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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
This one broke me.
I got into reading some of Courtney's novels a couple of years ago. It's been a mixed bag for my own personal taste in novels but the writing style has always been enjoyable to read and the content she writes about always seem to interest me, so I've stuck with it. And so it makes me incredibly happy to say- this book is one of the most incredible books I've read in a looong time. And I've had a pretty solid year of reading!
I loved Sadie, so, so much. She's tough as nails, fierce, and absolutely devoted to her sister. She will stop at nothing to get justice for Mattie. The amount of obstacles she faces on her journey would make anyone give up easily- but not Sadie. The lengths she goes even before Mattie's death to try to insure Mattie had a good, loved life, destroy me. It's a love that is simply unbreakable.
I love true crime podcasts, so when I discovered that this book was half in Sadie's POV and half in West McCray's (a podcaster) POV I was SO excited. And it truly delivered. Especially if you listen to the audiobook which I hiiiighly recommend. Going between Sadie and McCray's POVS was especially hard knowing what he should be looking for and looking at but isn't because of how detached he is and the mixed feelings he has even covering this case. There are parts you want to scream at how close he is and you are desperate for him to find her.
In addition, the other cast of characters who are either in Sadie's life for a long period of time or a short one are all so compelling. How everyone Sadie encounters reacts to her is so widely different from the next, and hearing them all interviewed after the fact and seeing their own perspective on how meeting with Sadie went is great.
The subject matter for this book is tough. TW for Pedophilia, sexual abuse, drug use, alcohol use, and other forms of physical violence. At times this book is hard to read (or in my case, listen), but you get so emotionally invested in Sadie that you will push through anything to hear her story. In addition, everything used in the book is, in my opinion, done incredibly well and not used for shock value or pure entertainment. It's just a part of Sadie's life, like so many girls (and boys) around the world have to deal with.
I got into reading some of Courtney's novels a couple of years ago. It's been a mixed bag for my own personal taste in novels but the writing style has always been enjoyable to read and the content she writes about always seem to interest me, so I've stuck with it. And so it makes me incredibly happy to say- this book is one of the most incredible books I've read in a looong time. And I've had a pretty solid year of reading!
I loved Sadie, so, so much. She's tough as nails, fierce, and absolutely devoted to her sister. She will stop at nothing to get justice for Mattie. The amount of obstacles she faces on her journey would make anyone give up easily- but not Sadie. The lengths she goes even before Mattie's death to try to insure Mattie had a good, loved life, destroy me. It's a love that is simply unbreakable.
I love true crime podcasts, so when I discovered that this book was half in Sadie's POV and half in West McCray's (a podcaster) POV I was SO excited. And it truly delivered. Especially if you listen to the audiobook which I hiiiighly recommend. Going between Sadie and McCray's POVS was especially hard knowing what he should be looking for and looking at but isn't because of how detached he is and the mixed feelings he has even covering this case. There are parts you want to scream at how close he is and you are desperate for him to find her.
In addition, the other cast of characters who are either in Sadie's life for a long period of time or a short one are all so compelling. How everyone Sadie encounters reacts to her is so widely different from the next, and hearing them all interviewed after the fact and seeing their own perspective on how meeting with Sadie went is great.
The subject matter for this book is tough. TW for Pedophilia, sexual abuse, drug use, alcohol use, and other forms of physical violence. At times this book is hard to read (or in my case, listen), but you get so emotionally invested in Sadie that you will push through anything to hear her story. In addition, everything used in the book is, in my opinion, done incredibly well and not used for shock value or pure entertainment. It's just a part of Sadie's life, like so many girls (and boys) around the world have to deal with.
Summers writing style is just so, so good. The two narratives in this book were done perfectly. I was initially a little turned off by the idea of a book written in a podcast style, but the way she did it was wonderful. There are a lot of hard subjects covered in this book, but as usual the way Summer's writes about them makes it great. While you may think the story is about hate or revenge it really is about a sister's love. I could go on for days about how great this book was but really just read it, no review can do it justice.
* I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
* I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
4.5 - I listened to the audiobook and, for me, the quality of narrations really bumped this book up to 4.5 stars. The alternating structures (narrative and podcast) made the audiobook spectacular and bring the story to life. I found myself having to remember that it isn't true crime.
usually i hate open endings, but i liked it here. made it more real and sad in a way
Dark and gritty and raw and so good. Full cast recording, so audio book is the way to go.
tää oli aika hyvä mun mielwstä, luin alle viikossa eli nopee lukee ja muutenki nopeetahtinen. ei olllu ikinä tylsä ja helppo lukee ja kiinnostava. toi mysteeri avautu hyvässä tahissa mjt oisin toivonu et saadaan loppu sadien tarinalle jota ei tullukaa. tykkäsin et tää kerto erilaisesta elämstä ku mun ja sain uusia näkökulmia asioihin. hahmot oli kirjotetru hycin
I could barely put this book down. It ripped me apart. I loved the multiple points of view of this book. It was so well done. It kept the book humming along and I found myself holding my breath while reading it. There was so much tragedy wrapped up in this book. It makes me so angry that things like this happen all the time to girls like Sadie. Lots of content warnings for this book: abuse and violence.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.