Dear Edward: A Novel

Ann Napolitano

Jan 2020 · Sold by Dial Press

About this ebook

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Make sure you have tissues handy when you read [this] sure-footed tearjerker” (NPR) about a young boy who must learn to go on after surviving tragedy, from the author of the Oprah’s Book Club pick Hello Beautiful.

Now streaming as an Apple TV+ series starring Connie Britton, written and executive produced by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights and Parenthood)

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Parade, LibraryReads

What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live?
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.

Praise for Dear Edward

“Dear Edward is that rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together during a reading experience that leaves you profoundly altered for the better.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey
 
“Will lead you toward something wonderous, something profound.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic

Ratings and reviews

I received a free electronic ARC copy of this excellent modern novel from Netgalley, Ann Napolitano, and Dial Press. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Dear Edward to friends and family. This is a book that speaks to the heart of the family in all its lights and shadows. Twelve-year-old Edward 'Eddie' Adler, his 15-year-old brother Jordan and his mom and dad, Bruce and Jane, begin a new life's journey, a family relocation from New York to Los Angeles. Dad didn't get tenure despite his years of hard work, but Mom was offered a job with prestige and much more money - over there. A move of such a scale is always frightening to everyone. The boys had never moved from the NY apartment they were born into. Never changed school systems, were comfortable in their neighborhood, had their friends, knew their classmates. On June 12, 2013, the Adler's and 183 others board a 7:45 am flight out of Newark, NJ for LA. We meet several of the memorable characters who fly with the Adler's, the boys and dad Bruce in general seating, and mom Jane in 1st class so she can finish the script re-write she is to hand-deliver to her new employers upon arrival in California. we meet the crew, most experienced with many hours in the air. At a little after 2 pm, Flight 2977 crashes into the ground near Greeley, Colorado. There are 191 casualties. And Eddie. Sole survivor, Badly damaged, but alive. and after several hospitalizations, he will live with his mother's younger sister, Lacey, and her husband John Curtis in New Jersey. He responds only to 'Edward'. He cannot talk to anyone - it's too hard to know what to say. He cannot sleep in the house with his Aunt and Uncle because his brother isn't there. Jordan had always been at Aunt Lacey's when they slept over. And school? That was going to be really hard. Physically, he has healed, Emotionally Edward has done as much healing as is possible. Two years after the crash the physical therapist and throat doctor has given him medical releases. Dr. Mike requires another year before he feels Edward has his mental health under control. And with the help of his Aunt, Uncle, and their neighbors Shae and her mother Besa, he holds it all together. A couple of years in, Edward and Shay find duffle bags filled with letters addressed to Eddie in John's office in the seldom-used garage. John and Lacey didn't feel like Edward could handle them when they began arriving immediately after the crash, but they couldn't throw them out, either. Letters from the families of the victims, from people who lost folks on other planes, others like him who survived and had to learn to live with that. At first, Edward and Shay keep the discovery to themselves, but they are opening and reading the letters, Shay is logging them into a database, Edward is sorting them mentally into piles to answer or contact. Surprisingly nearly three years in those letters are still arriving. John picks them up at the post office box every Friday. Once they talk with John and Lacey about the letters, it becomes a big part of every day for them all, and Edward is finally able to find some closure. And upon highschool graduation, Shay and Edward take a road trip to Greeley, Colorado, to see the memorial in place for the victims, in hopes of finding a way to accept the losses and learn to move on.

As someone who lost a sibling at about the same age as Edward, I could relate to Edward's feelings about his brother. Somewhat slow at times, but grief is quiet, but rewarding in the end.

iit was great. Couldn't put it down.

About the author

Ann Napolitano is the author of Dear Edward, which was an instant New York Times bestseller, a Read with Jenna selection, and is now an Apple TV+ series. She is also the author of the novels A Good Hard Look and Within Arm’s Reach. For seven years, Napolitano was the associate editor of the literary magazine One Story, and she received an MFA from New York University. She has taught fiction writing at Brooklyn College’s MFA program, New York University’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies, and Gotham Writers Workshop.