What a wonderful but emotional story. I'd read good reviews before I started it, and I wholeheartedly agree with them. Eddie is travelling by plane to Los Angeles from New York with his brother and his parents to start a new life there. However, the plane crashes and all 191 people on board are killed - except Eddie, he is the sole survivor. The book is about his mental and physical recovery after the crash, his relationship with his aunt and uncle with whom he then lives, his friendship with the girl next door, and how and if he is able to understand why he was the one to survive. The chapters alternate between the people on the plane, their backgrounds, their characters, running up to the moment of the crash, and Edward's life post crash. I wasn't too sure about this layout to begin with, much preferring reading about Edward, but as I carried on reading, everything seemed to fit into place and I was becoming more interested in these other characters.

I got emotionally involved in all the characters in the book, especially Edward, and I was driven to tears in many parts. Without giving too much away, Edward discovers something in his uncle's garage, about 2 or 3 years after the crash, which changes his whole perspective on his life and his survival, and it opens his eyes to everything and everyone close to him.

The one thing I think there wasn't enough made of was Eddie's return to his home neighbourhood in New York city. To be surrounded by memories of his parents and brother, his old appartment, his local shops, Edward didn't appear to be as upset as I thought he would be, and that scene seemed to be slightly rushed.

Other than that, this is an excellent read, highly recommended.

191 people are on a plane for many different reasons. Eddie is 12 and has no choice, his parents are moving house. The plane crashes and 190 die. Edward survives and is taken to live with his Aunt and Uncle. How to survive, grow and move forward? This book is gripping and full of love and pain. Hope remains together with letters from the other families suffering loss too. Enjoy every word.

Twelve year old Eddie, elder brother Jordan and parents Jane and Bruce embark on a flight from New York to Los Angeles. The plane crashes en route. Eddie is the sole survivor, 191 die.

The narrative alternates between the flight, and those on board, and Eddie, now Edward, who struggles to come to terms with his survivorship and new life with his aunt and uncle. He is helped by same age near neighbour Shay.

A novel and imaginative coming of age story. It is engaging, thought provoking, and ultimately uplifting..

I started to review this book when I was about a third of the way in. I felt like I was missing something about the book, completely unable to see where it was going or what the key message(s) of the book is/are. The premise of the book is intriguing and the writing good, so what was it that was making me feel so uncertain?

The book is from two perspectives: that of the main character, Edward, the only survivor of a plane crash. The other perspective is that of the other passengers before the crash. A wide range of people with all sorts of emotional baggage: trauma, previous lives (yes, previous lives!), unexpected pregnancy, and the desire to be more than a mother – to be powerful, sexual, and wanted.

So, 34% into the book I started to ask myself, do I want to keep reading this? And here are a few reasons why:

It’s really hard to invest in characters you know are about to die. I already know I will never know what comes of the circumstances because the answer is nothing.
I don’t feel like I have a connection with Edward. Maybe I’m not meant to. He has been through something so horrifically, life-changingly traumatic that (at my present moment) I have no way of empathising with him.
I can only think, at this point in the book, that I am entirely missing the point. I am hoping that the point will, at the very least, start to make itself known to me soon, otherwise I am going to struggle to continue reading.

At 78%, I was so close to giving in but psychologically, I just couldn’t put the book down at that point. So I continued to read, half paying attention, and finished it.

In the end, my first impressions were right. I just didn’t care about the characters. I felt very detached from them the entire time I was reading, like I was watching something from a great distance. Everything about it just seemed superficial. I understand that it is meant to be about living your life, seizing opportunities etc., but it just fell flat.

I don’t expect every work of fiction to have an antagonist but, in this case, I think maybe this would’ve added something to the narrative to give it more pace and the critical points usually found in storytelling.

I really wanted to enjoy this book but sadly, it was not for me. The premise is excellent and I think on that basis it will be very popular.

Firstly I must thank NetGalley, for the free ARC in return for an honest review.

