A flight from New York crashes and miraculously there is one young survivor. His slow physical and emotional recovery is described together with his response to the tragedy and the relatives of those who died. The sensitive story telling, engaging characters, gripping narrative and thoughtful insights make for compelling reading. If you are a nervous flyer, probably best to give this one a miss. Otherwise read and enjoy.

I enjoyed this book but I still have mixed feelings about it. Which I can’t quite put my finger on. The other thing that I found a bit confusing while reading the book, is that it keeps going back in time. To the lives of the people who perished in the plane crash, without any warning. Your reading one paragraph which is in the present and in the next paragraph you’ve gone back in time. Once I got used to it, it did become a bit easier with the jumping around. There are also a lot of characters that you have to try and keep track of. I did get a bit mixed up with some of the characters.


This story is based around (Eddie) Edward a 15 year old boy who is the soul survivor of a plane crash. Edward and his family were moving out to California for his mothers new job as a screen writer.

On the flight his mother was in first class as she hadn’t finished the script she was working on. So Edward, his older brother and father were in coach.

Once the crash had happened Edward was in hospital for months recovering from his injuries. While he was in the hospital he was in his own little bubble. As he was protected from the aftermath of the crash and all the stories that were on the news, and all forms of social media.

So on the day Edward left hospital there were lots of people around trying to get a glimpse of what they dubbed as the miracle child. People were trying to touch him, some were crying and others were praying.

When Edward gets to his aunt and uncles they take him up to their spare room. Which is basically set up as a nursery for his aunts failed pregnancies. They offer to change the room to exactly how he wants it, but he says no thank you. Then he goes back down stairs.

Edward is so detached from everything but he finds friendship with his next door neighbours daughter Shay. Every night he hobbles to his neighbours house to go and sleep on the floor of Shay’s bedroom. It becomes the only place that he can actually sleep.

After months of Edward sleeping on Shay’s bedroom floor, her mother tells him that he can no longer sleep in Shay’s room as it isn’t the correct thing to do anymore.

This puts Edward into a bit of a tale-spin, as he doesn’t know where to go. His aunt and uncle find him outside asleep in the cold. If they hadn’t spotted him when they did things could have become a lot worse. After that night Edward decided that he would sleep on the sofa bed in the basement, as he still didn’t want to use the bedroom upstairs.

One night when he couldn’t sleep Edward found himself outside his uncles garage. He went in to just have a look around. Part of the garage had been made in to an office. It had a comfortable chair and stool. He noticed that there were files that had printouts from the internet with everything and anything to do with the plane crash.

After that first night he found himself going back to the garage to read and learn more on the information his uncle had collected. At first he didn’t tell Shay and when he did tell her she also started to join him. Every night he and Shay had to wait until his aunt and uncle and also Shay’s mother had all gone to bed so they wouldn’t be discovered.

Edward’s uncle had collected information about all of the other people on the plane but there were some gaps. As though he hadn’t been able to get any information.

Edward and Shay also discovered 2 large bags that were zipped up and padlocked. They were both sure that they were also to do with the crash. Except they couldn’t open them. After trying a few random numbers they decided to put the date of the crash in and the locks opened.

What they found astounded them both as they where all addressed to Edward. At first Edward hoped that there might be something from his parents. That hope was dashed as they opened a few of the letters and started to read them.

The letters were from relatives of the people who had died in the crash. Some of the letters were wishing him well, where others were asking if he remembered their relatives. Some were requests asking him if he’d follow in their relatives careers or asking him to go on the trips that they were hoping to go on, as their relatives were no longer able to do these.

Shay put a spreadsheet together listing all of the letters, who they were from and what the requests were and if they were going to reply to them.

During this time, Edward was finally given the all clear from the hospital. Which meant he was finally allowed to go back to school. Even though Edward was ahead of the school curriculum, due to him and his brother being home schooled. They decided that he should be in the same classes as Shay to get him settled in, with everything he’d gone through. His headmaster also took Edward under his wing, making sure that once a week he’d help to look after the plants he had in his office, which was a bit like a jungle as there were so many plant.

