Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Absolutely loved this audiobook. I really connected to Sadie and felt her pain throughout. My only criticism would be the epilogue as it felt disconnected and unnecessary. Especially since we didn't definitively learn what became of Sadie. My heart is going to believe that it was her at the diner with her girlfriend!! 4.5/5⭐️
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Girlies, a heart wrenching, dark, emotional and raw book disguised as YA is exactly what you get from Sadie.
The raw and real feelings that Sadie lets you feel when you walk with her on her path of grief, and vengeance of the life that has been pulled away from under her feet.
Her feelings and story will leave a lasting impression on you for quite some time after finishing this. The unavoidable lump in my throat has been lingering even since finishing this book. I recommend listening to the audiobook, as it captures the unique writing style since parts of the book have been written as podcast episodes.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, looking for a raw, real story that will leave you shattered at the end. This was recommended to me and i’m putting it back into the world for someone else to experience this heartbreaking yet incredible book.
The raw and real feelings that Sadie lets you feel when you walk with her on her path of grief, and vengeance of the life that has been pulled away from under her feet.
Her feelings and story will leave a lasting impression on you for quite some time after finishing this. The unavoidable lump in my throat has been lingering even since finishing this book. I recommend listening to the audiobook, as it captures the unique writing style since parts of the book have been written as podcast episodes.
I highly recommend this book to everyone, looking for a raw, real story that will leave you shattered at the end. This was recommended to me and i’m putting it back into the world for someone else to experience this heartbreaking yet incredible book.
I'm a fan of true-crime podcasts. The idea of a novel with a journalist/podcaster pursuing a story intrigued me. After reading Sadie, I'm reflecting on the motivations and morals of true-crime stories as entertainment.
Sadie relentlessly pursues the truth of her sister's murder. She is put in terrible circumstances her entire life and it's impossible not to feel for her. I cannot relate to her circumstances but I can relate to her emotions and responses as a character. I can relate to the moments when she musters her courage to be brave in the face of danger. I can relate to her fear and panic. I can even relate to her self-criticism about her stutter because everyone is critical about some part of themselves.
I almost gave Sadie a 4.5☆ rating because I had trouble keeping track of characters' names and it distracted me a bit. However, l'm thinking now that this confusion was intentional and part of the mystery/thriller element of the book.
I was enthralled for the duration of this novel. At first, I was upset with the conclusion. Upon further reflection, I realize the end was completely authentic. As our podcast host, West, reminds us, "girls go missing all the time." Why should we be spared suffering over a fictitious tragedy while real families are suffering everyday?
Sadie relentlessly pursues the truth of her sister's murder. She is put in terrible circumstances her entire life and it's impossible not to feel for her. I cannot relate to her circumstances but I can relate to her emotions and responses as a character. I can relate to the moments when she musters her courage to be brave in the face of danger. I can relate to her fear and panic. I can even relate to her self-criticism about her stutter because everyone is critical about some part of themselves.
I almost gave Sadie a 4.5☆ rating because I had trouble keeping track of characters' names and it distracted me a bit. However, l'm thinking now that this confusion was intentional and part of the mystery/thriller element of the book.
I was enthralled for the duration of this novel. At first, I was upset with the conclusion. Upon further reflection, I realize the end was completely authentic. As our podcast host, West, reminds us, "girls go missing all the time." Why should we be spared suffering over a fictitious tragedy while real families are suffering everyday?
I made the mistake of starting to read this at 5 in the morning last weekend when I couldn’t sleep. 3 hours later I finished it. It had the flavour of the podcast Serial combined with a protagonist who is touchy and interesting and driven. I want someone else to read it so I can discuss the ending. This is one book where you don’t want to flip to the last chapter.
TW: sexual abuse, paedophilia, sexual assault, domestic abuse, child pornography
I will think about this audiobook for the rest of my life. The whole execution of this book is fantastic, and I couldn't stop listening to it; I had it on all morning because I had to know what would happen in the book's last third.
The characters, atmosphere and writing of this book were so good, with the little plot twist nearly making me cry in my kitchen, and I thought the ending was perfect, exactly the right one for a book about this subject. Honestly, this is one of those books that makes me think of the current discussion on BookTok about how when women write certain books, they are considered YA, and yet if a man had written this book it would have been an adult thriller. This, for me, is a prime example of that. If I tried, I couldn't recommend this book more, but do heed the trigger warnings!
I will think about this audiobook for the rest of my life. The whole execution of this book is fantastic, and I couldn't stop listening to it; I had it on all morning because I had to know what would happen in the book's last third.
The characters, atmosphere and writing of this book were so good, with the little plot twist nearly making me cry in my kitchen, and I thought the ending was perfect, exactly the right one for a book about this subject. Honestly, this is one of those books that makes me think of the current discussion on BookTok about how when women write certain books, they are considered YA, and yet if a man had written this book it would have been an adult thriller. This, for me, is a prime example of that. If I tried, I couldn't recommend this book more, but do heed the trigger warnings!
