Dear Edward ― Ann Napolitano ― “Take stock of who we are, and what we have, and then use it for good.”

This story was incredible and unadventurous, which is such a strange combination. The story is told in two narratives: before and after the crash, and I did not enjoy the pre-crash story. I considered this part of the story a filler that did not add any value to the main character’s development. The author makes a bold decision of telling and lightly developing all those characters which in the end you cannot connect with them, and, in the end, their stories become irrelevant.

Moving to Edward, you have a complex, dynamic and problematic character. He has to deal with so much starting from surviving that horrible accident, overcoming the trauma generated by it, and how to find his place in the world and defining who he is after an event of such magnitude. On top of that, he has the pressure of the world on his shoulders, and he is constantly harassed by people and the siblings of the victims of the crash, and how they sanctify him and don’t respect his space or process to grief.

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The author is incredible at portraying the survivor’s guilt or syndrome, and his constant questioning about why he survived and not someone else like his brother. The principal of his school, for me, is one of the sweetest characters that provide such primordial guidance towards the healing process. One of the biggest realizations done by Edward in his own guilt and trauma is understanding that death is not the worst of faiths but being left behind… and understanding that this accident not only affected him alone but all the siblings, lovers, and friends left behind.

The end of the story had so much energy and was so strong. The author had been building the climax and the resolution of the conflict since the very beginning of the story. We finally get to listen or read the reasons for the accident and how horrible it was for them all. The epilogue was literally life and it gave the deserve conclusion and the understanding that some wounds will heal whereas others will always leave a nasty scar.

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