This book has been very thought fully plotted and extremely well written. I loved the way the two timelines are entwined. It is interesting the way the lives of the other passengers are depicted, by some very emotive writing I found myself hoping that somehow more would survive, even though you know what has happened!

The current timeline follows Edward and his emotional growth through the next few years and the development with of his relationship with his neighbour Shay. The characters are very real and grow with the book. Love the way it makes you think what you would do, in that situation, how would feel. It would be a great book for discussion about surviving against the odds.

It is obvious that the author has put a lot of thought and research into this book to make it an intense read. Without this I think it would lose a lot of its effect. It was very heavy and emotionally exhaustive read so I am not sure I could say I loved it. But I am very glad I have read it as I found it extremely moving and incredibly profound, which is why I have rated it so high. I can recommend this book.

This is a well written and carefully plotted book which has been sensitively executed. The story is quite basic but the way the author has broken up the two timelines is brilliant. We get to know the characters on the doomed flight to the point where you are even hoping that the crash doesn’t happen - a testament to the emotive writing that despite knowing at the beginning of this story that there will only be one survivor, Edward, you still are routing for the others to somehow survive too. The other side is the story of Edward and his emotional growth through the next four years and his relationship with his neighbour Shay. This part of the book has been keenly observed and all the characters are real and grow with the book too. I admit that this book had me in tears more than once. A good book for discussion about survivor versus the mourners of those who didn’t survive - what would you do in each situation and what would you do with the money?

I received this book as a free ARC from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

This book tells the story of Edward, a young boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. It looks at both his life after the crash, and the events leading up to it.

I devoured this in two days, reading at every opportunity I could. The only reason it took me that long was because work got in the way!

This is the sort of book that leaves you feeling emotionally stunned at the end, but for all the right reasons. The characters are relatable, the story is believable.

I definitely recommend this book (although maybe not right before a holiday flight!).

★★★★★ 5 stars

I really like the sound of this novel, and the opening chapter makes me think that it is one that I will enjoy. Unfortunately, the formatting makes it extremely difficult to read, and I can't finish it in it's current format. There are line breaks in odd places - half way across the "page", and words running into each other with no spaces. I will pick up a copy when it published.

Beautifully written, searingly sad and yet ultimately uplifting. I loved Edward and felt every moment of his pain and his struggle to make sense of things. I loved the people around him who did their best to help while trying to come to terms with it all themselves. His loneliness is unbearable and gut-wrenchingly real - this book does not imply a happy ending, because this tragedy will be with Edward for life and he will always find himself having to cope with living with it. I think it strikes a chord, because isn't this the thing we all dread? This is a book for all those who have lost loves ones in this terrifying, brutal way.

I feel I should have enjoyed this book more than I did. The narrative is very emotive but I just kept finding myself bored. The formating of the book on kindle made lots of the text jumbled which made it rather difficult to read. Just not one for me.


Honest review given in exchange for a ARC. Thank you Netgallery.

Naturally this book unfolds slowly as the scene is set with the passengers on the plane. Afterwards, we uncover the story, as it is revealed piece by piece.
Edward is lost. Even with his aunt and uncle taking care of him, he befriends the neighbour’s daughter Shay and effectively lives in their house at night. This relationship grounds the whole novel and stops it being wholly melancholy. There were times where I melted into a blubbering mess as it was just so tragic. But as the book unfolds, the relationship deepens and edward starts to question things... there’s some brilliant one-liners and Shay’s sense of humour provides chinks of light where otherwise it would be full of sadness.

An interesting take on life - and the aftermath of such an awful situation. 4.5* Thought provoking, this would make a great Bookclub read.

I picked up this book from my TBR list not remembering what it was about. I saw a post on TBC on Facebook where someone said how good it was and thought it would be a good place to start my holiday reads.
Wow, I was not disappointed. I loved the switching stories between the two time lines. The switching continuously kept making me read ‘just one more section.’ It was a harrowing and heart breaking story. I was so invested in Edward and the people surrounding him who helped him ‘recover’.
I finished the book by the swimming pool, with tears streaming down my face. Such a well written book to bring out such strong emotions.
I would highly recommend this book.