**more like a 3.75
Trigger warning: pedophilia, sexual abuse
Trigger warning: pedophilia, sexual abuse
This is one of the more unsettling mysteries I’ve found in a while. When we watch crime dramas, we see clues revealed and suddenly some brilliant detective or agent links the pieces together, and voila, the mystery is solved. I feel like Sadie is somewhat more realistic. For a long time, the clues don’t make sense to the people desperate to find out what happened to her. The not knowing is part of what makes you want to know what happens in the story.
At times, it is easy to judge Sadie, but then you remember she is nineteen. You see the juxtaposition of her bravado, grief, and immaturity, and you just want to help her.
Without being too spoilery, I’ll say this. There are no easy answers in Sadie. No nearly wrapped results, and as I finished listening to it, I wanted to cry and I’m still thinking about it. I didn’t expect that when I first started listening to the story, and I don’t mind being unsettled. The very end of the narrative explains precisely why we as readers- as people-should be unsettled.
One thing that I think makes Sadie a compelling listen- perhaps more than a reading would be- is that it is told with multiple narrators, and West McCray’s part is like actually listening to a podcast. The multiple voices- especially Sadie, Maybeth, Claire, and West- bring a level of realism and emotion to the story that I believe enhance the story and evoke perhaps a greater reaction than merely reading the characters might.
The number of voices, the complexity of a podcast within a narration, could have been a disaster but in this case, I think it works well. If you’re a fan of podcasts like S-town or Serial, I think you’ll enjoy listening to this one. You get both the Podcast and the perspective of its characters.
Put this one on your list if you like a good mystery, and you’re ok with things not wrapping up in a pretty package with a nice bow.
At times, it is easy to judge Sadie, but then you remember she is nineteen. You see the juxtaposition of her bravado, grief, and immaturity, and you just want to help her.
Without being too spoilery, I’ll say this. There are no easy answers in Sadie. No nearly wrapped results, and as I finished listening to it, I wanted to cry and I’m still thinking about it. I didn’t expect that when I first started listening to the story, and I don’t mind being unsettled. The very end of the narrative explains precisely why we as readers- as people-should be unsettled.
One thing that I think makes Sadie a compelling listen- perhaps more than a reading would be- is that it is told with multiple narrators, and West McCray’s part is like actually listening to a podcast. The multiple voices- especially Sadie, Maybeth, Claire, and West- bring a level of realism and emotion to the story that I believe enhance the story and evoke perhaps a greater reaction than merely reading the characters might.
The number of voices, the complexity of a podcast within a narration, could have been a disaster but in this case, I think it works well. If you’re a fan of podcasts like S-town or Serial, I think you’ll enjoy listening to this one. You get both the Podcast and the perspective of its characters.
Put this one on your list if you like a good mystery, and you’re ok with things not wrapping up in a pretty package with a nice bow.
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
I did like the concept of this book with the podcast host West trying to find Sadie, and did enjoy jumping back and forth in the timeline from Sadie's POV and the podcast of all the people she ran into and her grandmother who is trying to find her. Sadie is trying to avenge her sister Mattie who died and she is on a mission to find the man that killed her. While we do get a good sense of what happened to Mattie during Sadie's timeline, West is trying to put all the pieces together and understand why Sadie decided to go on this mission and is trying to bring her home.
West uncovers many truths on his journey to finding Sadie, and as he finds out all her secrets he is also reporting all the information on his podcast and trying to get the world to help find her as well. I do think the plot itself was well-developed, and the audio did a good job in depicting Sadie's stutter and making her come to life. I do think I should have just read the book though because the narrators voice for Sadie was annoying to me but it did not take away from the story and how it was progressing.
The ending was something I was not satisfied with, in one way I could understand why they thought it would be the best ending and it was nice but at the same time it's like we had this whole book on Sadie and all of a sudden it just stops... still a good read! 3.75!
West uncovers many truths on his journey to finding Sadie, and as he finds out all her secrets he is also reporting all the information on his podcast and trying to get the world to help find her as well. I do think the plot itself was well-developed, and the audio did a good job in depicting Sadie's stutter and making her come to life. I do think I should have just read the book though because the narrators voice for Sadie was annoying to me but it did not take away from the story and how it was progressing.
The ending was something I was not satisfied with, in one way I could understand why they thought it would be the best ending and it was nice but at the same time it's like we had this whole book on Sadie and all of a sudden it just stops... still a good read! 3.75!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder
If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would.
( 4.5 ) Originally posted on citygirlscapes.com.
I love Courtney Summers. Sadly, I haven’t read all her books yet, but those that I have, have cut real deep. I was super excited to get an ARC of Summers’ new book Sadie, which is far more than just a book. There’s also an accompanying podcast called The Girls, which doesn’t spoil the book, but more so adds a bit more depth and brings the book to life. This entire experience is exactly what I was hoping for and I just love how Summers takes things a step further with the podcast, really adding a whole other level of realism to this story. It’s hard not to be affected by it, hard not to be pulled into it.
