Dear Edward (Review)

“What happened is baked into your bones, Edward. It lives under your skin. It’s not going away. It’s part of you and will be part of you every moment until you die. What you’ve been working on, since the first time I met you, is learning to live with that.”

— Ann Napolitano, Dear Edward

The vibe

book / lounge set / blanket / bird necklace / slippers / popcorn bowls / wine glass

The review

One summer day, 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. The plane crashes and everyone dies — except 12-year-old Edward Adler. The book follows the young survivor as he copes with loss and the challenges that come with his survival. Flashing between before and after the crash, the story shows vignettes of the other passengers — the former soldier, an elderly writer, a flirty flight attendant, a young mother to be, and Edward’s family. The loved ones of all these passengers feel compelled to reach out to the last living person to see their husband, mother, girlfriend, etc. alive. So, they write him letters.

I knew this story would be an emotional one, but it didn’t make me sob outright until the end. Ann Napolitano created a very real feeling cast of characters — they were far from perfect people, but they didn’t deserve this fate.

Reading Edward’s story as he grows up was a true testament to how loss and trauma stays with you every step of your life. There are so many people who come into his life that are so amazing, and he would never have met them if the crash hadn’t happened.

It’s such a good story, and I highly recommend it to those who loved A Man Called Ove — the audio version is really good too!

The show

Apple TV adapted the book to a TV show and I was so excited to watch it! The first episode was really good. While the book doesn’t have details of the crash until the end, the show starts with that. I think it was really emotional for me because I had just finished the book.

There are very few characters from the book in the show. The Adler family is pretty much the same, and Edward’s aunt, uncle, and neighbors are pretty much the same, but there will be random characters that have the same name but are completely different. Then there are completely new characters and storylines in the show — these are so random to me. There’s even one character who died on the crash who’s in the show… but she wasn’t on the flight that day.

I think I’d like the show more if I had some months or a year in between reading and watching. I’m very distracted by all the changes and some of the acting and/or writing is meh. I’m debating finishing the show — I’m only a few episodes in.