At the tender age of 12 years old, Edward Adler finds himself the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills everyone else on board, including his parents and his older brother, Jordan. Taken into the care of his Aunt and Uncle, Edward befriends Shay, his neighbour, and the bond they form is set to last for the rest of their lives. The chapters in the book alternate between the flight and Edward's life after the crash. We meet some wonderful characters; Linda, on her way to start a new life with her boyfriend, Gary, and who finds out on board the aircraft that she is pregnant and Florida, with her chiming skirts and utterly intriguing background were my favourites. Yes, this is a sad story, but ultimately it is one of hope, and I really enjoyed it.

What can I say about this book other than...WOW!
Dear Edward broke my heart and then slowly healed it with a book which was tender, thoughtful and beautifully written.
The format of the book with the timeline of the crash being told throughout the story worked well and there were so many interesting characters to enjoy.
I will be recommending this book to everyone I know and it is definitely one of the best that I have read recently.

This was a fabulous book and very cleverly written. The books jumps between describing some of the other passengers on board the flight and then to a chapter about Edward and how he is coping with being the only survivor of the terrible crash. In reality, how any one person deals with being the only survivor of something this horrific is incomprehensible, the survivors guilt alone would probably be all consuming!

The book does however keep you reading as you want to know how Edward’s life unfolds and why the plane crashed in the first placed. It adds to the thrill of the book to keep you waiting until almost the end before you find out.

It is however an uplifting book about how Edward builds his life back up, living without his parents and brother and then having the weight of all the correspondence he finds , written by the other passengers family and friends, on his mind. He and Shay plough their way through the letters, documenting them and trying to decide what to do about them and who they should respond to! There is also the small matter of trying to make sense of why he survived and how to make his life count!

It is a lovely coming of age book about a troubled and lost young boy arriving into adulthood and how he gets there.

The only issue I have is in the “blurb” it states “There are 216 passengers aboard: ...” however the book itself states there are 187 seats for passengers and that 191 died and one survivor! The maths do not add up even taking into account the pilots and crew!!!

Dear Edward

I misread the preamble for this novel and requested it as I assumed that it would along the lines of another novel I read where there was something decidedly odd about the sole survivor of a plane crash.

Upon reading the blurb again after I was approved, I realised that this was not that novel.

In fact, this was a very different novel that has stayed with me weeks days after I have finished it.

Eddie and his family: one brother Jordan and parents, are moving from New York to LA. They are not the usual run of the mill family; the boys are home schooled and appear to be suffocated by their parents no allowing them any freedom. Although being teenage boys there try to get one up on their parents by trying to sneak out the apartment block without him knowing. All of which are usurped by the apartment’s attendant at the front desk.

When then plane they are flying to LA crashes Eddie is the sole survivor. The novel follows Eddie’s recovery and life after the crash, with the dual timeline of the plane journey and his rescue.

And what follows is an insightful novel into grief and recovery. Eddie transitions into Edward and goes to live with his aunt and uncle in New Jersey. The novel follows his story for years after the crash, and during the plot we meet other relatives of passengers and interact with their lives.

A lovely novel which stays with you long after the final pages. My first 5 star for 2020.

Ann Napolitano's melancholic novel depicts the coming of age of Edward Adler, who at the tender age of 12 loses the life he is familiar with along with the loss of his family, his parents and his beloved older brother, Jordan, in a tragic plane crash in Colorado, in which almost 2oo others die. Edward is the only survivor, the boy who lived becomes the centre of a storm of public and national interest. A traumatised Edward with his unbearable burden of grief and sorrow goes to live in West Milford, New Jersey with his Aunt Lacey, having to handle her own losses, and his protective Uncle John. Having been home schooled, he has to come to terms with going to school, getting used to other children, socialising with them. His greatest solace comes with his neighbour, a girl of his own age, Shay, and the close friendship he develops with her.

In a narrative that goes back and forth in time, we learn about the wide ranging lives and stories of the other passengers on that plane, their families, and the letters that bulge with their hopes and expectations of Edward. We follow Edward as he endeavours to initially just survive and then to forge a new path in life, and the response and support he receives from a community. This is a beautiful, moving, emotionally heartbreaking and tearful novel of what it is to be human, for sadly grief and loss is an integral part of what it is to live, and the importance of reaching out, connecting, and supporting each other. Edward is so young to be weighed down by such all consuming loss, guilt and grief, having to endure, and I could not help but feel for him, the enormity of what he must handle, until gradually glimpses of hope and joy begin to appear in his life. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Penguin UK for an ARC.

Edward and his family board a plane to start a new life in California. The plane crashes and kills 191 people. Edward is the sole survivor of the tragedy. This book follows Edward's recovery, physically and emotionally, which spans years of his life.

