Dear Edward, by Ann Napolitano

 

Characters
Flight 2977 – June 12, 2013	Others
Adler family: Bruce Jane Jordan – Mahira, girlfriend Eddie   Linda Stollen - pregnant ·       Gary – boyfriend   Florida – multiple lives, bells in skirt   Benjamin Stillman - soldier, wounded, colostomy ·       Gavin – friend ·       Lolly – adopted grandmother   Mark Lassio – businessman ·       Jax – brother, girlfriend Tahiti   Crispen Cox - businessman, disabled, author ·       Louisa – first wife ·       Harrison Cox -son ·       Private nurse   Veronica – flight attendant   Dr.  Nancy Louis	Lacey and John Curtis – Jane’s sister   Besa – neighbor Shay – daughter, Edward’s friend   Dr. Mike – therapist   Principal Arundhi – grows ferns   Mrs. Tulane – gym teacher   Margaret – girl Edward pushed in gym class   Madame Victory – fortune teller

For Discussion:

Note: Pages are from paperback edition.

1.       Did the author do a good job describing what it is like to be an airplane passenger?  She wrote, “The passengers are pulled into themselves: the long flight has only just begun, and they need to get used to this new space…They resign themselves to the new normal, one by one” (page 44).  Could you relate?

2.       Edward was most comfortable wearing Jordan’s clothes and he noticed that Lacey was wearing one of Jane’s blouses in January 2014 (page 133) to help her be “brave” and one of her sweaters in January 2016 (page 222).  How did these clothes comfort them?  Do you have any “comfort” clothes?

3.       In June 2015, Edward thought that while he “understands the adults’ desire for him to just be healed – how could they really understand what he’s been through?  But he feels like Lacey should know better” (page 164).  Was he hoping for too much from Lacey?  Should she have been handling things better or differently?

4.       Was Edward’s dependence on Shay a positive or negative?  Should he have been allowed to sleep on her bedroom floor for two years? 

5.       What did you think about the idea that people felt compelled to talk to Edward and tell them things?  Dr. Mike explained that they “want to share something extraordinary about themselves, because you’ve experienced something extraordinary” (page 117).  Did this seem probable to you?  Would you have wanted to tell Edward something about yourself?

6.       In the same vein, what did you think about the letters from victims’ families asking Edward to do something such as taking photographs like Dr. Louis, writing to a victim’s children, or walk the Great Wall of China?  Why did reading these requests suddenly help Edward sleep (page 239)?

7.       Shay compared Edward to Harry Potter because he “survived a terrible attack that no one should have been able to survive” and has “a scar like Harry Potter too. And you were taken in by your aunt and uncle” (page 74).  Was this helpful to Edward?

8.       Margaret knew that there were 11 Asian people on the plane.  When she talked to Edward about this, he felt that she “has just given him confirmation that feels like a puzzle piece locking into place and he was grateful” (page 208).   By this time, he had memorized the names of the other passengers.  Why did her comment provide relief to Edward?

9.       How did Florida and her multiple lives fit into the story line?  In the photograph taken the day of the memorial’s dedication, there was a curly-haired toddler looking at the grass instead of the sculpture.  Did you think that was Florida?

10.   In July 2013, Laney and John receive a binder with pictures of all the items found at the crash site and asking them to identify which belonged to their family members.  John wanted to keep it from Edward because Dr. Mike said their “job is to protect him” but Laney said she didn’t “want to lie to him.  I think he should be able to see the information, so he can make sense of it himself” (page 84).  Who do you think was correct? 

11.   Three years later, in March 2016, Edward and John have a conversation in the garage and John admitted that he and Lacey had withheld things from him because they were worried that Edward would commit suicide.  Edward replied, “I would not have done that to you…because I know what it’s like to be left behind” (page283).  On page 299 we read that “the atmosphere in the house has changed since Edward confronted his uncle in the garage.”  Was it possible to have had that conversation earlier in Edward’s recovery?  Was it right for John and Lacey to keep things from Edward?

12.   Why did Edward have issues with food?  To him, food seemed “not only unnecessary but irrelevant” (page 60).  He couldn’t “bear the idea of food that changes form in any way. Sloshing was intolerable, and he didn’t want anything with bubbles” (page 61).

13.   When Lacey was trying to get Edward to eat, she pleaded with him, “Please don’t do this…If Jane knew how badly I was doing at taking care of you…” (page 60).   Was she doing a bad job?  Was there anything she could have done differently?

14.   Discuss Louisa Cox.  Why did she send books to Edward (Cox’s business book, a biography of Teddy Roosevelt, and Harrison’s poetry book as a graduation gift)?   Were you surprised that she was invited to the high school graduation ceremony?

15.   Did you think the adults in the novel could or should have treated Edward differently?  Was it possible for him to recover any faster or at all?

16.   One of the criticisms of the book was that many of the characters were stereotypes.  Do you agree?

17.   Did you enjoy the reading experience?  Did you like the way the book was organized – how it kept switching between Edward’s current life and the last hours on the plane?