[ARC Review] Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray—a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America—overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie's journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it's too late.
  
** Sadie by Courtney Summers was sent to me unsolicited by Wednesday Books and Macmillan Publishers. So I of course want to send out a giant thank you to them along with the author for sending a copy my way. However, this does not affect my opinions or thoughts whatsoever and this is an honest spoiler-free review. **

tw: pedophilia, sexual abuse, parental neglect, & drug abuse

4.5 STARS

Wow I don't think I've ever read anything like this before! Sadie's story is told in two formats. The first being Sadie's point of view of what happened when she went missing to get revenge for Mattie's death, and the second being a radio show hosted by West McCray. West has been hired by Mary Beth, Sadie and Mattie's surrogate grandmother. I thought the investigation West puts on was just as exiting as Sadie's point of view so I was hooked from the beginning.

I loved Sadie as a character. She is so loyal to her sister that it is almost heartbreaking. She will do everything she can to avenge her sister's death and despite the hurdles that are thrown at her constantly she never lets up. Never for a moment does she seem to think about calling it quits and she barrels on almost without any self preservation. She is desperate, unstable, and grieving in such a raw way that it physically hurt sometimes to be in her head space. I do not know how anyone could not feel all the emotions while reading this book because I felt so emotional during my reading experience and even after I finished.

The writing for the most part is really well done. I loved the two formats and like I said earlier, I really loved both points of view. But beyond that, I think they came together really well. It's obvious that Courtney Summers is a fantastic writer and I definitely plan on looking into other things she has written. I already want to read her book All The Rage. However, there is only one part of the writing I did have issues with, which was the transitions from flashback to present tense in Sadie's perspective. There are some flashbacks that are a bit fuzzy on purpose for reasons I don't want to go into details with because of spoilers, but I was less upset with those moments. However there are other flashbacks that end so abruptly and we jump into the present that it did take me a moment to clarify where I was in the story. It didn't take more than a few seconds but in that time I am pulled out of the story. Which was unfortunate because I was completely immersed and hooked otherwise.

One thing I find extremely cool is that MacMillan Publishers has also created a podcast named The Girls where you can hear the radio show West McCray hosts. I have been listening to it on my iPhone in the podcast app and I've been loving it. It started August 1st and one episode seems to be coming out each week. So we are only two episodes in, if you're interested. It's the entire chapters with West McCray so I love reading along while listening. If you are into podcasts I definitely recommend checking it out while reading the book because it makes the experience even better.


Overall, I highly recommend this story. It's a dark one and I definitely encourage knowing what you can and cannot handle. The triggers I mentioned above are not detailed or graphic but they are a prominent theme in the books and I want everyone to be safe while reading. If you think you can read it I definitely think you should because it's so well done and you will be feeling so raw by the end of the story.

Thanks for reading!