This is a poignant and beautiful tale, dealing with guilt, grief and coming of age. It is beautifully written and so very thought provoking. It’s incredibly emotional but definitely worth the hype surrounding it.

It’s just lovely.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book.


I found the writing disjointed and light on plot, pacing, and characterisation. The premise is a good one, but the narrative didn’t deliver for me, sorry.

stars.

***

NOTE ON RATINGS: I consider a 3-star rating a positive review. Picky about which books I give 5 stars to, I reserve this highest rating for the stories I find stunning and which moved me.

5 STARS: IT WAS AMAZING! I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN! — Highly Recommended.
4 STARS: I WOULD PULL AN ALL-NIGHTER — Go read this book.
3 STARS: IT WAS GOOD! — An okay read. Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it.
2 STARS: I MAY HAVE LIKED A FEW THINGS —Lacking in some areas: writing, characterisation, and/or problematic plot lines.
1 STAR: NOT MY CUP OF TEA —Lots of issues with this book.

What an emotional book this is, Edward is 12, and his family and brother Jordan are on a plane to Los Angeles when it crashes,
The book about Edward who lost all his family and was the sole survivor of the crash.

Very hard hitting in places and emotional but also uplifting in places.

Loved Edward and everything about the book, brilliant, just brilliant.

The story of Edward, a 12 year old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash, is heartbreaking and inspiring as it goes along his journey through grief, loss and learning to live despite tragedy.

I really enjoyed following Edward's character growth as he went through his highs and lows with the aftermath of the crash as well as the ups and downs of a normal teenager life, alongside navigating his relationship with Shay. Lacey and John's characters also had some development between themselves and their marriage that was great to read.

It was slow and a little difficult to get into at the beginning as each chapter is split between just before/during the flight and after the crash, then each paragraph for the flight chapters bounce between different characters so it can feel a bit jumpy in parts.

This is the kind of book where you don't realise how good it is or how emotional it has made you until you're right at the end.
Beautifully written.

Dear Edward was inspired by the true story of a boy who, against all the odds, was the sole survivor of an air crash. Edward's family take a flight across America from New York, to start a new life on the West Coast. Unfortunately the plane comes down on the way and miraculously Edward survives.

Although this sounds incredibly tragic, the book is actually very uplifting, as Edward and others who care for him learn to live despite their losses. Growing up means negotiating the hopes and expectations of others as well as our own, and this is forced on Edward in the absence of the shelter of his birth family. It is not a disaster novel, but a positive story of love and recovery.

I was engrossed by this book and enjoyed it very much. It provides so much food for thought and is sensitively and thoughtfully written. It vividly illustrates a skilfully told story of the passage from childhood to adulthood and the negotiation we all have to make of becoming our own person. It would also provide interesting threads of discussion for book clubs. I am very happy to recommend it and look forward to reading more from Ann Napolitano.

When a plane from new York to Los Angeles crashed, 12 year old Eddie Sadler is the only survivor of 192 passengers and crew. Orphaned after losing his mum, dad and older brother on the flight Eddie who now goes by Edward goes ot live with his Out and uncle. They have no children - but have been trying. Edward is put into the decorated nursery - it's a room he will never sleep in. This is a slow burn, a carefully crafted back and forth aobut what happened on the flight intertwined with how Edward comes to accept he is alive and live the life he has today. His relationship with next door neighbour Shay is just magical, as is the one carefully fostered by his fern loving head master. Even though edward survived - he has to learn to survive all over again including building a relationship with his mum's sister and her husband. This is a powerful and thought provoking read - I adored it.

A very well written book and a real page turner. A very emotional book that deals with survivor guilt. Would recommend this book it is a really good and emotional read.

I loved this book so much. I liked the flash back and forth and how we learnt about those that were lost in the crash. I appreciated the development of the main character as we first met him as a child. Diversity was also very good.

Dear Edward, the title of the book gets it's name from the letters that are written to Edward from the relatives of those that perished in the crash. Edward is 12 years old and he is the sole survivor.
The book starts with their journey onto the plane and then switches forward and backwards. Forward to the present, as Edward faces life without his parents after the crash and then backwards to the plane while he journeys with them.
I finished this book in 3 sittings and would have just read it in one if I could. It kept me engaged and invested in the story line and the characters, the author did a great job of putting grief into words and expressions and understanding the mind of someone who has been through such a tragedy. This is not so much a tear jearker but more of a thought provoking insight into the mind of someone coping with so much. There is a lot of story telling in it too which I enjoyed, getting to know the other members on the plane and hearing about them too. I would have liked to have known more about Lacey his aunt and uncle John. I rate this book 4.5 stars as I would definitely read it again and also recommend it.

