Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

201 reviews

lal0045's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Death, Pedophilia, and Child abuse

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

cyntismiles's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I really enjoyed the audiobook version because it is part podcast, part regular audiobook. It also gives the experience of a true crime podcast without the uncomfy feeling of peering into real individuals' lives and tragedies for entertainment.

I also thought that having both the podcast and Sadie's perspectives led to an interesting discussion about different sides of a story and kind of the nature of true crime podcasts. I really enjoyed having Sadie's perspective because the people who knew her only knew so much so the information that the journalist was getting to form his ideas was different than Sadie's experience. Whether intended or not, I think it's a good reminder that we don't know everything about the people we know. Not in a sinister way but just that truly anything is possible.

I think the main reason I rated this book so highly is the full cast recording! They did their best to make it fully immersive (if there was supposed to be a baby crying there was or if it he podcast was recorded on the side of the road, you could hear cars in the background). It fondly reminded me of the radio theatre I listened to on the radio growing up. I also think that the audiobook gave Sadie's experience with her stutter the chance to be very honest/true to life. I don't think it would have felt the same reading it.

I did not love the journalist character and he was doing his best but really rubbed me the wrong way. In the end, I think that's neither here nor there as liking him didn't feel contingent on enjoying the story. I was really just in it for Sadie's story and thought his only addition was providing an avenue to hear what other people in Sadie's orbit thought about events.

I recommend this to people who like true crime or true crime podcasts. It is YA but I found it to be one (of the good ones) that is written to be accessible to teens but not so "teen" that I couldn't enjoy it as an adult. There are content warnings but I think it's approached in a YA way so it's not as graphic as an adult novel might have been.

Spoiler Thoughts:
 

I personally was fine with the ending and it didn't detract from my enjoyment of the story. A lot of cases end like that -- life has a lot of unanswered questions!

My personal theory is Sadie probably didn't make it and therefore I cannot classify this as a "good for her" book. :( But maybe she did! You never know! She did get what she wanted though and I think to Sadie that would have been more important.

 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Addiction

anielabooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

This book had been in my TBR for probably over a year before I decided to pick it up. I’d heard the audiobook was a good format to read it because of the podcast element. After listening to it, I wholeheartedly agree. Not only is the podcast element to the story heightened by the format, but Sadie’s stutter is portrayed amazingly by the voice actress. I decided to finally pick it up because it was available to borrow on Libby; I’m so glad I did. I’d definitely recommend this book to true-crime followers, especially those who listen to podcasts. The only reason I did not give this book 5 stars was because the beginning was a little confusing for me. That might just have been me getting used to reading audiobooks though; don’t let it discourage you.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child death, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, and Blood

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Rape, Murder, Abandonment, Drug use, and Addiction

Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Bullying, Suicide, Stalking, Pregnancy, Grief, Death of parent, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Cursing, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Car accident, and Domestic abuse

bookishsapphicshay's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Blood

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.

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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

stephaniekrebs's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Pedophilia

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Murder, Blood, Cursing, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

manuelrcam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicide, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Addiction, Drug use, Pedophilia, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Mental illness

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

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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. 

 

Usually, I like when novels wrap up to the point that I know what is going on with the characters and having an idea of where they are heading after the story has finished and all the mysteries have been solved. But somehow, in this book, it was so well written that I was actually intrigued by the idea of not knowing what happened to Sadie. While I would like to believe that she is alive and just can’t face home without her sister, I can’t be 100 percent sure and that is what has kept me thinking about this book long after I finished it. 

 

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?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Rape, Child death, and Sexual assault

lilthumm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The audiobook is the best way to read this story which is the perfect blend of plot and character. The pacing was perfect and the way information was revealed made this story a real true crime masterpiece. It felt like a true story because everything in it was realistic down to the way men protected Keith. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia