I received a digital advanced reader's copy of this novel through NetGalley.
At age 12 Edward alone survives the crash of an airliner. His mother, father, and older brother are among the 191 passengers who do not survive. A traumatized Edward, taken in by his loving Aunt and Uncle, struggles to overcome his grief and come to terms with his status as the boy who survived.
As the reader follows Edward's story of recovery, Napolitano has structured the novel to provide different viewpoints of the hours before the crash. Edward sits in economy class with his father and brother Jordan. The family is moving from New York to L.A. Their mother is working on a script rewrite that she must finish so she traveled separately in first class. Among the passengers are an elderly business baron, a woman leaving her marriage who believes in reincarnation, a young pregnant woman hoping to find marriage and a future with a biologist in California, a military veteran, an up and coming business mogul, a beautiful stewardess, and the pilots. The reader sees the plane trip through their eyes and each of their characters is nicely developed.
Some time after the crash, Edward and his friend Shay discover bags of letters stored in his uncle's garage. The letters addressed to Edward are chiefly from people related to the other crash victims. Hearing the stories of these people and their deceased loved ones contributes to Edward's healing process as he struggles to determine what he is supposed to do with the life that was saved.

Dear Edward was a December Book of the Month pick and I think I’m in the minority in thinking it was just okay. The story is told in alternating timelines…one during the flight focusing on a number of different passengers and one after the crash focusing on Edward and his recovery. I preferred the post-crash timeline and wish that had been the entirety of the book…maybe delving deeper into Lacey and John’s (Edward’s Aunt and Uncle) marriage. Though the different passengers’ stories did tie into Edward’s post-crash experience eventually, I still didn’t think they needed as much real estate as they got. I also thought some plot points were ridiculous and unrealistic (think reincarnation and some outrageous requests asked of Edward) and the whole book was overly neat and tidy (and maybe a little Hallmark-y?). That being said, there was some excellent life wisdom towards the end of the book and I was intrigued by the media attention Edward received and his aunt’s and uncle’s reaction to it.

This was such a heartbreaking book. It's not constantly devastating, but it's definitely not a light read. 

Reading this made me question a lot of things but the one I kept returning to was how would you be able to go on if you were the only survivor of a tragedy? Do you have any sort of responsibility to do something amazing with your life because almost 200 people died and you didn't? Do you have the responsibility to be a public figure because the whole country prayed for you? And if you were a child when it happened, does that change any of the answers? 

It was impossible not to love Edward and to not feel his grief. It was especially hard in the early pages because he's 12 and everything is too big to deal with. It would be too much for me, as someone who's almost 40, and how would you even begin if you weren't even a teenager?

This book is an amazing experience. It's heartbreaking but also very human in the best way. Highly recommended.

Dear Edward is captivating in its ability to cause the reader to willingly ponder the unthinkable and cheer on the protagonist’s pursuit of reclaiming his life. I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Ann Napolitano has written a book that is excellent on so many levels. Her portrayal of Edward and what he is going through is phenomenal. I loved Dear Edward and hated to reach the end.

Such a gripping story of loss and coming of age, prosperity, good will and generosity with an overwhelming sadness. Wonderful writing as the emotional upheaval was felt at every corner.

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.

Such a heartbreaking, beautifully written book. While this is no easy read, it is one that will stick with me for quite awhile. I've found myself telling everyone I know about this book. Trigger warnings for this read as it deals with PTSD and traumatic losses. However, if you can get past those issues, I think that you will immensely love this book. It's a great look at grief, love , and friendship.

This is such a beautiful story about a plane crash where over 100 people die and 11 year old Edward is the sole survivor. The book is told from multiple perspectives the day of the crash and modern day Edward.

There are so many moments in this book that will stay with me. I did not love all of the perspectives the day of and thought they were unnecessary but still did add some perspective to Edward's present day story as well. This was so lovely and will likely stay on my best of list for the year.

This has vibes of Before the Fall by Noah Hawley.

Wow. What a wonderful story that will tug on your heart strings really hard. It's a story that will stay with you long after you have read the last page. Happy reading!

Edward Adler is just 12 years old when he becomes the sole survivor of a plane crash. Do you remember what it was like to be 12? You're already crawling with adolescence, trying to figure out where you fit in - add in surviving a terrible fate, and you can only imagine the coming-of-age tale within.

Told in alternating pieces of story from a cast of vibrant characters, Napolitano engages all of our emotions in this tumultuous read. Asking some of the hardest questions we face in a lifetime - who are we, when we lose the people we love most? Where does our identity lie in the midst of tragedy? And how do you find belonging, when the people you've belonged to your entire life are taken too soon?

An emotional ride of a novel of loss, grief, and hope.

I loved this book! It was totally different from what I was expecting- I enjoyed the back and forth nature of before and after the plane crash. I also loved that while the book was from the young boy's perspective, we learned about so many other character's lives. This was interesting, fast, and I'm still thinking about it says after I finished !

I did purchase this for my library, two copies. I found the story sad for little Edward. I'm glad I read it, but the story was sad. Just wanted him to find some happiness.

Twelve-year-old Edward Adler and his clever, unconventional, loving family are flying from Newark to Los Angeles to begin a new life when their plane crashes in Colorado. Edward is the only person on the plane to survive. Horribly injured and the object of international attention, Edward must find a way to deal with his pain and grief and move on.

Dear Edward has two timelines: one follows Edward after the crash, and the other a number of passengers, including the Adler family, from their arrival at the airport to the moment of their death.

