Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

233 reviews

baileyraebooks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

glitterdeww's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't often pick up mystery thrillers, but I'm so glad that I read Sadie, by Courtney Summers. This is a gripping novel following the titular character, a nineteen year old girl full of guilt, grief, and rage after the murder of her little sister. If you have access to the audiobook of this novel, (check your local library app) I would highly recommend it. It's voiced by a full cast, and because half of the book follows a radio show host trying to piece together what happened, it sounds very much like a true crime podcast.

There are many ugly things in this book, so check content warnings. There's not a lot of graphic detail, just description enough to explain what happened to these girls. It's hard to look at, but like most difficult things I think it's important to understand what ugliness actually exists. I also want to stress that there's beauty in this novel, too. But it's the kind that makes your heart ache. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence

vayalanay's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual violence

faybae's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I borrowed this audiobook from the library, and I really think that's the best format for this. It made me cry at 3am.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Grief, Drug abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Murder, Child abuse, Child death, and Abandonment

bashsbooks's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I don't know what I expected from Sadie but it was a much different book than I imagined. Crime thrillers are not really my typical genre, but this one came highly reccommended by a friend. I enjoyed Sadie herself as a character - by far, she was the best part of the book and her narration was great. I was iffy on the dual narrative structure (as half the chapters are transcripts from a podcast about Sadie and her sister, Mattie) - but I think it ultimately made the ending stronger. Wish it ended differently. I don't know. I will be thinking about it for a long time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Child death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Blood, Alcoholism, Murder, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, Rape, and Physical abuse

Minor: Vomit, Pregnancy, and Cancer

xkeyla17's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcoholism, Addiction, Blood, Child abuse, Alcohol, and Child death

judassilver's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Rape

Moderate: Murder, Drug abuse, and Grief

Minor: Child death

angelokaspar's review against another edition

challenging dark inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Pedophilia

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse

katebb76's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

'Sadie' follows a 19 year old girl looking to avenge her sister's death... However, as we move through the book, we gradually learn that there is more to Sadie's determination to find who she believes to be Mattie's killer than we originally believe. This is a hard-hitting book but one that draws you in and really engages you.

There is fabulous character development of Sadie throughout the book; you feel more and more for her as the story unfolds and you realise just how much she has had to deal with in her young life and what she is carrying inside herself. The tension is also built wonderfully, with sections often left hanging to make you really consider the recent happenings and to make you think about how events had played out.

The whole novel is written half from Sadie's POV and half podcast-style (a style which is new to me but one which I found enjoyable and accessible). This is not a book I would have picked up myself but I am so glad that book club gave me the opportunity to experience this wonderful storytelling.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Pedophilia, Death, and Child abuse

nat_kiverse's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, Child death, Cursing, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting