The pick for the Barnes & Noble bookclub for its February 4th meeting. I read this a little earlier than I normally would in order to be able to lead the discussion. I had never read any of Ann Napolitano's other books so I don't know if this is her usual style/story telling way but I loved it. And I want to get a fern.
Dear Edward is beautiful and heartbreaking but also cathartic and life affirming. Edward begins the tale as 12 year old Eddie and he is moving with his family, his mom Jane, his dad Bruce, and his big brother Jordan, from New York to California. Along the way the plane they are on crashes and he is the lone survivor. The story is told in a back and forth through time fashion. It alternates between the start of the flight and the time leading up to and then the crash and Eddie waking up in the hospital and his time after as Edward and trying to live again with his Aunt and Uncle and new friends Shay and her mom Besa.
During the pieces of the story told form the airport and aboard the plane we meet some of the other passengers on the plane. There is a gay wounded vet, a dying business legend, an up and coming trader, a pregnant young lady, a woman who believes she has lived hundreds of prior lives and remembers all of them, and a nurse with no name. We also meet some of the crew.
The after chapters tell the story of Edward. He has to learn how to live in a world without. Without his family, without falling apart, without letting others define him. But he finds his world still has a lot as well and that it takes time to see it and feel it. He has to learn that ok looks different now.
I'm not going to lie, this is a very emotional read and can be quite hard. But it is so worth it.
A quote I was particularly touched by sort of sums it up "In the moonlight, though, the pain is revealed to be love. The emotions are entwined; they are two sides of the same gleaming coin."
(Finished January 13, 2020)
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