Dear Edward: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel
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
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
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Community Reviews
Book #57: Laura M nominated this book and we discussed it via Zoom after a long absence from meeting. So good to get back on track!
In “Dear Edward,” Ann Napolitano sets her story in a different environment than the Italian/Irish family melodrama and into something more painfully different. While still honoring her own style and recurring themes. Family ties, secrets, complex characters, deep story arcs, love and loss are all here like in her other works. The setup with the plane crash, time period, and the personal drama of the cast of characters is what makes this book more accessible to a wider audience.
Rising out of the wreckage literally and metaphorically, we follow Edward’s growth back to being a whole while finding love and his sense of identity. The literal wreckage and the back and forth perspective style that Napolitano uses is very jarring. Trigger warning now if those type of events impact you personally. If you get past the pain of that tragedy, Napolitano gives you a love story grounded in a tactile realism. You know and have experienced every emotion and scenario in some flavor or another.
Each of Napolitano’s books I’ve read to date really stay with me. The moral, psychology, and emotional exposition & excavation is rewarding and challenging. They put you out of your comfort zone and ask you to think about how you would respond in very realistic scenarios. At the same time she weaves in a type of spirituality and mysticism that gives life mystery and excitement. They remind me of watching the world wake up as the sun rises and we transition from calm stillness to roaring chaos. Just to settle it all back down again in the end.
Another sibling bond story that made me think of the bond my own boys share. It’s a nice story of mending from a horrible tragedy. You can feel the desperation of the passengers while reading the book.
The young characters were very well-drawn and sweet. Their dialogue and thoughts/feelings seemed spot-on. But given the premise of a plane-crash and the known outcome, the story held no surprises. I also found it hard to believe the human error that caused the plane to stall and go down. Wouldn’t the pilot and co-pilot be better trained against a stall? Though the author said this book was modeled after a real-world similar crash, just seemed like the pilots were overly inexperienced and inept, to the point of unbelievabilty. This is my second Ann Napolitano book (Hello Beautiful was the other). Both were depressing and dealt with depression. I’m not against heavy themes. But this one just left me flat and ready for something a little more uplifting.
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