It really wasn’t my kind of book, which was a great shame as I was hoping it would be a good read.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Edward is the sole survivor in a plane crash that kills his whole family, When he goes to live with his aunt and uncle, he is suddenly famous - the boy who survived the plane crash. Then he meets Shay. When they find sackfuls of letters hidden in the garage, Edward starts reading them...

Dear Edward is a must read book that is full of love, tragedy and made me feel all the feelings. This novel is a must read!

Wow what a powerful story. Edward is a twelve year old boy who lost his whole family when a plane crashes. Then he realises he is the sole survivor. We read his amazing story of how he tries with determination to move on with his life as his aunt and uncle take care of him, living with the guilt of being the sole survivor.

We also read of the other passengers which added so much more to the story.

My heart broke for Edward in this beautiful but sad story...tissues may be needed :(