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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
I would have given this book three stars. Overall, it was a pretty solidly three-star-worthy book.
I wanted a change of pace, so I picked up this book hoping that it would really grab me by the throat and give me that "I have to keep reading" feeling. It didn't, which is odd, given that the subject matter is almost guaranteed to provoke SOME kind of emotion.
This book is about Sadie, the older sister of a murdered girl, who goes missing herself. It's told half from Sadie's perspective, and half from the perspective of a crime/news podcaster trying to follow her story and piece together what happened to her. I've heard that the audiobook is amazing, because it really gives you the feeling of listening to a podcast, but honestly the podcast chapters were my favorite ones anyway. It was Sadie's perspective that kept losing my interest.
This is fine though. It was enough for me to make it through. I think this book did a great job portraying Sadie's struggles and desperation, and treating the topics of neglect, addiction, and sexual abuse with both honesty and dignity. For that, even though I wasn't able to be as interested as I wanted to be, I would have given it three stars.
Except that we never find out what happened to Sadie.
This is very true to life for crime podcasts, and why I usually never listen to them despite being interested in true crime. Unsolved crimes are the worst and I hate investing in them and feeling emotions about them only to NEVER find out the truth. This being a fictional book, I did not expect it to betray me in such a way.
Really? Not even a quick, vague epilogue from Sadie's perspective, or something to let us guess at what happened, even if the podcaster never found out? This was PROFOUNDLY annoying and disappointing, and detracted from the entire previous experience of reading the book.
I wanted a change of pace, so I picked up this book hoping that it would really grab me by the throat and give me that "I have to keep reading" feeling. It didn't, which is odd, given that the subject matter is almost guaranteed to provoke SOME kind of emotion.
This book is about Sadie, the older sister of a murdered girl, who goes missing herself. It's told half from Sadie's perspective, and half from the perspective of a crime/news podcaster trying to follow her story and piece together what happened to her. I've heard that the audiobook is amazing, because it really gives you the feeling of listening to a podcast, but honestly the podcast chapters were my favorite ones anyway. It was Sadie's perspective that kept losing my interest.
This is fine though. It was enough for me to make it through. I think this book did a great job portraying Sadie's struggles and desperation, and treating the topics of neglect, addiction, and sexual abuse with both honesty and dignity. For that, even though I wasn't able to be as interested as I wanted to be, I would have given it three stars.
Except that we never find out what happened to Sadie.
This is very true to life for crime podcasts, and why I usually never listen to them despite being interested in true crime. Unsolved crimes are the worst and I hate investing in them and feeling emotions about them only to NEVER find out the truth. This being a fictional book, I did not expect it to betray me in such a way.
Really? Not even a quick, vague epilogue from Sadie's perspective, or something to let us guess at what happened, even if the podcaster never found out? This was PROFOUNDLY annoying and disappointing, and detracted from the entire previous experience of reading the book.
wow, what an intense and mostly depressing book. Sadie followed two different stories, the path of Sadie, a broken girl who'd lost her reason for living - her sister, and the path of a reporter on the radio as he followed Sadie on her mission to avenge her sister.
this book left me with a hate for humankind and even more questions than i began with, but overall i just hope that Sadie is content now.
this book left me with a hate for humankind and even more questions than i began with, but overall i just hope that Sadie is content now.
This was an exquisite audiobook, one where multiple readers enhanced the story rather than feeling like a publicity stunt.
I don't give many five star reviews, so you might be wondering what kind of book is this? This is the kind of book you stay up past midnight to finish, even though you know you have school the next morning. This is the kind of book you finish reading, and it stays with you as you ponder the circumstances of the protagonist, the ending of the book. This is the kind of book you might reread, or maybe listen to the audiobook after reading the print copy. This is the type of book you will recommend to anyone who will listen to you: fellow teachers, students, friends.
Sadie tells her story, which alternates with a podcast transcript from investigative reporter West McCray (think Serial). The story is heavy from the start: Sadie’s thirteen year old sister was murdered, and she has set out to find and kill her murderer. Investigative reporter West McCray has been contacted to find Sadie herself, who has not been seen in months. What we learn as we follow both Sadie and the reporter is a tale of addiction, abuse, and heartbreak.
Summers employs an innovative format in the podcast transcript, choosing to tell part of the story through the interviews with others. The interviewees are not always reliable, and it is interesting to contrast Sadie’s experience as she is going through it with West McCray’s discoveries after the fact. The ending, while neither happy nor satisfactory, is appropriate to the book and will leave you thinking about Sadie’s story long after you finish it.
Sadie tells her story, which alternates with a podcast transcript from investigative reporter West McCray (think Serial). The story is heavy from the start: Sadie’s thirteen year old sister was murdered, and she has set out to find and kill her murderer. Investigative reporter West McCray has been contacted to find Sadie herself, who has not been seen in months. What we learn as we follow both Sadie and the reporter is a tale of addiction, abuse, and heartbreak.
Summers employs an innovative format in the podcast transcript, choosing to tell part of the story through the interviews with others. The interviewees are not always reliable, and it is interesting to contrast Sadie’s experience as she is going through it with West McCray’s discoveries after the fact. The ending, while neither happy nor satisfactory, is appropriate to the book and will leave you thinking about Sadie’s story long after you finish it.
4.5
Trata un tema re importante y me fue interesante de leer, más por el final. Por alguna razón pensé q la hermana la había matado
Trata un tema re importante y me fue interesante de leer, más por el final. Por alguna razón pensé q la hermana la había matado
I’m struggling to rate this one so I’ll go with 3.5 stars rounded up to 4– a heartbreaking & disturbing story with an exceptionally executed audio, I kept forgetting it was a book & not a true crime podcast.
very interesting plot and characters are well developed. i like that the ending didn’t actually reveal what happened to her. dual perspective was well done. i like that part of the book was written like a podcast, and i think the author could have taken advantage of this more.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
5/5 Stars
This faced paced, hard hitting contemporary was excellent! I would highly recommend listening to this via audiobook- it really enhanced the experience. The audiobook is a full cast production and worth a listen!
And I LOVED the ending!
This faced paced, hard hitting contemporary was excellent! I would highly recommend listening to this via audiobook- it really enhanced the experience. The audiobook is a full cast production and worth a listen!
And I LOVED the ending!