Review: Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

My rating: 1 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: June 2nd 2015
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st Person, Female & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery, Friendship, Romance

BLURB:

In Paris, family and friends gather to mourn the tragic passing of Charlie Price—young, handsome, charming, a world-traveler—who is presumed dead after an explosion. Authorities find only a bloodied jacket, ID’d as Charlie’s. At the funeral, two teens who are perfect strangers, Lena Whitney and Aubrey Boroughs, make another shocking discovery: they have both been dating Charlie, both think Charlie loved them and them alone, and there is a lot they didn’t know about their boyfriend. Over the next week, a mind-bending trip unfolds: first in London—then in Mumbai, Kerala, and Bangkok, the girls go in search of Charlie. Is he still alive? What did their love for him even mean? The truth is out there, but soon it becomes clear that the girls are harboring secrets of their own.

No one knows whom to trust in this thrilling tale of suspense and deception.

REVIEW:

This book is so dull and uneventful. I am not feeling inclined to muster any motivation that will help me get past page 114. Absolutely not.

It’s the story of two girls – Lena and Aubrey – whom both dated a guy named Charlie. But they didn’t know this liar was cheating on them before going to his funeral and stumbling upon each other. Now the girls are perplexed and can smell something fishy in the air. After all, no body was found. Could it be that he is still alive? There’s this slight possibility… and so Lena and Aubrey pack up their things and disappear in search for their missing ex-boyfriend.

I think both characters are stupid. Not because they were duped (Charlie was pretty secretive and clever in his doing), but mostly for the reason that they both start trusting each other to an elevated point not even a day after their first meeting. They know nothing about the other person, yet they still fly off to different countries together, like secret agents on an important mission. I know that there would be no plot without them acting this way, but still. I don’t think someone would actually do that – I wouldn’t. And, two girls alone in multiple foreign countries? Talk about imprudence.

Despite all that, I would have still kept on reading, if only it weren’t such a slow-paced book filled with unnecessary filler information. I see no point in learning what your parents might be doing while you’re with Lena, Aubrey, and I don’t care about the type of food they’re probably eating at diner. The characters are so boring. There’s nothing special about them, and to me they seemed pretty similar to one another, except for Lena being impulsive. Charlie, however, is mentally lost (and mentally ill, I assume). He doesn’t know what he wants, what he needs, WHO he needs, and what to do with his life. We had (up to where I got) some chapters with his point of view, and I must say that they were the only ones I truthfully enjoyed… but there were merely a few of them.

The romance… heavy sigh. Too much infidelity in this story for me to bear.

I planned on DNFing Charlie, Presumed Dead when I was on page 90, but then felt bad about it since it always makes me feel uncomfortable to DNF physical ARCs but, well, I have so many (hopefully) great reads waiting for me, that I preferred stopping a few chapters later than continuing with much struggling involved.

Bye-bye, book.

15 thoughts on “Review: Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel”

I’m really sorry this wasn’t a good book for you 😦 —I was planning on reading it, but maybe now I might shift it to the back of my TBR. Hope you have better luck with other books 🙂

Share this:

15 thoughts on “Review: Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel”

Leave a comment Cancel reply