A Letter from Norman

A Letter From Norman (ノーマンからの手紙) is the first spinoff novel written by Nanao (七緒), based on The Promised Neverland Manga written by Kaiu Shirai and illustrated by Posuka Demizu. The novel is about Norman reflecting on the good times he spent with his siblings in years prior on the day he is shipped out. Apart from the Prologue, each chapter is set before the Introduction Arc.

A Letter from Norman was first published on June 4, 2018 in Japan under Shueisha's Jump j-Books.

It was announced that a sequel spinoff novel is set to be published on 4 January 2019 alongside Volume 12 of the manga. The sequel is titled "Moms' Song of Remembrance".

Currently, the novel is available in Japanese, French, Italian, and Spanish. An official English translation of the novel is yet to be released.

Synopsis
Norman wrote a letter to guide the escape from Grace Field on November 3, 2045, which is his shipment day. As he writes, he reflects on happy memories he spent with Emma and Ray years prior.

Prologue
On the day of his shipment, Norman writes down his escape plan for Emma whist reminiscing on happy memories from his childhood with Yvette.

A Ghost at Grace Field House
In 2039, 5-year-old Emma, Norman, and Ray investigate sightings of a ghost at Grace Field House.

The Day Emma Cried
In 2041, 7-year-old Norman gets sick and Emma tries to find a cure.

The Bird in a Cage
In 2044, on the day before Susan's shipment, 9-year-old Emma rescues an injured baby bird and cares for it with help from Norman, Ray, and Susan.

A Gift from the 39th Girl
In early 2045, 10-year-old Norman spots a girl he has never seen before on the property of Grace Field House. After strange things start to happen around the house, Emma, Norman, and Ray set out to discover who this mysterious girl really is.

Inconsistencies with the manga

 * In the novel, it is revealed that a child named Cindy was living at Grace Field House Plant 3 in 2045. But in the manga no child by that name is present at the house in that year. However, a toy with Cindy’s name written on it is seen in Isabella's secret room in chapter 17 of the manga, suggesting that she once lived there.
 * In the novel, it is revealed that Jimmy was shipped days after Emma's 9th birthday, which was in August 2043 and he was also shipped only one week before Susan. However, we know from this image that Susan was the 5th child shipped before Conny. We know from the novel that Jimmy was the child shipped before Susan, making him the 6th child shipped before Conny. If each plant at Grace Field ships out 5-6 kids a year and one roughly every two months then that means Jimmy and Susan would have been shipped in mid 2044. Basically, there is no way for Jimmy to be shipped days after Emma’s 9th birthday in August 2043 AND be shipped only a week before Susan who, doing the math, would have been shipped in late August or early September 2044. The timeline does not add up.

Trivia

 * The cover of the novel is one of the many fisheye illustrations done by Posuka Demizu. Other fisheye illustrations done by the latter include:


 * The story is written in Norman's perspective.
 * Norman writing his letter to Emma could be seen in a flashback scene in Chapter 34 of the manga, as he used a piece of drawing paper from Yvette to write.
 * Norman's shipping date from Grace Field House is on November 3, 2045. Which all happened in Chapter 30 of the manga.
 * There were at least 7 known orphans who were older than Emma, Norman and Ray : Olivia, Michelle, Susan, Marcus, Robert (two years older), Helena and Abby (one year older).
 * In a Q&A with Kaiu Shirai, it was revealed that Olivia and Michelle are the two girls who were shown in the Christmas Omake Chapter 21.5.


 * Ray is not a superstitious person unlike most of the other orphans in Grace Field, as he do not believe in the existence of ghosts.Citation needed
 * Ray revealed how all the books he had read are fantasy books, thus implying how fantasy is his favorite genre of books.