Dear Edward
Ratings48
Average rating4.1
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Make sure you have tissues handy when you read [this] sure-footed tearjerker” (NPR) about a young boy who must learn to go on after surviving tragedy, from the author of the Oprah’s Book Club pick Hello Beautiful. Now streaming as an Apple TV+ series starring Connie Britton, written and executive produced by Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights and Parenthood) ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Washington Post, Parade, LibraryReads What does it mean not just to survive, but to truly live? One summer morning, twelve-year-old Edward Adler, his beloved older brother, his parents, and 183 other passengers board a flight in Newark headed for Los Angeles. Among them are a Wall Street wunderkind, a young woman coming to terms with an unexpected pregnancy, an injured veteran returning from Afghanistan, a business tycoon, and a free-spirited woman running away from her controlling husband. Halfway across the country, the plane crashes. Edward is the sole survivor. Edward’s story captures the attention of the nation, but he struggles to find a place in a world without his family. He continues to feel that a part of himself has been left in the sky, forever tied to the plane and all of his fellow passengers. But then he makes an unexpected discovery—one that will lead him to the answers of some of life’s most profound questions: When you’ve lost everything, how do you find the strength to put one foot in front of the other? How do you learn to feel safe again? How do you find meaning in your life? Dear Edward is at once a transcendent coming-of-age story, a multidimensional portrait of an unforgettable cast of characters, and a breathtaking illustration of all the ways a broken heart learns to love again. Praise for Dear Edward “Dear Edward is that rare book that breaks your heart and stitches it back together during a reading experience that leaves you profoundly altered for the better.”—Jodi Picoult, New York Times bestselling author of Mad Honey “Will lead you toward something wonderous, something profound.”—Kevin Wilson, New York Times bestselling author of Now Is Not the Time to Panic
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I devoured this book. In alternating chapters, a 10-year old boy copes with being the only survivor of an airplane crash that killed his parents and 15-year old brother. We get a sense of the plane passengers in their conversations, thoughts and actions while en route. We learn a bit about the family at the onset and the reason they are leaving NYC to live in LA. The chapters after the crash are the most powerful. Eddie (before the crash)/Edward (post crash), moves in with his aunt and uncle who have struggled (and failed) for years to have a child. They take on Edward's care as a duty, though he is loved by them and their lives are forever changed as well as Edward's life. His changed forever and a major part of it played out in social media and more attention then he ever wanted or expected. The “Edward” saga is about survival and loss and love and acceptance and grace. I loved it.
Récit de lecture, comme une valse à quatre temps :
1) Le résumé m'a tout de suite donné envie de lire ce roman : Edward, un garçon de douze ans, est le seul survivant du crash d'un avion qui a fait 191 victimes, dont ses parents et son frère aîné.
2) Le début m'a bien plu : pas de mélo, mais une délicatesse dans l'expression des émotions, avec une pudeur bienvenue
3) La suite m'a parfois semblé un peu longue, avec des passages un peu convenus et peut-être un peu moins de finesse dans le récit
4) La fin m'a captivé et ému. J'avais même la chair de poule en lisant certains passages.
Je ne dirais pas que c'est un livre parfait, je pourrais lui reprocher une écriture parfois formatée comme on le voit souvent dans les romans américains, mais c'est très efficace. Le résultat est redoutable : un récit prenant, puissant, que l'on referme à regret.
I've just finished this book that I started reading, really reading—lost in the story, lost in the wondering about what was going to happen next, lost in what this story makes me want to do now that I'm finished—this morning, and I'd like to start taking those actions provoked by reading this story—hugging everyone I know and love and telling them all that I love them and don't squander it all and then hugging them again...
I didn't think I was going to like this book; I was afraid it was going to leave me feeling depressed. Instead, I feel completed elated, in love with the world and all that's in it.
I knew the story was about a boy, the sole survivor of a plane crash, a crash that took the lives of his brother and his parents. We readers get to know the boy, of course, but we also are let into the eyes of the boy's parents and his brother and many of the people on the plane. They are a mix of people—some happy, some sad; some rich, some poor; some about to move forward, others retreating; some delighted with the way their lives have gone, others with regrets.
The book alternates beautifully between the story of the boy, who was Eddie and is now Edward, and the ways he deals with life after the crash, and the stories of the people on the plane before the crash.
It's not a perfect story; it's heavily weighted with optimism. I rounded up when I rated this book, maybe to encourage more people to read it so that it can spark more hugging and life-reflection.
