Dear Edward - Book Review

4 stars

This is about a 12 year old boy who is the sole survivor of a plane crash. Ann Napolitano based the story partially on the 2010 crash of Afriqiya Airways Flight 771 which had only one survivor, a 9 year-old Dutch boy. She also used another plane crash, flight recordings, etc. as part of her research, and so the book has a very realistic feel to it...not that I'm an expert though.

The story alternates between the present - Edward's story - and the passengers and crew of the plane before it crashed. I don't always like this style of writing, but for this book it really adds something. Have you ever looked round at a group of people and wondered about their lives, what they were thinking, how they were feeling, and their viewpoint on life? I often have. We can be locked up in our own world and it's hard to imagine people in their own little world. I feel this is a key element of this story, that everyone, in one way or another, is locked into their own world, which links to Edward's journey through grief.

The story isn't over-sentimental, in fact it feels rather distant from the characters. This isn't entirely a drawback, it gives the sense of the diminishing of people struck by pain and tragedy. Like the old saying, 'he is a shadow of his former self'. Drifting through life like wraiths because part of them has died. This is particularly the case for Edward, but also for his aunt and uncle (that he moves in with) who have their own pains to process.

At first Edward is locked into his own pain but gradually you see him drawn out, bit by bit. It's cleverly done and without sentimentality.

There are some niggles. For me, it wasn't 5 stars because it felt a little too distant. I'm a very visual reader and it felt all greys and shadows - Edward and his aunt and uncle were just too opaque sometimes. As I said above, this helps to show how some people cope with pain by retreating from life, but I wanted a smidge more connection...just a glimpse. The disconnect from the characters went a little too far so that I didn't 100% care about them. It wasn't as moving as it could have been, for me.

There is a touch of colour at the end, but I won't spoil it by saying why.

All in all, a good read. The story kept moving forwards and I enjoyed it. I don't know that I'd read it again though, but I'm glad I did. I'd like to know more about the plane crashes she based the novel on, I think.