No. of pages: 269
Rating: 8/10
Synopsis: The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud tells the haunting story of a young man who narrowly survives a terrible car wreck that kills his little brother. Years later, the brothers’ bond remains so strong that it transcends the normal boundaries separating life and death. Charlie St. Cloud lives in a snug New England fishing village. By day he tends the lawns and monuments of the ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. Graced with an extraordinary gift after surviving the accident, he can still see, talk, and even play catch with Sam’s spirit. But townsfolk whisper that Charlie has never recovered from his loss.
Into his carefully ordered life comes Tess Carroll, a captivating, adventuresome woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that blows her back to harbor, to a charged encounter with Charlie, and to a surprise more overwhelming than the violent sea itself. Charlie and Tess discover a beautiful and uncommon connection that leads to a race against time and a desperate choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go.
Review: When Sam is 12, and Charlie 15, they are in a terrible car accident. Both die at the scene, but miraculously Charlie is brought back to life. But he's not the same Charlie anymore, now Charlie can see Sam's spirit, and he vows never to leave him. That is until he meets Tess, and Charlie realises what living is all about, but can he get past the spirits that haunt him?
This is a lovely book and perfect for a summer read. You'd imagine a book about death would be very depressing, but actually this book is uplifting, and shows more than anything how love affects us in every way. The story moves along at a nice pace, kind of in sync with Charlie's life in the book. I really liked all of the characters, and I especially loved the relationship between Charlie and Sam. My one disappointment with this book was that I guessed the big twist pretty early on in the book, but luckily it didn't ruin the enjoyment for me. I mainly picked this book up because I saw an advert for the movie being released this summer, and I'm so glad I did, it was an enjoyable read and I'm now looking forward to seeing how it adapts to film.