I wasn't expecting this book to hit me as hard as it did. Some books are just an emotional suckerpunch, and this is one of them. (That's a good thing, by the way. It's rare for a book to actually make me cry, and this one succeeded).

The book alternates between the plane flight and Edward's life after the crash. The passages about the plane flight have a frantic, manic feel to them. You know what's going to happen, and you're watching it in slow motion, waiting for the inevitable. Seeing glimpses into the other passengers' lives is very moving, and gives life to characters that otherwise might not mean anything. Interspersed between the passages about the flight is Edward's story after the crash, his relationship with his aunt and uncle, his friendship with Shay, and how he grows and changes and copes. It's a coming of age story, a story about dealing with and learning to live with trauma.

I thought that Edward's changing relationships with the people around him were very well written. I felt sympathetic to most of the characters, and genuinely cared about them and their problems. I thought the blossoming friendship between Edward and Shay was very sweet.

It's hard to know what to write about this book. Really, I think you just need to read it. It's an emotional experience, and the story will definitely stick with me for a long time.

I loved this book. It was so moving and the story really touched me - hard to read in parts but very well written and I would definitely recommend. I really felt like I knew the characters and they were all unique in their own way. The friendship and collaboration which grew between Edward and Shay is inspiring.

Beautifully written.

Thanks to NetGalley for my free copy.

The story of one boys life after he survives a plane crash. A very original story and very moving in places as it explores death and the associated guilt that it can bring. Also the impact of sudden death for the different characters, struggling with their own loss but still trying to support Edward who has lost so much. An enjoyable read which certainly made me think.

This book was great! I loved the story and how it was both unique and unpredictable. A true page turner with great writing.

Thank you to net galley, Penguin and Viking books for this ARC copy . At first this felt like it was going nowhere but OMG I could not put it down. I noticed a question on Goodreads about the suitability of this book for Middle graders / young adult and I have to say the more i read the more i thought that it raised important questions that such readers could raise and discuss. It has everything going for it in terms of readers groups and long discussion.

The narrative follows Edward as the only survivor of a plane crash in which his parents and elder brother are killed. It follows his inability to eat and sleep and the difficulties his aunt and uncle encounter in dealing with this. It does this in such a way as you don't fell that you are doing a psychoanalysis of Edward but are completely absorbed into his everyday life. It is both understated and yet has real depth as the layers are peeled back.

I loved it, the four stars reflect that it took a while to really reach its heights. I would certainly read more from this writer. it has been a shining star in some very ordinary reading this month

"Dear Edward" captures the ceaseless ripple-effect of a tragedy with such magnitude it has the power to destroy everything standing in its path.

With no control over their destiny the little circles progress in impossible directions, hoping for tranquillity to return to the surface never knowing when, or if it will.

And that is the only way I can describe Eddie’s (Edward’s) role in this story, as a beautifully enigmatic pebble thrown into an inexplicable ocean of ‘afterwards’, kept afloat by the buoy of precious moments whenever he finds himself endlessly adrift.

The manner in which everything developed was simply wonderful. I adored his friendship with his feisty young neighbour and the fern-loving school principle, and those letters… oh my. How hopeful pieces of paper masterfully gave a personality to a passenger manifest was just incredible.

It’s a great coming of age story about a boy who loses his family in the same crashed plane where he’s the only survivor.
It’s scary enough for a young boy to change everything he knew, a new house, new school, new friends and new everything that comes with growing up.
It’s a hard read at times and may have some triggers for some readers but it’s very well written and interesting story overall, if not a bit unique in its way.

An unusual and very well-written coming of age story. I flew through this book in a day. Quietly immersive, touching, original and heart-rending.