I wasn't sure what to expect from this book but very quickly got into it. A plane crash claims 191 lives and leaves one survivor - 11 year old Edward.

As I read through, I loved that Edwards relationship with his brother was so well defined and loving, as I have a wonderful relationship with my sister also so I felt I could relate.

As the book continued, I thought I had 'sussed it' - that Edward had been protected from the crash in some way by his brother, or there was something unusual about the plane crash that enabled Edward to live - but I was wrong. Sadly the book became really boring for me about 3/4 of the way through when it became obvious that there were to be no 'surprises' or interesting anomalies.

The ending of the book was, for me, disappointing. A shame, for a book that captured my attention at the start became one I wanted to flick through near the end.

What a great book. I devoured this and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was an easy read.
The book is about Eddie who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. He is 12 years old and relocating with his family when the unimaginable happens.
The story goes between the day of the crash and today as he finds his way around life without his family.
Brilliant!

Edward Adler is the only survivor of a plane crash. After leaving hospital he goes to live with his Aunt and Uncle, his mother's younger sister.
A twelve year old boy on the edge of his teens, already hormonal before having to deal with death of his brother and parents.
His aunt and uncle are also going through the trauma of miscarriages and a strained relationship, are now having to deal with Edward, who chooses not to sleep in the nursery, but next door in the bedroom of Shay, who befriends him from when he first arrives.
The story switches between Edward and how his life moves on in the years after the crash, and what is happening on the flight leading up to the crash. This is one of the times that this does work. It doesn't detract from the story.
A few of the other passengers are described and the reason for this becomes clear later in the book.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC copy in return for an honest review.

An emotional, heart rending but heart warming book - not one to read when you're about to fly off on holiday though!

Oh my goodness. What a beautiful book which was sad and uplifting all at the same time .
You are drawn into the life of Edward and Shay and feel every bit of his pain through his story.
I recommend this book to everyone to read.

This is an incredibly moving and flawless novel. The main character a young boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash is so well written and portrayed. I really liked this book.

What a lovely moving book. It flawlessly moves from the past to the present building the stories of the characters. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

Dear Edward is an immensely readable novel with a highly original storyline. It starts when Eddie, his older brother Jordan and their parents join 188 others boarding a flight going from New York to Los Angeles. Edward's family are relocating to experience a new life on the West coast. But the plane crashes. Eddie [ from this point on he is only known as Edward ] is the only survivor. How he comes to terms with this dreadful disaster is skilfully interwoven with flashbacks revealing what happened during the fatal flight. A cleverly crafted novel it delves deeply into the psychological issues he faces and how Shay - a girl with her own, slightly odd characteristics - proves to be a real catalyst to his recovery. Sensitive, perceptive and thought provoking this novel makes one re-evaluate how society should treat survivors of a catastrophe so as not to deepen their trauma. Definitely add Dear Edward to your bookshelf.

I had high hopes for this book but I just couldn’t get into it. It jumped back and forward and I felt it was rushed in a way. I hate leaving a poor review but unfortunately I have to.

A plane en route from New York to Los Angeles crashes in Colorado countryside, killing all but one young 12 year old boy - Edward. His older brother, mother and father are amongst those whose lives are lost, leaving only an aunt and uncle to look after him when he is eventually discharged from hospital in a totally traumatised state. How does a 12 year old grieve and survive such a shock? The reader is taken through his road to recovery in New Jersey interspersed with the experience of the actual flight. He naturally finds it difficult to settle and to achieve the anonymity he craves, but thanks to Shay, a neighbour’s daughter, he eventually makes progress in small steps and starts to find his feet. His world is once more turned somewhat upside down when he and Shay discover that his uncle’s shed is harbouring piles of documentation relating to the disaster, including two bags full of unopened letters from relatives of deceased passengers. Reading these forces him to face up to his future. A deeply moving story.

An interesting read. Edward is the only survivor of a plane crash. I thought that overall the story was good and it held my attention most of the time. It is well written but a bit too long in places.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Eddie steps onboard a flight taking him to LA from New York. He and his family are moving for his mother's job as a script writer. His fellow passengers are all travelling for life-changing reasons, a soldier returning home having been wounded in Afghanistan, Linda travelling towards a new life with the man she loves, Florida doing the opposite. Mark is a business magnate, young and hungry, heading to the deal of his life, Crispin Cox was a young hungry business magnate travelling for the deal of his life - to save it now he is wheelchair bound and riddled with cancer. And then the plane crashes. There is one survivor, Eddie, or Edward as he now is - Eddie died wit his family on the plane, and Edward is what's left of that person.

