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sincerelykai's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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? Yes
3.75
Wow. This was, really, really hard to read. I truly believe that it was beautifully written - and the mix between Sadie's POV and the podcast transcripts was brilliant. It deserves all of the hype it gets because it was absolutely gut-wrenching for me. The only reason this is getting just a little less than four stars is merely my overall personal enjoyment while reading - it took me forever to finish and I was never truly motivated to finish it until the last quarter of the book. That could have been my reading mood, however, because I would still 100% recommend this book! Especially for those who love true-crime podcasts. (I might re-visit and update my star-rating later). Another reason why I am semi-disappointed is the ending. We do not have Sadie's death entirely confirmed and I would rather know than not. HOWEVER, it does work well with the podcast layout as with most true-crime podcasts there are no true 'ends' after investigations. So I am at a cross-roads between completely hating the ending, and applauding it for its correlation to the realm of true-crime podcasts. Just be cautious and review the content warnings before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Abandonment, Car accident, and Suicidal thoughts
desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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
4.0
Ich kann nicht sagen, dass ich es genossen habe dieses Hörbuch zu hören, weil die Geschichte selbst so gruselig ist. Es ist gut erzählt und die Story zieht einen wirklich, besonders dadurch wie realitätsnah sie ist, in ihren Bann. Ich glaube nicht, dass mir dieses Buch so schnell aus dem Kopf gehen wird. Man hofft, wie auch bei Fällen im echten Leben auf ein gutes Ende, aber die Wahrheit ist, manchmal gibt es nur Ungewissheit.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Stalking
hakeema17h's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Murder, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, and Child abuse
lisa_m's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
3.0
⚠️❗Trigger Warning: child abuse, rape, molestation, pedophilia, death, depression, drug abuse and murder❗⚠️
This book was quite a ride and also quite out of my comfortzone. That is also the reason why you shouldn't let my review of only 3⭐ make you not want to read the book.
It is incredibly written and I can absolutely appreciate it for what it is. The representation of stuttering (which I have never ever read in a book before!) was something you have to get used to but its definitely worth it.
What made it hard for me to get through was mainly the themes of the book. I have put the Trigger Warnings on top and as you can see there's a lot of them. All of those topics are definitely issues that have to be adressed. I read the book knowing it was going to be hard to get through but I did it and I'm glad I did. The book never made me feel like it was exploiting Sadies experiences and memories. She had flashbacks and she described what she experienced but it was never in extreme detail.
I'm not a fan of horror/gore/thrillers and the book isn't that at all. It's a YA-contemporary mystery with very heavy topics. If you feel like you are able to read it, I would definitely recommend it. It made me think a lot for sure.
This book was quite a ride and also quite out of my comfortzone. That is also the reason why you shouldn't let my review of only 3⭐ make you not want to read the book.
It is incredibly written and I can absolutely appreciate it for what it is. The representation of stuttering (which I have never ever read in a book before!) was something you have to get used to but its definitely worth it.
What made it hard for me to get through was mainly the themes of the book. I have put the Trigger Warnings on top and as you can see there's a lot of them. All of those topics are definitely issues that have to be adressed. I read the book knowing it was going to be hard to get through but I did it and I'm glad I did. The book never made me feel like it was exploiting Sadies experiences and memories. She had flashbacks and she described what she experienced but it was never in extreme detail.
I'm not a fan of horror/gore/thrillers and the book isn't that at all. It's a YA-contemporary mystery with very heavy topics. If you feel like you are able to read it, I would definitely recommend it. It made me think a lot for sure.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence
thedesireader's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Gaslighting
lubsyreads's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse
777_assia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Wauw. Woorden kunnen niet beschrijven hoeveel dit boek een impact op mij heeft gehad in de afgelopen 3-4 dagen. Dit is een boek dat je vaak moet wegleggen, (door veel TW's) een boek dat je oncomfortabel zal laten worden, en bovenal een boek dat je zal laten huilen. Ik haat een haat-liefde relatie met Sadie's personage. Dit boek zal me altijd bij blijven.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
oldandnewbooksmell's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Trigger Warnings: child abuse, pedophilia, sexual assault, drug use, child death, addiction, parental neglect
Sadie is told both in the first person of Sadie, and in the transcript of West McCray’s podcast, “The Girls”, as Sadie goes on the hunt for her younger sister’s killer.
This isn’t a happy-go-lucky book. At all. This novel covers stories that unfortunately happen more often than anyone would ever like to admit that they do. It’s very dark and raw. It doesn’t come right out and say what happened in Sadie’s past at first, but it gets more and more into it the further along the story goes.
Sadie had me rooting so loudly for her as well as applauding her for her strength. At the same time, I wished to be able to pull her out of the story, wrap her in a warm blanket with a hot drink, and give her the safety she desperately, desperately needed. She truly shattered my heart.
West McCray’s part with the podcast would sometimes make me angry. Because, here comes a podcast host who is digging around finding things that the police missed out on. that happens more often than not when it comes to missing young adults / teenagers who come from poverty or underprivileged areas.
This is my first book by Courtney Summers and after reading this, I can tell she doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of the world. Though this is YA, Summers knows what her readers can handle and what teenagers are capable of.
This novel is not just a story - it’s a voice, the voice of all the little girls who ended up in the hands of adults they should have been able to trust.
I can’t take another dead girl, either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Pedophilia
thelittlestmermaid's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Drug use, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
lizgom's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book would be 5 stars if it wasn’t because of the podcast style it’s written in. It’s a great audiobook, 5/5. But I wish someone would’ve recommended it that way before I got to reading. It’s an intriguing story. Throughout the whole book I just wanted to find a way to help these girls. I felt for them, I cried. I wanted to DO something. I certainly stopped reading or listening a couple of times to gather my thoughts. I bawled my eyes out. There was a point where my family took my kindle away because this book was just SO damn emotional. I wish trigger warnings were used more seriously as well as being taken more seriously because I didn’t think they’d be accurate, but damn. I felt so many raw things because I didn’t take the trigger warnings seriously. It's a great book, just beware of the things that people warn you against with this one. Courtney wasn’t playing around with this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Violence, Murder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Drug use, and Death