Reviews

Dear Edward, by Ann Napolitano

kelsielynn_reads's review

emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

nancidrum's review

5.0

Loved this book! 5 stars! Would be great for a book group discussion. This is the first novel I've read by this author, but I would definitely read more from her. The writing is easy to read, but yet just beautifully written. I totally fell in love with Edward the MC as well as Shay, his friend/neighbor. Reads very fast! This one is going to stay with me for awhile.

jessicaeisenhooth's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

toni1509's review against another edition

4.0

My expectations were much higher. I just didn't feel enough of that sympathy with the characters, it was all a bit shallow. Although the book is quite well written, there's just that feeling like something's missing in all of it.

crmccleary's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.75

kellyscott8's review

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

sassymean's review

4.0

I really liked this story by Ann Napolitano. I liked how Napolitano dealt with trauma and grief. I liked how she flipped back and forth from two timelines within the story. For me, that really worked well to present the events leading up to the fatal plane crash, and how Edward has to deal in the years directly after. This was a very slow burn of a story, and I found myself getting distracted at times. Also, a lot of characters are introduced, which for the most part I appreciated. It could get confusing at times, however.

iamderealthing's review

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

halfcentreader's review

4.0

Edward is a 12 year old who survives an airline crash the claims the lives of every other soul on board. The author alternates between what happenened on that flight during the hours it was in the air and how post crash Edward copes.
Having just flown commericial airline, I could vividly imagine most of what happened on the plane, because as the author shows, accidents happen with little warning, so these folks on the plane were concerned with their inner thoughts ... just enduring a long flight the best any of us do.

Post crash Edward was dealing with a trauma that no one could really understand.
I totally believed that people would write this survivor as a means of getting a last word to their lost loved ones... and even believed that they would not have given one thought to how their words would affect him. Writing a letter to a person they didn't know would be freeing for them... a way for them to heal.

jbrooks124's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 A tale filled with heaviness and loss, of a young boy who is the sole survivor of the unthinkable. While moving cross-country with his family, his plane crashes...

Spoiler

and we learn that it is entirely due to human error.

He deals with depression, his new and unexpected life, and growing up without his parents and brother. A tender story, but a number of the emotions were muted in my opinion, because of Edward's depression and repressed emotion. Still, a beautiful and touching story.