This novel is written in two time frames which in itself is a triumph as once you know the plane crashes and everyone is killed, going back to the plane and charting its final flight could fall flat, but it doesn't and despite the very factual treatment of the actions of the pilots and the causes of the crash, it is dreadfully poignant. The other half of the novel charts Edward's life in the immediate aftermath and the subsequent years as he comes to terms with a new reality.

The title of the novel comes from the letters that people write to Edward that he doesn't discover until two years after the crash and how he handles the requests from people, some doable (write to my children, they lost their mother) and others less so (be a pianist / nurse / musician / climb a mountain for my lost loved one). One stands out for him and his new best friend Shay and that one makes a difference and changes the way Edward thinks about what has happened to him.

The explanation of the causes of the crash is astounding, reads like a passage from Aircrash Investigations and just as detailed. The research must have been lengthy, a labour of love, and yet probably quite harrowing for the author.

Although the novel is not written in my favourite tense, first person present and it jumps from character to character in a way that can be unnerving, I suspect the published book with the full, correct, formatting will make it a lot easier to decipher - the arc provided for this review was appalling and made it very hard to read (all italics ran together into one loooooooog word, the lines were muddled, some ran straight on, others broke in weird places) so I have to trust that the author wasn't too eccentric and wrote in a manner that could be followed more logically.

A fabulous, thought-provoking novel. It was hard to see how it could end in a satisfying manner, but it manages it.

I found this book interesting to begin with, but struggled to keep reading it. I did not find the main character very endearing and he seemed to moan a lot. I really only kept reading the book to find out what caused the plane to crash. You need to read the whole book to find this out. When I finally finished I was pleased that I had read the book and had not given up. It was nice story but not my sort of book.

Started reading this; finished a few hours later, having read it all in one sitting. I was utterly drawn in by the story and characters, and cried at the end.

Not for me, the first few chapters felt all over the place, but I’m not sure if that’s because it is an early in-edited copy and everything was merged in together...paragraphs, new sections etc, it all seemed a bit messy. I will try it again when an edited copy comes out and it’s more clear where one section ends and another starts.

Wow, I don't think a book has ever moved me or will stay with me as much or as long as this one will.
I loved everything about it! I haven't been able to put it down since the second I picked it up and I feel so privileged to know I'm one of the first people to read it.
Edward is such a loveable character and I felt like I was there with him.
The way the book was written was great, going back to the plane crash so I could find out exactly what happened gave so much more depth to the story too.
I will recommend this book to everyone!

I must admit, I was a bit dubious about reading thus, as a lot of people had said it was slow and/or depressing. Truthfully, it’s not. Happy book - it’s very thoughtful and the grief is relentless.
I did find the stories of another passengers a little hard work - knowing they were about to die in a plane crash (not a spoiler), it seemed a bit unnecessary to know so much about them. However, I’d suggest you stick with it - Edward’s story brings them into it in the later part of the book.
I found Edward himself to be a likeable, believable character, and the book to be interest reading. I liked how his new life slowly came together with acceptance of the horrifying events leading up to it. The use of the time jumps throughout can be slightly annoying, but pulls well together as the book progresses.
Recommended.

This duel narrative switches and shifts, much like he motion of the plane on its journey. A powerful tale of change, devastation and triumph. How in he midst of despair, friendship forms and saves what’s left. Simply beautiful.

So much more than just a coming of age story, this is a beautifully crafted tale of the path a 12-year old boy has to navigate when he loses everything that makes up who he is. As he painfully pulls himself into a place where he can - just about - survive, you are rooting for him on every page. Past and present are gracefully alternated with totally believable characters developed at every stage. Read, weep and rejoice.

A powerful premise: lone child survives airplane crash which kills 191. This story explores how a sole survivor goes on with their life after losing their family and becoming a totem for all the families of the dead. I was interested in the peripheral characters here and how they treated Edward and could empathise with those who wanted contact with someone who was connected with their loss. This isn't a cheerful read but is thoughtful and reflective on topics of love and community and healing. My only quibble was with the romance aspect - I felt that was unnecessary and took away from the purity and innocence of the central relationship. Why couldn't it just be an incredible connection that didn't require conventional definition?