Thank you, Netgalley and Random House for sending me a digital ARC, in exchange for an honest review.

I REALLY wanted to like "Dear Edward" by Ann Napolitano, but everything was just so dull and pointless. Even though the writing was decent, I had a difficult time keeping track of all the different narratives. There were too many characters. I was only interested in hearing about Edward's story, but the narrative kept switching back too many times and I became bored (I get bored very easily). I ended up skimming the majority of the second half. This book was too long as well. I just wanted it to be over. The story lacked emotion. I didn't feel any connection to any of the characters, their backstories weren't compelling enough. The main focus should've been on Edward. He was supposed to the heart and soul of this book, and he felt more like an afterthought. A very underwhelming plot, and I didn't like overall tone. It felt very disjointed, sterile, and awkward. A lot of people loved this book so I'm in the minority here. A frustrating read to say the least. Ugh.

Release date: January 6, 2020

DEAR EDWARD is a tough book if you ever plan on taking a flight again, or have loved ones who take planes as modes of transportation regularly. This book is about death, and finding life after tragedy, and not for the faint of heart. You will feel like you are on a plane about to crash, and that's definitely not for everyone.

I stuck with it though, because I liked the story of Edward, the sole survivor (at age 13) of a plane crash. After he loses his whole family, he goes to live with his aunt and uncle, and befriends the girl next door Shay. Edward and Shay were certainly my favorite characters, and their friendship and love story is what truly holds this book together. I didn't enjoy going back and forth between Edward's life after the crash, and what is happening on the plane leading up to the crash.

I think this book could have benefited with a fuller plot, delving deeper into Edward and his life moving forward. It's a very unique and interesting concept, but I feel like the surface was barely scratched. I can see this book being a huge deal when it's released in January 2020. As sad as the subject matter, the ending is very heartwarming and made me tear up a bit. If you can stomach the plane crash, it's a worthwhile read.

this coming-of-age story goes back and forth between what happened on the plane prior to the crash and the life of the young boy after he survives this tragic event. the story is heartbreaking and hope-filled all at the same time, and while I don’t typically like books that have two timelines, I couldn’t wait to find out what happens in this one. this book comes out the beginning of January, so mark your calendars! it’s definitely worth reading.

This is an interesting and sad story about a sole survivor of a plane crash. Edward is a 12 year old boy who loses his entire family on a relocation trip across the country for his mom’s new job. The book tells the story of Eddie’s life and recovery from this life altering ordeal. Throughout the book we also hear about the other passengers and their stories but the main focus is on Eddie. We witness his struggles but we also see his recovery and how it will shape his future. The author does a great job taking us through the grief process and how a person heals. #DearEdward
#AnnNapolitano #NetGalley

I had a difficult time putting this novel down, it is that good. This the story of a 12-year-old surviving a horrific plane crash, his story after the crash alternating with the hours before and during the actual crash. At a pivotal point in the novel the format is partially epistolary and it works great to advance the narrative. Constructed with craft and skill as well as great character development. “We contain the other, hopelessly and forever.” - James Baldwin

Twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the soul survivor of a plane crash. His brother, parents and 183 passengers perished in a plane crash from Newark to Los Angels. Edward's story is told in past and present day but essentially deals with the aftermath of the plane crash.

After a lengthily stay in the hospital, Edward goes to live with his Aunt and Uncle. He has to readjust to life, being a soul survivor and navigate around his injuries. Edward quickly bonds with and develops and intense and heart warming friendship with his neighbor Shay. She helps him heal and find solace in his life. She helps him adjust to major changes in his life such as attending a public school (he was home schooled before) and to come to terms with and find a level of peace association with being the sole survivor. This is incredibly pivotal as it helps him deal with an unexpected discovery.

Napolitano writes an incredibly moving story and the way she captures the moments on the doomed flight put's you in the plane seat. The background stories on various passengers adds to the story

4.5 stars!

Dear Edward is a book unlike any I've read before - a young boy is the only survivor of a plane crash that kills his parents, his brother and hundreds of other strangers. Becoming the public face of a miracle, Edward is thrust into the spotlight, something he does not want and us readers get to view how his life is changed as a result of the crash. Told in alternating chapters from the actual plane from various passengers as well as after the crash solely from Edward's perspective, this story will move you and I hope you will find it as special as I did!