With alternating chapters, the novel flashes back to scenes from the plane which depict different passengers from the flight. These chapters give the reader an insight into every single deceased character's thoughts and feelings during the flight, making the characters seem shockingly and heartbreakingly real. When in an airplane, it's not unusual to feel suspended in time whilst being miles above the ground. This feeling is forced upon the reader during the plane chapters, as the reader is suspended, hovering, within the aircraft and is forced to witness all the strikingly real narratives portrayed through each passenger.

The chapter's following Edward in the present-day perspective are equally heartbreaking, as they show a young boy struggling with grief and survivor's guilt, whilst also maneuvering the ordinary challenges of teenage life. The writing is faultless and becomes more sophisticated as Edward matures, thus removing the need for any explicit age indicators.

I strongly suspect that Dear Edward will be one of my favourite books of 2020 - a high claim considering the year has only just begun.

Dear Edward is an intriguing read, focussing on Edward Adler, a 12-year-old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash.
We move between a dual timeline throughout the book; that of the day of the crash, where we view the day from the viewpoint of several of the passengers and crew on the flight, and the life of Edward, as he comes to terms with being the only one alive, losing his family, and trying to make sense of his survival.
It's not a situation that would be familiar to many people, but I was eager to keep on reading, to find out what actually happened on that crash day, and whether Edward came out of his PTSD feeling whole, or still as empty as the shell who ended up living with his aunt and uncle after the crash, not sure whether he should even have been alive.
A thought-provoking read.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Penguin Books for an ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

At the tender age of 12 years old, Edward Adler finds himself the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills everyone else on board, including his parents and his older brother, Jordan. Taken into the care of his Aunt and Uncle, Edward befriends Shay, his neighbour, and the bond they form is set to last for the rest of their lives. The chapters in the book alternate between the flight and Edward's life after the crash. We meet some wonderful characters; Linda, on her way to start a new life with her boyfriend, Gary, and who finds out on board the aircraft that she is pregnant and Florida, with her chiming skirts and utterly intriguing background were my favourites. Yes, this is a sad story, but ultimately it is one of hope, and I really enjoyed it.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me.

I really liked the beginning and the flashbacks that introduced the other passengers along with the Adler family dynamics but after a while, I got angry with the flashbacks because I preferred to know what was going on with Edward while wanting the flashbacks to tell me more about the other passengers lives even though I knew it would just me sadder because they were already dead.

I liked Edward but with him being so withdrawn and focusing on the strangest details we get to know the secondary characters in a very weird way and I wish we had known more about them despite understanding that was just not the way Edward’s mind worked at that time.
Something I did like was the magical realism aspect and how clear the author made that those lives were interrupted and how many amazing things they had in front of them and that was even clearer with the characters that were more dissatisfied with their lives or even unsure if they wanted to keep living.

I did enjoy this book and I feel that I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I hadn’t been completely eviscerated by Demetrios in “Little Universes” a few months ago (these two stories have a lot in common).

Thank you to Edelweiss+ and Viking for this DRC.

Dear Edward is a dual timeline novel about Edward Adler, the sole survivor of a plane crash which kills 200 people including all of his immediate family. The story covers the hours onboard the flight leading up to the crash and the years that follow as Edward, now living with his aunt and uncle, attempts to make sense of his life.

This isn't some sort of nail-bitting thriller about a plane crash or even really how Edward is the miracle survivor of the crash. Instead, it is a story about people, all types of people and all kinds of emotions. It is about feeling as though you have lost everything and slowing becoming aware that maybe you haven't or that new things have emerged to replace the old.

Honestly, although I loved the sound of this book, I was a little apprehensive that it might become a bit soppy and sentimental for my liking but I'm pleased to say that is not the case. Edward's character is so wonderfully well rendered that you really do get a clear sense of this unbelievable experience he is going through. His relationship with Shay is one of my favourite elements of the story, she is exactly what he needs - a guiding light who is in many ways a reflection of his recovery.

The pre-crash chapters deal with a lot of different characters in far less depth. I really liked these glimpses, which act almost like mini-vignettes - it comes across very much like the experience of being on a flight full of strangers; gleaming small pieces of information from conversations or behaviour and letting your mind fill in some of the blanks.

I think this book will become something of a sensation in 2020. I found it profoundly moving in a way which I'm really struggling to fully articulate. I constantly think about it since reading, pondering some of the what-ifs but also generally just marvelling at how wonderful it is to be human.

Highly recommended. I can't wait to hear what everyone thinks!

I liked this book. It was very different to the run of the mill books that are often released. It kept my attention and I was an enjoyable, thought provoking read.