As the months went by Edward and Shay were still going in to the garage each night to read and log the letters. On one particular night Edwards uncle caught them. As he himself was struggling with sleep, due to the strain in his marriage to Edwards aunt. As the fall out from the crash was also affecting them, because they couldn’t agree on what Edward should know about the crash, with one of them thinking that he was too young to know everything.

His uncle told them that he had been and still was gathering information about the crash and that he was keeping all of the letters safe so Edward could read them when he was older. They all decided that if Edward wanted to know about the crash and read the letters why not do it together.

As time went on with them working together Edwards aunt and uncle were slowly getting back to how they were. Edward was also becoming less detached and was slowly getting back to living, his life as best he could with out his brother and parents.

Over all this is a good book, but there are quite a few characters that you have to keep track of. As I have already said before the story jumps between the past and the present with out any warning.

12 year old Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash which kills his parents and brothers, as well as 191 other people. The chapters switch between the time on the plane leading up to the accident, and Edward's life following the crash. He is taken in by his aunt and uncle and we follow him as he struggles to come to terms with growing up and finding himself, whilst at the same time dealing with grief, survivor guilt and the expectations of those around him. Interspersed with his story are the stories are some of the fellow passengers who died in the crash. Beautifully written, this book had me absorbed - heartbreaking at times, but hopeful in so many ways and ultimately uplifting. It is Edwards's story that is the heart of this book - at times, the snippets of stories about some of the other passengers seemed like a distraction, and inevitably less engaging due to their brevity, but ultimately for me they added to the story and made this a many-layered captivating read.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book and devoured it within 48 hours, constantly thinking about it while having gaps to eat, cook and do housework!

This story is in my favourite format, with character stories from many viewpoints and I really enjoyed alternate chapters from Edward, then from his fellow passengers on the doomed flight. I feel we learnt a lot about the different characters and I could easily picture them all in my head.

We follow the story of Edward and his family, moving from New York to L.A., when Edward is 12 years of age. Hopefully no surprising spoilers if you have already read the blurb, but Edward is the sole survivor of the resulting plane crash and we learn about his recovery from such a devastating event, the story continuing over the next few years. As well as Edward's own struggle to come to terms with what has happened, we also follow the stories of those around him and the impact this has also had on them.

Although there are certainly sad and traumatic parts to the story, I feel we are ultimately left with a feel-good, positive experience. I might delay booking my next flight for a couple of weeks though ...!

Dear Edward might be that rare thing of an original plot, insofar as there is a plot, and the premise is certainly enticing. A 12 year old boy is the sole survivor of a plane crash, as his family relocates from New York to LA, and rebuilds his life under the grieving eye of his aunt and uncle, forging a close friendship with the girl next door.

But the best bits about Dear Edward are the spin-off stories of the other (adult) passengers, and I looked forward to returning to them each time the narrative switched to the weirdly hyper-aware, omniscient Edward. His observations of life and people, and the equally omniscient narrator's observations of him, are granular in detail. This is fine in short doses but when every page is filled with Edward's understandings of the nuances of, for example, his aunt and uncle's relationship, it can get a little wearing. And stagnant too - there is very little to propel the plot.

I was also unconvinced by the idea that so many (in fact all, I think) of the plane crash victims' loved ones would write to Edward in the way they do, which is the central pillar of the story.

However the back stories and lost futures of the other passengers held my sympathy throughout - even the ostensibly unpleasant wolf of Wall St who falls for the air stewardess. I began to wish that this was a book more about them - perhaps an interconnected series of short stories, anchored in the sadness that we know they all die. I certainly think that, of all of them, Edward is the least interesting character and I would have preferred any of the others to be the sole survivor.

Having said that, the opening of Dear Edward is strong and compelling; the ending is sweet and satisfying. And there are some truly beautiful bits of writing throughout.

Dear Edward tells the story of 12 year old Edward, the sole survivor of a plane crash, in which he loses his brother and his parents, and the overwhelming public display of interest in trying to understand why he survived when all others did not. The central character of Edward presented as rather unrealistic, attributed with reasoning far beyond his years, which failed to elicit empathy, on my part, for the character. Likewise, the public displays of reverence and adoration towards Edward were unconvincing as realistic outpouring of personal grief and incomprehension of the tragedy. Maybe would have been more intellectually stimulating by an in-depth back story on each of the victims, including the pilots, as well as a detailed analysis of what went wrong. An ok read I suppose.

