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amystainton's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Before this book I was in a massive reading slump. I listened to this as an audiobook and it was one of the best experiences I’ve had with audiobooks. The sound was so detailed, it created the perfect environment for becoming enthralled in the story. Great for getting out a reading slump.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Death, Cursing, Car accident, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Drug use, Abandonment, Rape, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Child death, Murder, Mental illness, Bullying, and Addiction
megb64's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Murder, Alcoholism, and Child death
chavborromeo's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
First of all, What the fuck? I should have check the trigger warning first before reading this. Because I felt sick after reading this. I thought this book was about finding who murdered her sister (well, thats the story somehow but she already know who killed her sister). I can't stomach this story. I'm just happy that piece of shit was already dead. Those little girls😕. It angers me that those shitty things happens in real life. Pedophiles deserves a place in hell.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
abruce19's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
violet_pages's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Vomit, and Death of parent
erica_0000's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings: Child Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual Assault, Child Abuse, Drug Abuse, and Alcohol Addiction
“And it begins, as so many stories do, with a dead girl.”
This book absolutely destroyed me, and I devoured it in one night! (Despite this, the book contains heavy content so be sure to check the content warning before reading.) It was a brilliant page turner that was captivating with multiples twists and turns as a 19- year- old named Sadie runs away to hunt down the man who murdered her 13- year- old sister. It is told in dual POV with one as transcripts from a podcast run by a man named West who trying to find Sadie and the other is of Sadie herself tracking down her sister’s killer. I have never read a novel that is partially told in the form of a transcript, but I thought it was very clever and was interesting to see two sides of the same story. Sadie is just one of those main characters you can’t help but love and I loved the representation of having a main character that has a stutter.
The only thing that bothered me, and I didn’t take any stars off for this, is the why. This might have been elaborated in the book and I just missed it, but what drove Keith/ Darren/ Jack/ Christopher to kill Mattie. He was obviously a terrible person, but as far as we know, he had never killed anyone before, so what made him snap? What happened that he decided one day he was going to kill a 13-year-old girl?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Rape, Child death, and Sexual assault
notbrhymes's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
5.0
absolutely heart wrenching. this book is one of the best books I’ve ever read and also one of the hardest. The audiobook was absolutely incredible. Highly recommend, but definitely be mindful of the heavy topics discussed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Addiction, Death, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Murder, and Violence
awebofstories's review against another edition
tense
fast-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
3.0
I tried reading this book a few years ago and quickly gave up. I thought this would stay a DNF, but I was convinced to try the audio, and--yes--that is the way to go on this! In fact, I wonder why this wasn't an audio-only release.
Let's start off with trigger warnings for violence, substance abuse, and child sexual abuse. These topics are hard, especially the last one, so take care.
I appreciated that Summers tackled this story head-on. There were so many possible exit ramps where Summer could have taken the easier, softer way out. Yet, she persevered and told a story that played out realistically.
I enjoyed the podcast setup for this, which is why I think that audio is the only way to go with this. They used a full cast instead of just one or two narrators, which made it feel more like a podcast than an audiobook, and most of the performances were strong (there were a couple of one-liners here and there that didn't land quite right but that's no big deal).
My frustrations with the book come more from my own preferences than from any shortcomings on the story's part. Sadie makes decisions that I think are incredibly stupid, although I recognize that they are decisions that a teenager would make. Generally, Young Adult is not a genre that I read right now, and this is a strong Young Adult book that sometimes reminds you that it is a Young Adult Book. While I would never knock a book for being what it is, it isn't something I enjoy.
I can recognize the many strengths of this book, and I would recommend it to others. It just wasn't the type of book for me right now.
Let's start off with trigger warnings for violence, substance abuse, and child sexual abuse. These topics are hard, especially the last one, so take care.
I appreciated that Summers tackled this story head-on. There were so many possible exit ramps where Summer could have taken the easier, softer way out. Yet, she persevered and told a story that played out realistically.
I enjoyed the podcast setup for this, which is why I think that audio is the only way to go with this. They used a full cast instead of just one or two narrators, which made it feel more like a podcast than an audiobook, and most of the performances were strong (there were a couple of one-liners here and there that didn't land quite right but that's no big deal).
My frustrations with the book come more from my own preferences than from any shortcomings on the story's part. Sadie makes decisions that I think are incredibly stupid, although I recognize that they are decisions that a teenager would make. Generally, Young Adult is not a genre that I read right now, and this is a strong Young Adult book that sometimes reminds you that it is a Young Adult Book. While I would never knock a book for being what it is, it isn't something I enjoy.
I can recognize the many strengths of this book, and I would recommend it to others. It just wasn't the type of book for me right now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Violence
_fallinglight_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Girl, I hadn't cried over a book or MC in a long ass time, but you did it Courtney Summers! This book got under my skin and emotionally destroyed me. I honestly didn't know what this book was about. I went into it blind bc I just wanted to finish off one of my challenges and it said to read book with mostly white cover and this one looked the most interesting. So I was wrecked when I finally knew what it was about as the story unfolded, but this book is fantastically done. As painful and emotionally ravaging Sadie's story I was deeply entranced with her and this book and I'm glad to have read it. It's kinda crazy to say it's been one of my favorite reads, for how sad and soul wrecking it is, but it definitely earned the spot. I cried so much reading the ending! And even though I hope Sadie pretended to be dead somehow and didn't actually die, I get why this ending makes sense. Sadie had no life outside Mattie and didn't want one, plus all the guilt she felt for her murder, so leaving this life was the best, and unfortunately, desired outcome for her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Vomit, Child death, Sexual assault, and Rape
maddiie046's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Murder, and Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Drug use