An engrossing read. The character of the protagonist Edward was so well portrayed that for the first time I could fully understand and empathise with the concept of survivor guilt. My heart went out to the young Eddie, the twelve year old sole survivor of a plane crash which destroyed his whole family including his idolized elder brother, Jordan. As Eddie becomes Edward and as he grows through the years until he passes the age his brother was when he died, he grapples with the trauma that could so easily consumer him. His salvation is his friendship with Shay, his rebellious teenage Mexican neighbour. She breathes fresh air into the story. She has the knack of picking him up when his PTSD is overwhelming him. It is through their developing friendship that much needed humour lifts the story as Shay tries so hard, and at times inappropriately comically, to find a way to lift him from his deep depression. When they find the hidden sacks of letters addressed to 'Dear Edward' from the relatives and friends of many of the passengers who went down with the plane, the story rises to another level as Edward begins to understand that so many others were sharing his grief and his despair and it helps him understand something that has really bothered him, why he seemed to gain celebrity status to the extent that he, as a sole survivor, was mobbed by the public on so many occasions. The discovery of the letters helped him accept the psychiatrist's view that the event would always be baked into his bones and the trick was learning to live with it.

I really recommend this book and thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read it.

Well written story about an event that very few people could comprehend so although the subject matter is not relatable, the character and the emotions he goes through are.

The book is touching and emotional, a very nice read.

Eddie Adler is on a plane with his older brother and parents when it crashes. Nearly 200 people died in the crash. He is the sole survivor and goes to live with his Aunt and Uncle. As you can imagine, being the sole survivor catapults him into the public eye and also he becomes a focal point for family and friends of those who perished. This is his story. Told in the present day - before and after the crash, as Eddie becomes Edward and tries to pick up the pieces of his life, we also see flashbacks to what happened on the plane, we meet some of the people who travelled along with him, and get to hear their stories.
This is a wonderful story full of emotion, some negative obviously given the subject matter, but there is also a wonderful positivity that threads its way throughout the narrative. How do you come back from what happened, how do you stop being the one who survived and just start to live again? It's hard enough working out who you are when you are 12 years old but when you add this whole other layer of guilt etc to the mix... well...! Luckily Edward is blessed with a plethora of people on his side. Family, friends, professionals, and other people he meets along his journey through the book. It's a bit reason/season/lifetime if you understand what I mean by that. Basically just like everyone, people come into your life in many ways. Sometimes they come just for the one thing, sometimes they stay and walk with you a while, and some are for keeps. This book epitomises this with an eclectic cast of support characters all offering Edward something.
It's emotional and compelling and a book that will stay with me for a while and probably one that I will re-read in the future; something I rarely do. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano.

It is a very odd book to read when you first begin you think it is solely about Edward the sole survivor of the plane crash. It is about his journey starting with his family moving hence why they are travelling. It follows his life after the crash and his relationships on his journey to have a life and look back at the life left behind.

The book does jump about a bit and gives you snippets of the other passengers on the flight. It was at times a difficult book to follow but it comes together at the end of book with edward trying to work out the path to follow into the future with the people in his life now.

Dear Edward is such an unusual tale. I really enjoyed the different aspects of various characters stories on the plane and at times it was more interesting than Edwards story. Edward was at best annoyingly true in his reaction to his Aunt Lacey and Uncle John but still wurst just annoying. It’s a great story but be prepared to not like Edward constantly.

When a plane crashes en route to Los Angeles, just one of the passengers survives, a 12-year-old boy named Edward. His parents and brother were killed in the crash, along with everyone else on board. Physically suffering and emotionally destroyed, Edward moves to live with his uncle and aunt.

This book follows his experiences in the months and years following the accident, interspersed with heartbreaking scenes from onboard the plane in the hours leading up to the crash, enabling the reader to get to know various passengers and their reasons for travelling. But the main focus of the story is Edward and how, with the help of his new friend Shay, he struggles to overcome the enormity of what being the sole survivor really means. This is partly a coming-of-age story, and partly a very human and honest look at the way people behave around tragedy and loss. I think fans of Celeste Ng will really love this.

Beautifully written heartbreaking story of Eddie, the sole survivor of a plane crash, trying to find his way afterwards.

"I stared at you, this tiny boy with a seatbelt around your waist, until you yelled again. Then I stepped forward and picked you up, and you held me around the neck, and I felt like you were me in the same moment that I was saving you"

This has to be the best book I've re,ad in a long, long time. The story works in alternate chapters of Eddie's flight and Edward's life afterwards. All of the people that Eddie loves die in the plane crash - a crash that he survived - though not uninjured. He has to learn to live again. To become a new and different person where everyone around him - and everything he does - is strange. It's a story of coming to terms with his survival, survivor guilt and making sense of it all.

I read a free advance review copy thanks to Net Galley and the publishers. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

A brilliant and heartbreaking tale of a young boy, the sole survivor of a plane crash, following him as he learns to live a new life in a new town without his closest family but where everyone wants a piece of the miracle child who walked away from a fatal crash. I would definitely recommend this book and will return to it to reread. Thanks NetGalley!