On June 12, 2013, on a flight from New York City to Los Angeles, 191 people are killed in a plane crash. The sole survivor, 12-year-old Edward Adler. Although Edward recovers physically, learning to deal with the fact that he is alive while so many others, including his parents and older brother, are not is a slow and painful process. With split narration between Edward's post-crash years and the time leading up to the fatal accident, Dear Edward shows that surviving is just the beginning.


Napolitano hits the emotions just right in this novel, making you deeply care about Edward's progress while not turning the story into a full-blown tearjerker. A touching tale, Napolitano perfectly conveys Edward's complicated coming of age years, giving you hope that even in the midst of such tragedy, joy can be found. Certainly a must-read among the new 2020 book releases.

Twelve-year-old Edward is the sole survivor in a plane crash and is sent to live with his aunt and uncle. The story moves back and forth between the plane setting before it crashes and after the crash during Edward's new life in New Jersey as he befriends his schoolmate next door neighbor. This present timeline follows his coming-of-age as a survivor: the media attention, the trauma, the therapy. This story is told well - moving and heartwrenching while it tells the story of imperfect people in the aftermath of tragedy. The story begins its conclusion with Edward's discovery of letters written to him after the crash - hundreds of them, many of them from relatives and friends of the other passengers. The plane scenes shine light on several passengers, including the backstory, motivations, and aspirations. While moving, some are rather flat and borderline stereotypes and their stories don't carry over into the present timeline other than to tie them to single letters in Edward's possession. In the end, it's a story about humanity and how we choose to live our lives, while also being about a single boy's story of growing up in the wake of a catastrophic event.

So I finished this book a few days ago but it needed some time to process before I wrote my review.

Wow this book. I don’t ever cry at movies or books but this one got me.

This book tells so many stories but the main narrative is that one summer day 12-year-old Edward boarded a plane with his older brother and his parents. Something that so many of us have done. This plane was full of 183 other passengers on a flight from Newark to Los Angeles. Halfway through the journey the plane crashes and Edward is the sole survivor.

He’s 12 and he has to figure out what to do when you’ve lost everything and how do you and begin to move on from a tragedy like that.

The story jumps between Edward after the crash and meeting different passengers on the plane before it crashed. The storytelling was amazing I feel like I genuinely knew each of these characters.

The book gets a little slow in the middle but TRUST me it builds up and there is a reason for everything in this book.

Easily, one of if not the best book I’ve read all year. It comes out January 14 and if you need a good cry or a good shake out of the funk you’re in, check out this book.

Told in two timelines, this novel is an examination of regaining a reason to live after a horrendous event. The book jacket already reveals that everyone dies on flight 2977 except Edward, a 12-year old musical prodigy who along with his brother had been homeschooled in a privileged Manhattan upper east side home. One progression, post-crash, follows Edward's redemptive coming of age while suffering unimaginable grief, and the other, the minutes ticking on the doomed airbus which serves to provide backstories of several victims. What really didn't work for me was that these characters rang generic without distinctive personality. There is the mystery of what caused the crash which kept me reading, and Ann Napolitano certainly has covered that well.

I would recommend this book to readers of Celeste Ng or for those looking for a book to get them through a trying time. I don't think that has to be grief, necessarily. Ann Napolitano writes perceptively about life after it has changed irrevocably, and has insightful things to say about remembering what you loved and moving on when you're not over it.
The most important thing for me was that the premise not turn into something melodramatic and exploitative of tragedy, which it did not.

I'm not sure what I expected when I requested this ARC of Dear Edward from NetGalley, but I certainly enjoyed it.
From the very beginning, the flow of the words danced through my mind and created wonderful pictures and feelings about the characters. I was already choked up with tears in my eyes by 9%. Even when something unpleasant was happening, the words caressed the situation in a way that made it untenable to look away.
I am not usually a fan of toggling timelines, but in this case, it lended tremendously to the character development, the change from Eddie to Edward, and to the mystery about what happened to cause flight 2977 to fall from the sky.