I was really excited to receive an advanced reader copy in the post from the publishers and my thanks to them and Netgalley for my copy.  This book is being published on 20 February, 2020.

Dear Edward is about Eddie/Edward a 12 year old boy who is the sole survivor of an airline crash in the USA, killing 191 passengers and crew and his mother, father and idolised other brother Jordan.  Left in the care of his aunt and uncle Eddie has to come to terms with his grief, survivor guilt and learn how to live in a world without his family and everything he has known for the past 12 years.

Dear Edward took me a little while to connect with and I think this is because the chapters alternate between the passengers on the fated aircraft and Eddie's life "after".  There were so many characters on the plane the author gave a voice to that at times I was confused and unable to keep track of who was who.

As a parent (and a human being) it was impossible not to feel strong emotions for Eddie and there was one moment towards the end that I had to choke back a tear or two.  Throughout Eddie's story his guilt and life coping mechanisms are heartbreaking and his total and utter grief for his older brother is so real and so painful that it's difficult to read at times.  His aunt and uncle who had no children now have full responsibility for a grief stricken 12 year old boy and having to support him whilst coping with their own grief is an ongoing battle.

This is a story about survival and hope and overall I thought this was a well written, thought provoking and emotional story.

On 12th June 2013 the Adler family (Bruce, Jane and sons Jordan and Eddie) board a plane at Newark Airport bound for Los Angeles. They are a lovely family and the bond between the brothers is strong and they converse without words. By the evening all those
on board are dead except for Eddie, the sole survivor, the miracle boy. This beautifully written story is told in alternate storylines detailing the flight itself (the crash is chilling) and Edward’s story as he learns to survive, overcome his grief, love and hope again. Eddie stays behind with the victims and its Edward who survives.

There is a lot to admire in the storytelling. The characters on the plane are acutely observed from utterly bonkers Florida escaping another husband, libidinous Mark Lassio, soldier Benjamin Stillman struggling with his sexuality and newly pregnant Linda. Jordan Adler is wonderful and I love the fraternal bond. The characters who help Edward to survive are terrific too, his aunt and uncle and especially Besa and Shay who live next door. Shay in particular helps bring Edward back to life and she, apart from Edward, is the standout character.

The power in the writing lies in how Ann Napolitano depicts Edwards struggle post crash. He initially feels ambivalent, flat, cloaked in a stifling blanket, he can’t eat, can’t sleep and he’s an object of fascination. He’s gawped at, photographed,, touched, written about in truth and lies in every form of media. He struggles to move on but after a lapse of time is expected to. However, with Shay’s friendship and support and letters from the relatives of victims from the flight he regains his purpose, becomes lighter and begins to live again.

Overall, it’s a very well written, beautiful and emotional story. I love reading Edwards thoughts and how he comes to certain realisations. The friendship between him and Shay is a thing of beauty as she helps him heal and he helps her make the best of her life. Shay fills the void left by Jordan just as he fills a void in her. It’s wonderful, life affirming and a book I won’t forget in a hurry.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Books UK for the ARC.

A plane crash with only one survivor. Ann Napolitano has captured all the guilt felt by the 12 year old Eddie who not only loses his parents but his much loved brother. Dear Edward alternates between two time frames: the plane journey, and details a selection of passengers whose lives we learn about, and Eddie’s (now Edward)’s mental and physical recuperation. For some reason I failed to connect, and therefore empathise, with any of the largely unlikeable passengers and so found these chapters difficult to read. But I did feel sorry for Edward’s aunt and uncle who opened their home to him at a time when their marriage was troubled. Edward’s traumatic recovery is ultimately facilitated by Shay, the girl who lives next door. Their friendship is engaging and for me absolutely the best aspect of this book are the Dear Edward letters they find. Ultimately this story did not move me which, given its storyline, was a disappointment for me. Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin UK for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book. I was expecting great things from reading previous reviews but was left slightly wanting more. Yes there are a pile of letters waiting for the little boy but that almost seems to be in the final quarter of the book. There was a lot of build up but not much going on at the end. It all finished rather abruptly and I did not think it lived up to the hype.

