Dear Edward: A Novel by Ann Napolitano
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Web ID: 12620488very good book!!!
Enjopyed this book and highly recommend this book!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Careful, interesting story
I bought “Dear Edward” because it was on sale, and the mixed reviews made it sound interesting. While it seemed a little slow at first, it grabbed my attention. I read it all on a lazy Sunday. Edward is the sole survivor of a plane wreck. His brother and parents are all killed. Given that big a change, the story shows how much the wreck changed Edward and how he finds some normalcy after the tragedy. It also humanized a handful of the people who died in the plane wreck, again to help the reader understand the depth of loss for Edward and the people who write to him. I was left a little surprised by how much Edward was changed. He was mad for the piano before, but there is little mention of it during his recovery. I was surprised he never was drawn to recover this gift in the book. It sounds like it had been a big part of his life, but the book did not mention any grief for this loss. It was as if he had to shed the big parts of his life when he lost his brother. But I liked his relationship with his next-door neighbor and her mom. I liked how he found a relationship with his aunt and uncle. I think his gift of knowledge from a palm reader was good, but maybe could have been something he discovered on his own, without having to bring in the supernatural. I sound critical, but I enjoyed this book, and the hard subject it discussed. I recommend it!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Nightmare to Live With for Life
I listened to Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano on audio CD. It was read by Cassandra Campbell. I have listened to several CD's read by Cassandra Campbell and enjoyed her voice and storytelling once again. The premise for Ann Napolitano's book, Dear Edward, was one that could be everyone's worst nightmare about flying. I know that when I have flown over the years, I desperately held onto the seat in front of me for dear life on take-off and landing and counted my lucky stars when I was safely on the ground at my destination. The thought of being the sole survivor of a plane crash was a thought far from my imagination or scope. I do believe that things happen for a reason and if something is meant to be it will happen. Twelve year old Eddie, as he was known before the flight, was meant to survive and come to be known as Edward. Edward Adler had grown up in New York City with his mom, dad and older brother. He was home schooled by his dad and was a gifted and talented pianist and very advance in mathematics. Eddie's mom had been offered a new position in Los Angeles, California. The whole family packed up their entire lives into many brown boxes and sent those boxes across the country to their new destination. Eddie and his brother were not at all excited about the prospect of moving to a new home. New York was familiar and safe. Los Angeles was the unknown. Despite the boys' protests, one summer day the Adler family and 183 other passengers boarded a plane in Newark, New Jersey to Los Angeles, California. Eddie's fifteen year old brother, Jordan, being at that defiant age, would not go quietly onto the plane. He protested about going through the body scanner and made the security officers search him physically instead. Once the Adler family finally boarded the plane, mom found her seat in first class, while dad, Bruce, Eddie and Jordan found their seats in the back of the plane. Like it or not they were on their way to California. It was hard not to get to know some of the other passengers on their long flight to Los Angeles. There was a successful Wall Street self-made man, a young and newly pregnant woman on her way to hopefully accept a marriage proposal and tell the man she loved he was about to become a father, an injured veteran returning from a tour in Afghanistan haunted by his ordeal, a business tycoon who was very full of himself and had a romantic eye on one of the stewardesses and a hippie-type woman who wore a skirt that jingled with bells that was running away from her controlling husband. A diverse group of people, traveling to the same destination, unaware that a horrific catastrophe was about to happen. As a storm materialized, the pilot of the plane entrusted his co-pilot to guide the plane through it. Unfortunately for the passengers of this flight some of the decisions the co-pilot made were not the best ones for the safety of the aircraft. Somewhere over Colorado the plane with all its passengers plunged through the air and crashed. Eddie was the sole survivor. Eddie now became Edward. He found himself in a hospital in Colorado with several injuries but alive. His mother's sister and husband have come to take him home with them. They were to be his family now since his whole family had died in the crash. With help from Shay, the girl next door, Edward learned how to live again and find meaning in his life. It was a long, uphill battle but with the help of those around him he learned to put one foot in front of the other and day by day became an even stronger and more meaningful person. Edward found strength through others and found a purpose in his life. It was far from easy or quick but over time Edward learned to live and love again. Dear Edward brought to mind that everyone should be thankful for what they have and cherish the important people in their life every day and any way they can. You never know what tomorrow could bring. I cried and smiled and felt Edward's frustrations and pain. Dear Edward was draped with love, kindness, tenderness, hope, and grief. This was a wonderful book that touched all my emotions. I highly recommend it.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Lone survivor
After reading "Hello Beautiful," I wanted to read another one of this author's books and I was glad after reading Dear Edward. I was emotionally engaged and riveted by the events and effects of this book on the characters in the story and was surprise at how many ways the characters reacted to each stage of the events in the story. I was sadden most of the times because it reminded me of the Titanic where no matter how many time you wish that the disaster didn't happen it does. I love being able to take the journey with Edward as he tries to make heads or tail about all the things that have happen to him and how slowly he gets the answers he is looking for and finds love and acceptance about a tragic part of his life. I love that Ann Napolitano explains all that events that happened to Edward before the disaster occurred and that he was well loved and cared for, and I was also glad to learn about the other passengers who didn't survive the disaster, because it shows they all had lives too. It's like they were given peoplehood.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
a challenging read
I am not a person who loves flying so it was difficult for me to approach this title. It is the story of Edward who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. His parents and older brother are gone in an instant, leaving twelve year old Edward in a heartbreaking situation. How Edward manages his survival and figures out how to live is the theme of this story. It will both make you cry and root for this (extra)ordinary young man. Note: Readers get to know some of the passengers on the flight. It can make for hard reading knowing their fate. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this title. All opinions are my own.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
You will feel for young Edward.
Young Edward is the sole survivor of a plane crash. His story is heartbreaking but hopeful too. I knew a little about Dear Edward before starting it, but I wasn’t sure how Edward’s story would be told without it being too sad or depressing. I learned immediately that Edward was the sole survivor of a crash that killed 191 people including his mother, father, and brother, Jordan. The story is told in alternating chapters that take you from Edward’s current situation, to flashbacks of him on the plane. As the story progresses, those chapters taking place on the plane eventually lead up to the cause of the crash and the reactions of the passengers as it was happening. This was an interesting way to tell this story. It allowed me to feel the sense of panic that everyone on that plane felt, but it was broken up into palatable pieces that you could digest without too much trouble. The sadness that Edward experiences is gently shared through his inability to sleep in his Aunt and Uncle’s house, his quiet reflection when asked to help one of the school administrator’s with a plant project, his close friendship with the young neighbor next door. His sadness can be felt in all the day-to-day interactions, especially the memories of his brother, Jordan. So where does the hope come from? Without giving too much away, Edward is put into a position to help others and the way he goes about it, is touching. This was a nice way to move forward and to plan for the future which would be so uncertain to a young boy of 12. I have seen some mixed reviews for this book. Many saying that they liked it but didn’t love it. I will say this, it holds you at arm’s length. Never going too deep into one part of the story and being very careful not to take you down too dark a path. I wouldn’t say the author chose to play it safe, it’s just how she chose to tell the story. Perhaps some of it was a little too convenient if hard to believe but this is a book where the “in-between” held my attention.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com