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shelbybowers20's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
crunchycrystals's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Drug abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, Death, Child death, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident, Blood, Medical content, and Vomit
shreka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Pedophilia, Vomit, Rape, Grief, Stalking, Child death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol
innastholiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Rape
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Blood
kelly_e's review against another edition
- 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
Author: Courtney Summers
Genre: YA Mystery
Rating: 4.0
Pub Date: September 4 2018
T H R E E β’ W O R D S
Gritty β’ Fast-paced β’ Unique
π S Y N O P S I S
After the brutal murder of her sister and a botched investigation, Sadie disappears. She dead set on hunting down the man she feels destroyed her family. West McCray, a radio personality, becomes obsessed with finding Sadie. He starts his own podcast as he attempts to track her down, always a few steps behind and interviewing key players along the way, he hopes to find the missing girl before it's too late.
π T H O U G H T S
Sadie was recommended to me by a good friend, and I decided to go in completely blind. What can I say other than that this book hooked me from the very first page. The journey is complex, and the character development and pacing are both excellent. The structure is unlike anything else, alternating between Sadie's perspective and West's podcast transcripts. Don't get me wrong it is no easy read, filled with lots of sensitive subject matter, but the format helps break it up.
The true crime podcast aspect took this story to a whole different level, as did the audiobook! It's a full cast audio, and to say it is one of the most entertaining audiobooks I have listened to is an understatement. I decide to tandem read along with the audio, and it's definitely the way I recommend consuming it.
My one issue is the ending. It's not often an ambiguous ending is unsatisfying, but I'd have liked a more conclusive idea of Sadie's fate. Overall, a story filled with mystery and centering around revenge and how far we will go to protect our loved ones, Sadie is one that will stick with me for awhile. In my opinion, this book is geared towards a wider audience that just young adults.
π R E C O M M E N D β’ T O
β’ true crime lovers
β’ audiobook listeners
β’ readers who like sister stories
π F A V O U R I T E β’ Q U O T E S
"But love is complicated, itβs messy. It can inspire selflessness, selfishness, our greatest accomplishments and our hardest mistakes. It brings us together and it can just as easily drive us apart."
"We have more story than time to tell it -- but I suppose that's true for all of us."
Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Grief, Blood, Drug use, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Cursing, and Rape
Minor: Medical trauma
sibling deathracheldkidder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
In addition to the overzealous attempt at a traumatic backstory, I found the main character, Sadie, to be just as artificial. I think now is a good time to mention that I have never personally been in any situation akin to what she experienced in this book, so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. However, Saide seemed like a middle-aged man's interpretation of an antisocial teenage girl. While it would be entirely appropriate and expected for her to be detached and somber, she seemed comically moody and jaded. To me, she came across as a caricature of what she should have been. She was insufferable and I was counting the pages until I didn't have to listen to her anymore.
Despite these repulsive aspects of the book, there were some ideas I did appreciate. In the synopsis of the book which The StoryGraph has provided, they explain that this book alternates chapters between Sadie's point of view and the podcaster's. I always enjoy it when authors experiment with the format of a "traditional" book to bring something new to the table and I thought the podcast transcripts were creative enough to be refreshing while also being orthodox enough to not be jarring. This brings me to the second thing about this book I enjoyed. I listened to portions of this book as an audiobook as well as read it in a physical form. The podcast chapters were well executed on the audiobook and if I wasn't aware I was listening to a book, I could have thought it truly was a podcast. I would highly recommend both reading physically and listening to the podcast chapters (although that is not necessary for the Saide chapters). Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends.
Overall, the idea for this book was commendable, but the execution was not. I personally am a big fan of psychological thrillers as well as murder mystery books, but this book was not thrilling enough to be a thriller nor mysterious enough to be a mystery. It simply fell short in every category.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Ableism, Murder, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Self harm
moni8's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Vomit, Violence, Murder, and Death
thehappylittleelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Pedophilia
Minor: Car accident
tahmida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Child death, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit
melissa_isreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Pedophilia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, and Murder