Tense yet sad. One child survives an horrific airline accident and is left trying to piece together the shards of his life without his family.
The drama builds as the story moves between the present and the time on the aircraft leading up to the event. I thought that was very cleverly done. I could feel the anxiety build knowing what was coming. The attention to detail of how a flight is controlled and the information about parts of an aircraft and why they’re there, really helped to give this story a sense of reality.

A luminous, life-affirming novel about a 12-year-old boy who is the sole survivor of a deadly plane crash. One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles. There are 216 passengers aboard: among them a young woman taking a pregnancy test in the airplane toilet; a Wall Street millionaire flirting with the air hostess; an injured soldier returning from Afghanistan; and two beleaguered parents moving across the country with their adolescent sons, bickering over who gets the window seat. When the plane suddenly crashes in a field in Colorado, the younger of these boys, 12-year-old Edward Adler, is the sole survivor.


This book follows Edward’s coming of age following the disaster that sees him lose his family. It explores how he learns to live with the aftermath and how it effects him developing new relationship with others and how he sees himself. Why did he survive? What is his purpose? What is particularly touching is his relationship with Shay the girl next door who together make a discovery of a bag full of letters addressed to Dear Edward...

This books follows the the disaster and the following years dealing with all the characters sympathetically and with warmth whilst keeping them all real bringing their life’s to life.

A really great heart warming novel.

Thank you to Netgalley for an advance copy of this ARC.

I had high hopes for this book but unfortunately for me it didn’t deliver.

I found it very difficult to really like Edward. And at times I felt like his parts of the story were just plodding along without adding to the book.
The concept was a very good one. I liked reading about the lives of the people of the plane but felt it wasn’t covered in enough detail. This could actually have been made into two books. The people on the aircraft and the second on the aftermath.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in return for a honest review.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with this book.
A stomach-churning read, because in the plane story line, you know whats coming. Whilst the theme drew me in, the constant to and fro from the two different time lines was haphazard and confusing. There were too many stories being told from the characters on the flight which was confusing and unnecessary. It was only Eddies story that made the read worthwhile. If the author had given Edward's Aunt and Uncle's perspectives, the book would have been much better.

An enjoyable read about a twelve year old boy surviving a plane crash. Being the only one to survive it tells of his ordeal growing up and the friendship he develops with a young girl who helps him adjust back to sort of normal life.. Perhaps a little to much depth into some of the other passengers on the plane. Some of these did not add greatly to the storyline and confused the story in parts.

A magical book. Uplifting despite a tragic storyline. My heart breaks over and over for Edward and those around him. I’ve been lucky enough to not have to deal close up with grief, but this book seems to deal with it in such an empathetic yet matter of fact way. You can truly feel Edward’s excruciating pain and torture. I can definitely read this with my Year 6 children in school as a masterclass in resilience, emotional heartbreak and an unfaltering desire to understand the human brain. Outstanding writing.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano is one of the few books that instantly captures your heart, then shatters it into hundred pieces and teaches you many life lessons at the same time.

"A reporter holds up a copy of The New York Times to a camera, to show a huge block headline, the kind normally reserved for presidential elections and moonwalks. It reads:

191 DIE IN PLANE CRASH; 1 SURVIVOR

The relatives have only one question when the press briefing comes to close; they all lean toward it like a window in a dark room:

"How is the boy?"

Dear Edward features a boy called Edward, who is flying with his family to move across states. This is their chance of a new life, a brand new start. When the plane crashes, he is the only survivor.

The author tells the story through two different timelines; during the flight and after the plane crash. We follow Edward's life and how he is coping with the loss of everything he knew. We also see how he is struggling to cope with the unwanted celebrity title he has now.

