Dear Edward, Week 4

Welcome to the final discussion of Dear Edward.

Did you enjoy the way the book finished? Did you find yourself crying at the end? I think I cried throughout the last section. It was all so sad. Reading about the plane crash itself was as painful as I thought it would be. 

When we left Edward in the second section, he was going to go see Jordan's girlfriend. Did that trip go as you expected it would? It was interesting to see that his reaction to Mahira made Shay jealous. The trip definitely helped Edward and Shay realize their feelings for each other. Mahira was really kind. She related to Edward and treated him differently than most people he has interacted with in the book. Weren't you glad when you read near the end that Edward was going to pay for Mahira's college education? I knew he would put all of that money to good use. Mahira was such a sad character because it was obvious she had feelings for Jordan, but she wasn't publicly known as his girlfriend, and she wasn't anything permanent to him like a spouse, so I think she didn't get to grieve like other people. 

Weren't you glad when Shay and Edward let John know about the fact that they were reading the letters? I was relieved once an adult knew. Those letters were just so intense. I felt like someone else needed to know about it. I was glad John wasn't mad about it. He seems like a more relaxed man than I thought he was at the beginning of the book. It was nice once Edward was able to be honest and open about his feelings with his aunt and uncle. That really helped them all get closer. And, it was important when his aunt and uncle felt like he was strong enough to hear some of their feelings. I was glad when they all started to come together as a family. 

Near the end of the book, Edward talks to his therapist about the fact that he feels like he should be over the plane crash by now. The therapist assures him that the plane crash will be with him forever--that it is baked into his bones. Didn't you think that was an interesting way to describe his trauma? I think that helped Edward realize that it was normal for him to always have pain about the accident. But, he could still learn to live a full life with that pain. 

The pages about the final moments before the plane crash were so hard to read. It was really heartbreaking that the crash was a result of pilot error. That made me really sad. And then reading about the fact that Edward's mom wished she were back with them was really hard. It was also really hard to read about the last moments Edward had with his father and brother. I didn't even want to read those pages, but I'm glad I did. Did you struggle to make it through those pages? 

It was also heartbreaking to read about how the paramedic found Edward in the wreckage. I cannot believe that he survived. That was pretty incredible. 

At the end of the book, Edward goes to the memorial. It seems like he has been able to build a life for himself, and it was nice to see that used the money well. Are you glad that it appears that Shay and Edward will have a great life together? I'm glad he was able to build a life for himself through the pain. And, I'm glad he had someone like Shay with him through the whole thing. I thought the ending was really satisfying. Did you enjoy the ending? Would you have changed anything about it? 

Did you enjoy this book? If you liked this book and would like to read some similar titles, check out this list I created. Let me know if you check out anything on the list!

Check out the video below to see a sneak peek of the Apple TV+ series. Don't you think it looks very different from the book? Do you think you will watch the show? Let me know if you've already seen the show and enjoyed it!

Thanks so much for following along this month! I hope you loved the book. I can't wait to hear what you thought in the comments. Make sure to come back next month as we read The Wild Robot by Peter Brown.