I recently finished Dear Edward so I could participate in the Barnes & Noble book club. Alternating between what happens on a doomed commercial flight and the aftermath of what happens to the sole survivor, this story took me in and made me feel a whole range of emotions.
The writing is excellent and the characters are fully formed. You absolutely get attached to Edward and the people in his orbit, and I found myself pulling for him the entire time.
Just a word of warning: This book is mainly about trauma and how people deal with traumas in their life. So, if that’s a trigger for you, you will be wise to steer clear.
Otherwise, I would recommend this book to nearly everyone, especially if you enjoyed Before The Fall.
Purchase your copy here.
Back Cover Copy of Dear Edward:
One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor.
Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life?
Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again.
About Ann Napolitano:
Ann Napolitano is the author of the novels A Good Hard Look and Within Arm’s Reach. She is also the Associate Editor of One Story literary magazine. 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. For more information about Ann or her books, please visit www.annnapolitano.com.