I found the story of the plane and its passengers the more interesting of the two. There is, of course, the mystery of why the plane crashes, which is not revealed until near the end of the novel. Even without a crash though, the setting is inherently dramatic, people of different backgrounds confined in one small space, forced to rub up against each other (sometimes literally).

The people on the flight are all preoccupied with events in their lives, the turning points that led them to be on that particular plane at that particular time, and there is a poignancy to knowing that all their thoughts and hopes and fears will come to nothing.

The story of Edward in the aftermath of the crash is moving: the difficulty he faces being in the public eye, the shock for his aunt and uncle who suddenly find themselves caring for someone in great need at a time when they have issues of their own. However, the difficulty from a storytelling point of view is that the drama of the story is at the beginning. Recovery involves life becoming less about highs and lows, more about embracing the ordinary.

As the years move on, Edward tries to re-establish his sense of identity and find his purpose. The story can veer towards the saccharine at times. Edward is surrounded by a series of benign figures who are all, in different ways, trying to help him, and aside from one hiccup in his relationship with his closest friend, Shay, they seem unstinting in their desire to heal Edward and to negate their own desires.

It’s as if they have obediently accepted their role in life as secondary characters, though to be fair, this may in part be because the story is told from Edward’s point of view. (Shay does chide him at one point for his lack of interest in other people’s problems.)

I also felt that the purpose Edward stumbles on was a little unconvincing and out of step with the themes of the story. It takes his grief and makes something uplifting of it, but I think a bit more grit and ambiguity would have made for a more convincing ending.

There are moments of great emotion, beautifully written. You understand the terrible sense of loss Edward feels, the helplessness of the adults around him, the sense of being alienated from his own body and his own life. The narrative also subtly echoes Edward’s past life in the present, both in what is there and what is lost. For me, though, it is those other stories, of the people who died, whose conflict never had a resolution, which are more moving.

12-year-old Edwards boards a plane with his entire family for what should be a normal flight. But it’s anything book. The flight crashes and Edward is the sole survivor. Edward becomes an almost mythical figure in the public eye with everyone from family members of the deceased to total strangers holding him up as a beacon of hope. But is Edward really the luckiest little boy in the world? Or is he the unluckiest? This book examines that with alternating point of views and timelines that include the various passengers on the plane and Edward, in the present. I loved this book. It’s incredibly emotional (I cried towards the end), and it struck so many chords for me, as a mother. I loved the different POVs and all of the different characters. My only mistake was reading this on a plane. (DO NOT DO THAT!) But I loved it. Highly recommend.

This book blew me away. It was so well written, full of emotions… I even could say that this story, the story of a boy who is the only Survivor of a plane crash, will haunt me for a long time, I started reading this book the same week of a big plane crash that shattered the life of 176 people. It made me think of all the family members that are forever affected by the incident. I loved the way it was written, with flashbacks of moments in the plane and of all the people on board...and chapters of the recovery edward is going through. This novel is a masterpiece.

Thank you NetGalley and Publisher for this early copy!

I was hooked from page one of this beautifully written novel. The format is unique, as it switches between before the plane crash and after. It was an emotional novel that focuses on character more than plot but does so brilliantly that you don't even miss it.

5 Stars out of 5 Stars, full review coming soon.

"...I felt like you were saving me in the same moment that I was saving you."

I don't quite know how I feel about this book. It was not what I was expecting, which was more of a thriller type story. But that is my fault and I can't rate it lower because of that. The synopsis of the book and reviews from other readers were pretty clear that this is more of a literary tale than a thriller. I just didn't pay enough attention.

I almost quit reading after finishing about the first 25% of the book. I was bored and depressed.

The story focused on the Adler family - mom, dad, older brother, and younger brother Eddie. They are moving from New York City to Lo s Angeles because of the mom's job. They leave from Newark Airport heading west and the fully packed plane crashes in a northern Colorado field, leaving 191 people dead and one survivor, 12 year-old Eddie.

This is a book about loss and grief, not only of Eddie but of all the surviving friends and family of the dead. The book does focus on Eddie (who calls himself Edward after the crash), his aunt and uncle who take him in, and Shay, the girl next door who is the same age as Edward.

I really enjoyed about the last third of the book, which to me focused more on hope and healing. I wouldn't read this book again but it definitely made me think 'what if' many times throughout the story.'

I received this book from Random House through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an review.

The synopsis of this one pulled me in! It’s a coming-of-age story about a young boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. It examines the effects that accident and his grief then have on his teenage years.

For me, the book was too easy. I was looking for some serious examination of survior’s guilt and grief, but it lacked in these areas. I found many parts of the story unrealistic and I found myself continually hoping for more. One aspect I really liked was Edward’s relationship with Shay, a girl who lived next door from his aunt and uncle. She provided the grounding Edward needed to deal with his new circumstances.

This book seriously blew me away. I actually ended up in tears after I got done reading this.
Not only did this story captivate me, but Barnes & Noble did an really wonderful short and sweet interview with the author on their podcast.
This is a story about a boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash that kills his entire family. He is recovering and learning to not only survive, but to actually live in a world without his mother, father and brother. This book seriously hit me right on the heart, and the vulnerability and humanity of the characters was so incredibly powerful.
As Edward, who before the crash was called Eddie, heals and grows up, he discovers his aunt and uncle have been hiding bags of letters from the crash victim's family and friends in the house. His sole goal is to read every single letter and try to find a way to fulfill what all these families are asking of him after the death of their loved ones. The emotional journey of this story was heart-wrenchingly powerful and I loved every page of it.