Dear Edward is a novel published by Ann Napolitano in 2020. On May 12, 2010, Afriqiyah Airways Flight 771 crashed as it was flying into Tripoli's airport, just a little over a thousand yards short of the runway. The entire crew and all but one passenger perished as a result of the crash. The one single survivor was a nine-year-old boy. This true story became the basis for Napolitano's fictionalized version told in this, her third novel. The story is structured in a non-linear fashion in which present tense is used to tell both the story of the title character's life following the crash as well as flashbacks to events leading to the tragic accident.
The setting has been shifted halfway across the world to Denver, Colorado. And instead of literally a little Dutch boy being the survivor, Edward is an American. The focus of the story is also repurposed so that it is not the tragedy of the accident itself driving the narrative, but the effects upon Edward from the attention he receives as a miracle story. This media blitz is something that would be of far greater intensity to an American child.
The book was met with mostly positive critical reviews, receiving notable acclaim from The New York Times. Doubtlessly due in no small part to those raves, the book entered that paper's prestigious best-seller list in the top five positions. The buzz created by such notable reviews and big sales also doubtlessly led to the very quick adaptation for the screen. On February 3, 2023, a series based on the book premiered on the Apple TV+ streaming service. Newcomer Colin O'Brien won the coveted role of the title character despite having appeared in just two roles previously.