I have always been intrigued by planes and plane crashes. I used to watch every single episode of the documentary on Discovery Channel back in the days. And today, I like to listen to the Plane Crash Podcast by Michael Bauer. I have had some bad experiences while flying, and have always wanted to understand what exactly happens when a plane crashes, and what aviation does to prevent this from happening in the future. This book contains amazing details about the crash, and my hidden mystery person inside me was deeply satisfied by all those pilot dialogues and explanations.

Edward's grief and growing up journey is so painful. He survived, but everyone he loved and cared about in his life died. He is lucky to have survived, but why does he then feel guilty? Why did he swap places with his brother on the flight? If they didn't - his brother would still be alive now. The brother relationship was written so perfectly. The love and the bond they shared for each other was so strong.

Despite the fact that Edward is the main character in this story, we also get to meet so many other characters, the people who lost their lives in the crash. Through flashbacks and "during flight" scenes, as well as encounters from their families, we get to see all the wishes that will never come through, all the hopes and dreams buried under the plane ash.

And that is why Edward's journey is so difficult. He doesn't have to only carry to guilt for his own family, but all those other lives as well. Edward receives letters from the families asking him to do all these things that these people would do. He is asked to become a musician, a doctor, a teacher, to travel around the world, learn knitting, etc, and Edward feels obligated to do all of these things, to give peace to the families.

I knew this book would stay with me forever from the moment I started reading the first few pages. It is so harshly real and painful, but what it does it remind us how every day is special and we should be thankful for it! We may not get a tomorrow, but that's why we have today. Let's make the best of it!

Thank you to the team at Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Also thank you to the team at LoveReading UK, for allowing me to be their Super Ambassador of this book for the month of November.

I found this a little too confusing as the lives of the other flight passengers did not really gel with me, too many characters with disjointed descriptions. The book is divided between telling the story of the other passengers and the rest to Edward - the miracle boy and how he is coping with what everyone feels is a worst scenario.
Although I felt the emotional impact on Edward I could not come to terms enough to enjoy the story.

Dear Edward is basically a book about everyone’s worst nightmare. 12 year old Edward Adler wakes one morning to find he is the sole survivor of a plane crash. His father, mother and older brother all died.

In the aftermath Edward searches for reasons why he survived and what that means for his future, struggles with his new life without his family and his newfound fame, and simultaneously tries to navigate growing up.

The book begins with Bruce and Jane Adler walking through airport security with their two sons. Eddie is twelve years old and walks through with his parents, but his brother Jordan decides to hold back from his family. When it is his turn, he tells those in charge of the screening that he wishes to opt out of going through the screening machine.

Jane believes Bruce is to blame for his insistence on challenging authority when he is home-schooling the boys.

The book divides itself between the plane journey and the aftermath and shows the reader insights into the lives of the other passengers. The injured soldier recently returned from Afghanistan and struggling to adjust to life as a civilian, a rich cancer patient all alone except for his nurse, a Wall Street worker trying desperately to flirt with the air hostess, even Edward’s parents and brother are exposed to us.

I thought the relationship between Jordon and Edward was well written. Close siblings but not saccharine sweet.

“The brothers are able to read each other effortlessly; their parents are often mystified to find that Jordan and Eddie have conducted an entire conversation and come to a decision without a word. They’ve always operated as a unit and done everything together.

In the last year, though, Jordan has been pulling away. The way he says his brother’s name, now, means: I’m still here, I’ll always come back.”

Dear Edward perfectly illustrated the bereavement process and I really felt like I was witnessing the after math of a disaster.

I liked that the book wasn’t just about Eddie and his family and I felt as if we got to know some interesting characters. I cared what happened to each and every one of them.

One of the things I enjoyed about the book was the discovery of the letters from the family of the other passengers. I thought that was a really good touch.

Dear Edward was a unique and beautifully written book.

This is the story of Edward (Eddie) the soul survivor of a place crash that killed his immediate family.
The novel alternates between how Edward is dealing with being the lucky one and the story of the other passengers on the flight as well as the crash.

I really enjoyed the writing style of the author and how the issues of coping with overwhelming loss, a catastrophic event and just living your life were addressed. I took my time reading this novel as I needed time to process the subject matter. I feel it is a story I will return to.

Thank you net galley for my ARC copy.