Edward is only 12, his brother Jordan 15 when his family boards a plane in New York bound for a new life in Los Angeles to mom's new job , very hard hitting and emotional book.

Sometimes it’s good to read book that ground you. This is book about a boy that lost his family in plane crash , he was the only survivor from that crash. We are told the story from Edward point of view in the present after the crash ( all the emotions and heart breaking). I really liked this as the writer show us the emotions and how it affect everything in his daily life .

Unfortunately, I have not been able to read and review this book.

After losing and replacing my broken Kindle and getting a new phone I was unable to download the title again for review as it was no longer available on Netgalley.

I’m really sorry about this and hope that it won’t affect you allowing me to read and review your titles in the future.

Thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.
Natalie.

What an unusual read. A story about a lone survivor of a plane crash. The survivor was a 12 year old boy, Edward, and the author details the return to society for this very unfortunate child. Going to live with his Aunt and Uncle, finding a close companion and confidant in a 12 year old girl, a neighbour. The author managed to portray the feelings of Edward having to come to terms with life after the loss of his parents and older brother, a brother Edward clearly looked up to. Having to deal with life in the public eye as obviously everyone was amazed at his survival and the relations of the deceased plane passengers wanted to connect with him. Surviving the plane crash was only part of Edward's recuperation. Though a plane crash is a disaster, the sentiment of the book was one of survival and hope for this young man as he navigated school, flashbacks, family memories, living with a new family, plus all the usual dilemmas of the teenage years.

I think this book had a really interesting premise. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t until I finished it that I realised how good it was and how it affected me.

✈️ Dear Edward is predicted to be a MASSIVE hit for 2020 ✨ The storyline was right up my street, and I did enjoy the structure of the book and how the story developed.
•
🔎 The book switches between timelines before the crash, and Edward’s life in the days, months and years after. It was definitely interesting, and I wasn’t expecting to get such insight into a number of other characters/victims which I really enjoyed.
•
💔 The story is really heartbreaking - just imaging being 12 years old and being the ONLY survivor in a plane crash which 191 people lost their lives in, and I think Napolitano did a fantastic job at bringing to life the grief, devastation, and recovery of Edward and his family.
•
🤔 There was something missing for me but not too sure what it was... However, I would recommend this book as I am sure many will love it! ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
•
📆 Out Feb 🇬🇧 This month for 🇺🇸 Huge thank you to @vikingbooksuk for my advance copy!

A wonderful book that examines what it is like to be the survivor of a media-worthy disaster; in this case the 12-year-old sole survivor of a plane crash.

The narrative moves from past to present in an unsettling way. You will experience the deaths of the other passengers and then the narrative rewinds to familiarise you further with the deceased. This is hard. But overall this is a gently-handled story of a young boy who hovers between chronological childhood and the adult requirements of bereavement.

Having read the preamble for this book I was expecting it to be quite emotive and a bit sickly, but in fact it turned out to be something very different. If anything, it read more like a play! The descriptive weight was missing and it was very disjointed in the way it was written.

The premise is a good one, but unfortunately that isn't enough to make this book work for me. Yes, I felt sorry for Eddie and looking back on the story of how the tragedy happened was helpful, but only just enough to keep me reading.

I have no doubt this will be a big seller over the summer but I wouldn't expect it to be a big seller at the departure lounge!

A lovely read that I couldn't put down, Edward is the sole surviror of a plane crash. The book goes on to tell us the story of life after the incident and includes back stories of other passengers. I recommend giving this a read.

Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano is a story that follows a 12 year old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash that takes the lives of his mom, dad, his brother and 188 other passengers.
This story is beautifully captivating as it takes you through the lives of the passengers that were on the plane, and then tackles Edward's journey to healing after the accident.
I must say ALL of the characters, even some of the 188 passengers, were all well thought out and I felt myself really connecting with them all.

It has taken me a while to read this book I must admit. Not because it is a bad book but because of the Corona Virus. I thought reading about a boy of 12 who was the only survivor of an airplane crash would depress me. How wrong I was. This book is not morbid it is quite uplifting. I found it an excellent read that deals not only with Edward's individual grief but how it can affect the people around us. How we perhaps in grief don't see how people are trying to help. I was annoyed that relatives of the people who didn't survive expected Edward to live not only his life but the lives of their dead relatives. I found it a very compassionate book and there is always a light at the end of the tunnel if we search for it.

A beautifully written story of a young boy recovering physically and psychologically as the only survivor of a plane crash. It had so many poignant moments as he recalled his life before the crash and remembered his brother and parents. The sense of his loss was so vividly portrayed and his steps to recovery so brilliantly described. At times, the emotion was overwhelming but as the book progressed, it became quite uplifting. Thank to to Netgalley and Viking Penguin U.K. for the opportunity to read this book.