Dear Edward: A Review

A Jenna Bush Hager book club pick, Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano is described as a “transcendent coming-of-age story” of a 12-year old boy who is the lone survivor of a plane crash. As he struggles to accept his reality and deal with his unique circumstances, he is surrounded by his aunt and uncle, his neighbor-girlfriend, his psychiatrist, and his school principal. The odd set of support system leads him to a bigger world outside of his new New Jersey home as his story connects him to more people through letters that were sent to him over the years.

“They want to share something extraordinary about themselves, because you’ve experienced something extraordinary.”

– Dr. Mike, in “Dear Edward” by Ann Napolitano

Despite the story’s intriguing premise, I must admit that I had a hard time getting into the book especially at the beginning. It was long and drawn-out and the story didn’t really pick up for me till Edward discovers the bags of letters in his uncle’s garage. Suddenly, Edward, spurred into action over his discoveries also spurred me into getting more into the storyline. Perhaps the author wanted to also take us alongside Edward’s journey of slow awakening to his purpose and to the reality that he is alive. The first hundred pages were rather tedious back-and-forths between Edward as a survivor and flashback scenes from before the plane crashed. It slowly revealed other figures on the plane, who with their own struggles and character flaws, were heading to the West Coast on their own personal journeys. Perhaps it was intentional so the readers can also feel the difficulty and the length of time it took for Edward to come on his own, or maybe one has to just be in a certain mood to get into stories like these.

After Edward discovers the bags of letters in his uncle’s garage, the story picks up its tempo. Edward starts to see the world past himself which propels him to action. Relative strangers reaching out to him, trying to connect him as the last dot in their deceased loved one’s life to complete the picture they have of their dearly departed. This picked up the pace of the story which also helped this reader become more engaged.

Is it worth the read? It depends. Perhaps if you are searching for meaning as well, and at a crossroads in your life, it may be a good inspirational story to help you get off the couch from the soap opera of TV (Edward watched daytime soaps when he first lived with his aunt after the crash) to face the drama in your own life.

“There was no reason for what happened to you, Eddie. You could have died; you just didn’t. It was dumb luck. Nobody chose you for anything. Which means, truly, that you can do anything.”

– Madame Victory, futures teller, upper east side, NY

And though one would think that this sort of story would have a “you-were-saved-for-a-reason” moment, the above quote from the book pretty much sums up the fact that Edward, with the support of his friends and family, need to find his own purpose–a purpose of his own choosing and and act of his free will. His fate will always be intertwined with his experience in that plane crash but whatever he chooses to do about it will be his own.