Fantastic writing of a great story! Thank you so much to Random House and Netgalley for allowing me to reach such a phenomenal book!

The premise was so interesting- 191 people on a plane that ends up crashing, leaving 10-year old Edward as the lone survivor. Much like the show “Manifest”, the fact that Edward survived leads the public to believe that he has special gifts or is saved by God.

The chapters switch to before and after the crash, and you learn about the passengers and their stories, similar to the show LOST. The story is interesting and beautiful and heartbreaking and examines what makes life worth living. The conflicting emotions of struggling to find meaning and reconciling a loss of life is so poignant
and real and touched me in many ways.

Edward is taken in by his aunt and uncle and the story of his life begins to unfold. I thought it was so interesting that this horrible tragedy happens right when Edward should be growing and getting to know himself and exploring life. Instead, he is dealing with depression, loss, and survivor's guilt. I love the way the book highlights the little interactions we have with people every day. When the families of the people who died write him letters, Edward examines if he met each one and what their small exchanges meant to him and them as well.

The overarching narrative combines so many interesting stories into one, and I truly can’t think of another book like this one. What do we do when we lose everything? We need to examine who we are and use what we have for good. This heartwarming story will make you cry, smile, and feel for the characters. 5-stars!

Great coming of age story about a sad event that changed his life. Writing was very good. Thanks to net galley for the ARC in exchange for honest review.

This book was a page turner for me that I will thoroughly enjoy discussing with my book club. I was surprised by the depth of the story and the characters. I cared about Edward as if he were a family member & I found myself rooting for his recovery & ability to learn to live his new life.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing me with an ARC of Ann Napolitano’s novel Dear Edward. In exchange for the ARC I offer my honest review.

This book started out very strong and the premise was equally intriguing. 192 passengers board a plane from NY to LA, each heading West for a different reason. But within the first 20 pages we discover the plane has crashed and 10 year old Eddie is the lone survivor. Dubbed “The Miracle Boy” by the media, Eddie is now public fodder, people speculating that perhaps Eddie/ Edward has some sort of special gifts as he’s been singled and saved by the Hand of God. As for Eddie, who prefers to now be called Edward, he needs to adjust to life without his parents and brother as well as accept his new found “fame”.

Parts of this story were very touching and the message to embrace life was moving. Unfortunately though, I found this book cliche and uneven. The story switches between the final hours on the plane and getting to know some of the passengers back stories and then moving ahead to Edward’s road to recovery. While I really wanted to connect with Edward and those that were lost in the crash, I ultimately was disengaged and racing to conclude the story.

I’ve seen dozens of positive, glowing reviews so this book obviously touched the right chord with many other readers. If you’re looking for a slower, introspective novel give Dear Edward a chance.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest opinion. The story is about an airplane crash with only one survivor. The chapters alternate between before and after the horrific accident. The story didn’t grab my interest until more than halfway thru the book. There were a lot of passengers mentioned and discussed. We learned bits and pieces of their lives. The 12 year old sole survivor was damaged physically and mentally . Some of the story made no sense to me. Parents allowing teenagers, a boy and a girl, to sleep in the same room for years. Children who can sneak out of their homes in the middle of the night and still function in school everyday. There were other scenarios that I thought were very unrealistic.

Thank you Netgally and Random House for providing an ARC of this book for an honest review.

Edward is the only survivor when his family and other passengers board the flight 2977 and it crashes. Edward's aunt and uncle take him in and that is when Edward decides within himself what is there to live for. He does a lot of soul searching and thinking about his past and his future.

This book was wonderful. I loved how it did not only tell Edward's story but how it told stories from the other passengers. This book was so heartbreaking and had me crying. It has you thinking what if you lost everyone you loved the most would life be worth going on. Beautiful story!

Very moving and emotional book. A good story of the sole survivor, a child, from an airplane crash which killed all of her family. As he moves into his teenage years he's still suffering from depression, post-traumatic stress, and survivor's guilt, which he has to work through with the help of an aunt, uncle, and best friend.