Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

201 reviews

tkhenry99's review against another edition

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, and Pedophilia

aprilyvonne's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

5.0

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Sadie” by Courtney Summers broke me. My eyes are still puffy and I’ve used more tissues in the last couple of hours than I normally do while reading. It’s always hard to review a book that tears your heart outside of its body, while recognizing that you also appreciated the story. I can’t even decide on which word to describe this reading experience. Either way, “Sadie” was well written, vivid, but also heart wrenching and horrid.

I didn’t know anything going into the novel, so the true crime podcast style was a welcomed touch. Yet, once more details about the crimes came to light, the more painful it was to read. 

Sadie’s character will live on in my memory for a long time due to her tenacity, grit, and heart, which were enthralling and admirable qualities. Considering all what she had gone though, it was hard not to feel for her. The whole messy situation and family dynamics shed light on so many unspoken issues in the world. Unfortunately, some of those reminders hit too close to home at times. 

West McCray, the journalist that goes on this journey with readers in search of what happened and the search for Sadie, was genuine and sincere. I listened to the audiobook while following along with my hardcopy (as I often do). The narrators were authentic and clearly made the the “podcast” feel real - too real. Overall, I’m glad I read this, but I’ll need some time to recuperate. 

I would like to warn readers to check the triggers prior to reading just in case. 

Please be kind and gentle with others, as you never know what someone’s going through. 

QOTD: What was your last 5 ⭐️ read? Any great audiobook recommendations?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Addiction, Sexual violence, Rape, and Abandonment

jjc17's review against another edition

emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Addiction, Abandonment, and Child abuse

jennametheny's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.25

Viscerally disturbing, horrifying and sad. Very impactful. The original ending, while lacking closure, is real and raw and doesn’t bother me. The epilogue, however, feels wholly unnecessary and a step too far down the hole of no hope. MAJOR trigger warnings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, and Violence

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

aryexo's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Violence, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Drug abuse, and Murder

laketwentytwo's review against another edition

dark mysterious relaxing tense

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Murder, Addiction, Drug use, and Sexual assault

pagesihavenotyetread's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, Cursing, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Rape

lucyisabella's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

It kind of gave me good girls guide to murder vibes with the murder and podcast elements. I thought that the dual perspectives was an interesting way to write the story but I really enjoyed it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Addiction, Abandonment, and Adult/minor relationship

cjreadstoomuch's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Addiction, Death, Murder, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

bookedbymadeline's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

4.5

It’s a dark, heartbreaking book with twists I didn’t see coming. I loved the switches from Sadie’s POV to the podcast with West! It’s a unique concept for a novel, which made it even more interesting to read. It took some time to get into the story as the first half was a bit slower and more detailed, especially from Sadie’s chapters. By the second half I flew through the pages, not wanting to put it down.

I think the ending was perfect for this type of story. The pacing overall was also fairly well done, with nothing being rushed or dragged out! There’s a lot of characters so although we only get to really know a few of them, the side characters are still well written. We get enough of a description to picture them but most of them we only get passing glimpses rather than any depth as we take the journey with Sadie. I know I’m going to be thinking about this one for a long time!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Blood, Grief, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Death and Suicide attempt