I listened to the first episode of the podcast before cracking open the book. I knew the two went hand in hand, but I didn’t realize the book itself was partially written in the format of a podcast. The book delves much deeper into the story and the real podcast doesn’t spoil anything from the book, but compliments the story. Because I received an advance copy of the book, not all the episodes of the podcast were available by the time I started reading it, unfortunately. I think it would have been really cool to listen to the podcast ahead of the part in the book and hear the words come alive in actual podcast form. However, I was far too impatient and excited to read the book itself that I didn’t want to wait for all the episodes. But if you get a chance to do it this way, I think it would be worth it.
I was born and raised in a small Canadian town. Not as small as Cold Creek, but it was very easy to relate to the setting and I was really able to immerse myself in the story, though this isn’t a story anyone would want to fully immerse themselves in. A lot of characters seemed familiar and easy to relate to and the situation itself, while not something I’ve experienced firsthand, was definitely written in a way that could also be easily related to, which is what makes this book so damn heartbreaking. Because frankly, the content is awful. So many heartbreaks and a sad and awful dose of so many people’s reality. This was a tough read, but the way Summers cut it up with the investigative podcast not only added a unique angle to a sad story, but it made the heavy topics a little bit lighter. There was a bit of a break between the intensity so the reader could actually let go of the breath they were holding.
I really liked all the characters that Sadie met along the way, though a lot of them weren’t what you’d call likeable. I just enjoyed how they all had a little bit of a part in Sadie’s destiny, even if it wasn’t always a good helping hand. It was interesting to follow the podcast host as he followed Sadie’s trail and ran into these characters again as he tried to track her down. The format was really strong and worked really well.
Usually I don’t like when books end like this, and while it was hard this time around, I thought it worked really well for what this story was. I can’t say this was my favourite Summer’s read, I’ve read a few that punched me a lot harder than this did, I think this carefully danced around a lot of the graphic details that would make it a much harder and heavier book to read. But what was left was still heartbreaking, almost more so since you don’t necessarily know what is happening or driving Sadie’s determination until closer to the end. I really applaud Summers for taking sort of a known story line and adding some more modern elements like the podcast and investigative journalism aspect to add a bit more life to the concept. It was a short, but not very sweet read and I definitely recommend it.
I love Courtney Summers. Sadly, I haven’t read all her books yet, but those that I have, have cut real deep. I was super excited to get an ARC of Summers’ new book Sadie, which is far more than just a book. There’s also an accompanying podcast called The Girls, which doesn’t spoil the book, but more so adds a bit more depth and brings the book to life. This entire experience is exactly what I was hoping for and I just love how Summers takes things a step further with the podcast, really adding a whole other level of realism to this story. It’s hard not to be affected by it, hard not to be pulled into it.
I listened to the first episode of the podcast before cracking open the book. I knew the two went hand in hand, but I didn’t realize the book itself was partially written in the format of a podcast. The book delves much deeper into the story and the real podcast doesn’t spoil anything from the book, but compliments the story. Because I received an advance copy of the book, not all the episodes of the podcast were available by the time I started reading it, unfortunately. I think it would have been really cool to listen to the podcast ahead of the part in the book and hear the words come alive in actual podcast form. However, I was far too impatient and excited to read the book itself that I didn’t want to wait for all the episodes. But if you get a chance to do it this way, I think it would be worth it.
I was born and raised in a small Canadian town. Not as small as Cold Creek, but it was very easy to relate to the setting and I was really able to immerse myself in the story, though this isn’t a story anyone would want to fully immerse themselves in. A lot of characters seemed familiar and easy to relate to and the situation itself, while not something I’ve experienced firsthand, was definitely written in a way that could also be easily related to, which is what makes this book so damn heartbreaking. Because frankly, the content is awful. So many heartbreaks and a sad and awful dose of so many people’s reality. This was a tough read, but the way Summers cut it up with the investigative podcast not only added a unique angle to a sad story, but it made the heavy topics a little bit lighter. There was a bit of a break between the intensity so the reader could actually let go of the breath they were holding.
I really liked all the characters that Sadie met along the way, though a lot of them weren’t what you’d call likeable. I just enjoyed how they all had a little bit of a part in Sadie’s destiny, even if it wasn’t always a good helping hand. It was interesting to follow the podcast host as he followed Sadie’s trail and ran into these characters again as he tried to track her down. The format was really strong and worked really well.
Usually I don’t like when books end like this, and while it was hard this time around, I thought it worked really well for what this story was. I can’t say this was my favourite Summer’s read, I’ve read a few that punched me a lot harder than this did, I think this carefully danced around a lot of the graphic details that would make it a much harder and heavier book to read. But what was left was still heartbreaking, almost more so since you don’t necessarily know what is happening or driving Sadie’s determination until closer to the end. I really applaud Summers for taking sort of a known story line and adding some more modern elements like the podcast and investigative journalism aspect to add a bit more life to the concept. It was a short, but not very sweet read and I definitely recommend it.