Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano Published by Penguin Books Limited on February 4, 2021
Genres: Fiction / Coming of Age, Fiction / Disaster, Fiction / Family Life / Siblings, Fiction / General, Fiction / Literary, Fiction / Psychological, Fiction / Small Town & Rural, Fiction / Women
Pages: 352
Amazon|Barnes&Noble|Goodreads
THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SERIES
It's not what you've lost . . . it's what you've found.
One summer morning, a flight takes off from New York to Los Angeles: there are 192 people aboard. When the plane suddenly crashes, twelve-year-old Edward Adler is the sole survivor.
In the aftermath, Edward struggles to make sense of his grief, sudden fame and find his place in a world without his family. But then Edward and his neighbour Shay make a startling discovery; hidden in his uncle's garage are letters from the relatives of other passengers - all addressed him.
Following the passengers' final hours and Edward's unique coming-of-age, Dear Edward asks one of life's most profound questions:
What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?
---------------------------------
'Ann Napolitano's writing is astonishing. I'm in awe' Marian Keyes
'A very moving and emotional read' Anne Tyler
'Gripping and elegiac, this is a captivating novel about loss, love and growing up' Rosamund Lupton
'That rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together . . . Don't miss this one' Jodi Picoult
Another find from The Book Girls Guide, and honestly, I have no idea what words are right now. I’ve never read Ann Napolitano before, but I know this will not be the last book I read by her. Honestly, this may be the most disjointed book reaction I ever write and also might be the shortest . . . no words. I can’t imagine surviving, being the ONLY survivor of a plane crash in my AARP age, much less at 12. Dear Edward is such an introspection of survivor’s guilt, among so many other things.
The only reason this wasn’t a true 5-star for me is that I sometimes lost the story with the breaks from Edward’s life back to the timeline leading up to the plane crash. I struggle when there are a lot of characters, but more so when there are so many characters, and it’s such limited time with them that I was forever going back and forth trying to remember who was who. By the end, I had mostly figured it out, but honestly, kinda like a full house of folks in life, some I still don’t remember who is who, and I think that’s OK. What I lost with the crash victims, Edward and Shay recovered for me. They were so nuanced and real. They weren’t perfect, but maybe because I can’t begin to imagine what it’s like to be in their heads.
Overall, while I was a bit confused with the switches and all the people and wanted perhaps a bit more depth, I lived in Edward’s head. I can’t really tell you how it made me feel; I just know that I lived it. Edward’s story made me feel. Sometimes sadness, but overall hopeful. Hopeful that there is the other side of things. Hopeful in tragedy and chaos. There’s a lot left unknown, and that’s somehow OK. I know, weird I say that as I want all the deets, but yes OK. Understanding where the ideas came from, hearing how it’s based on other crashes, made it feel a bit more real yet also a bit more painful. I can’t say enough to really drive home how important I feel like this book is. Not because of a plane crash. But because of healing. We all have degrees of trauma, and Edward is proof that if you want to, you can pursue healing. You’ll never be the same as before, but you can find your footing and become something meaningful.
About Ann Napolitano
Ann Napolitano’s novel, Hello Beautiful, was published by Dial Press in March 2023 and was an instant New York Times bestseller and the 100th Oprah Book Club pick. The novel was published by Viking Penguin in the United Kingdom in July 2023, and currently has thirty-four international publishers. It was named one of the ten best books of the year by the Chicago Public Library, and one of the best books of the year by The New York Times, Amazon, NPR, The Washington Post, Time, Vogue, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, The New York Post and others. Hello Beautiful was long-listed for the 2024 Dublin Literary Award.
Dear Edward was published by Dial Press in January 2020 and was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Read with Jenna selection, and was released on February 3rd as an Apple TV+ series starring Connie Britton. The novel currently has twenty-nine international publishers. It was named one of the best books of 2020 by The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Real Simple, Fast Company, Women’s World, Parade, LibraryReads and Amazon.
Napolitano is also the author of the novels A Good Hard Look and her debut, Within Arm’s Reach. Both novels have been reissued with new covers painted by Jessica Miller. She was the Associate Editor of One Story literary magazine from 2014-2020. She received an MFA from New York University; she has taught fiction writing for Brooklyn College’s MFA program, New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and for Gotham Writers’ Workshop. In November 2019, Ann was long-listed for the Simpson/Joyce Carol Oates Literary Prize.
A Good Hard Look was published in the United States by Penguin Press. The novel appeared on the Southern Independent bestseller list, on one of NPR’s Best of 2011 lists, and was also an Indie Next Pick and an Okra Pick.
Her first novel, Within Arm’s Reach, was published in the United States by Crown Publishing, in the United Kingdom by Time Warner Books/Virago, in Spain by Ediciones Salamandra, and in Germany by Verlagsgruppe Droemer Weltbild. The novel was adapted and staged as a theatrical production in New York City in 2014.
Ann lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two children.
Wanna share your thoughts? Leave a comment!