Charlie, Presumed Dead by Anne Heltzel

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.

I received this book from Netgalley in return for my honest review.

This is another YA book I picked up on Netgalley.  While I enjoyed this book, I kept having the nagging feeling I'd read it before. Or at least something very similar to it.  I've been wracking my brain trying to figure it out to no avail.  Amber told me there is a Carrie Underwood song called "Two Black Cadillacs" that I may be thinking of. (Apparently it goes along the same lines as this book.)

This book is told from several different points of view.  You have Lena, Charlie's long time girlfriend. Then you have Aubrey, Charlie's girlfriend of 2 years and then of course, Charlie's view point.  Right away, I wasn't sold on the multiple view point aspect of the book. Sometimes I have a hard time keeping everybody straight and it's often hard to follow. This book did a better job of jumping around from person to person than a lot of other books I've read but I still had a hard time getting into the book.

Honestly, I had to force myself to finish it. It was an okay book but I really felt like the author was trying to hard to make the reader like the book. I liked it in the beginning but my interest started to wane after a while.  I think most typical teenage girls would enjoy it but I doubt if many other adults who read YA books would enjoy it. I give this book 2.5/5 stars.

~Laurie