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4.1 AVERAGE
4.1 AVERAGE
Katie's rating: 5 stars. I listened to the audiobook which I highly recommend. It lends itself well to the podcast format, with different voice actors for different characters.
this book has killed me a second time. rereading it is its own special joy--seeing the parts that I hadnt noticed the first time. i read this for speech and debate, and i hope to preform it to the best of my ability
TW; pedophilia, SA
Wonderful audiobook. Heavy content
Wonderful audiobook. Heavy content
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes, I don’t know what I miss more: everything I’ve lost or everything I never had."
Ok, wow. This book was incredible, especially on audio. I had heard great things about this book and author [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589039294p2/1487748.jpg] but I don't think I realized what a treat I was in for when I started listening to this book. [b:Sadie|43187607|Sadie|Courtney Summers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544425818l/43187607._SX50_.jpg|56026767] is told from two alternating perspectives: a true-crime podcast narrator who tells the story of Sadie from a third-person perspective and Sadie herself. I am a huge podcast + audiobook junkie, so I loved the podcast perspective of this audiobook. There was intro music and a message from the sponsor (the book publishing company) to add to the feeling of it being a true podcast about Sadie and her journey.
This story is very dark. At the beginning of the story, we quickly find out Sadie's younger sister Mattie has been murdered and Sadie sets out to bring justice to her sister's murderer. The story that follows walks us through Sadie's journey and the pursuit of those behind her determined to figure out where Sadie went and what she was up to. I really enjoyed the alternating POV but being inside Sadie's head was a bit of a trip. I wasn't sure how much I could trust her, but maybe that was just my interpretation of Sadie's character. My adrenaline was pumping through this story as both the podcast and Sadie's perspective were hurtling towards the end of the story.
This book is definitely for high school readers due to the heavy content of the book.
TW: child abuse, rape, molestation, and pedophilia
Ok, wow. This book was incredible, especially on audio. I had heard great things about this book and author [a:Courtney Summers|1487748|Courtney Summers|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589039294p2/1487748.jpg] but I don't think I realized what a treat I was in for when I started listening to this book. [b:Sadie|43187607|Sadie|Courtney Summers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1544425818l/43187607._SX50_.jpg|56026767] is told from two alternating perspectives: a true-crime podcast narrator who tells the story of Sadie from a third-person perspective and Sadie herself. I am a huge podcast + audiobook junkie, so I loved the podcast perspective of this audiobook. There was intro music and a message from the sponsor (the book publishing company) to add to the feeling of it being a true podcast about Sadie and her journey.
This story is very dark. At the beginning of the story, we quickly find out Sadie's younger sister Mattie has been murdered and Sadie sets out to bring justice to her sister's murderer. The story that follows walks us through Sadie's journey and the pursuit of those behind her determined to figure out where Sadie went and what she was up to. I really enjoyed the alternating POV but being inside Sadie's head was a bit of a trip. I wasn't sure how much I could trust her, but maybe that was just my interpretation of Sadie's character. My adrenaline was pumping through this story as both the podcast and Sadie's perspective were hurtling towards the end of the story.
This book is definitely for high school readers due to the heavy content of the book.
TW: child abuse, rape, molestation, and pedophilia
I have mixed feelings about this book. It took a while to get used to the dual podcast and POV style of writing, but I eventually did. This book hurt my heart in so many ways. And it made me mad. I hated Claire for so much of the book, and after finishing it, I can’t say that emotion has changed much. But…she’s not without redemption. But her girls never got the chance to experience the person their mother really is beyond the vices. And that’s just so cruel; but also so reminiscent of real life. Reality is rarely kind.
It hurt me to read how Sadie pretty much existed for Mattie, and Mattie never saw it. Even after her death, Sadie existed for Mattie. And I hate that she never got to become her own person. And live the life she deserved; one where she actually got to confront who she is outside of Mattie’s caretaker and big sister.
I just got so frustrated at some of the irony. Where we knew what West & the others didn’t. And if they had gotten the information sooner, maybe things would’ve been different.
I absolutely hate the way it ended, without closure. But…that almost makes it more real. It’s the painful truth that so many missing people are never found. And those loose ends are never tied.
I would like to believe that Sadie is alive somewhere, trying to find happiness in a world without Mattie.
But I also know that she wouldn’t have let Jack leave alive if she were able to stop him.
I’m so glad Jack/Keith/Darren/whatever the hell his name is is dead. And Sadie ultimately did it. Because I think we can all agree it was the switchblade he was stabbed with that led to a fatal infection. Like I said, I’m glad he’s dead.
But I really wish I could shake the feeling that after everything…there may be another dead girl.
It hurt me to read how Sadie pretty much existed for Mattie, and Mattie never saw it. Even after her death, Sadie existed for Mattie. And I hate that she never got to become her own person. And live the life she deserved; one where she actually got to confront who she is outside of Mattie’s caretaker and big sister.
I just got so frustrated at some of the irony. Where we knew what West & the others didn’t. And if they had gotten the information sooner, maybe things would’ve been different.
I absolutely hate the way it ended, without closure. But…that almost makes it more real. It’s the painful truth that so many missing people are never found. And those loose ends are never tied.
I would like to believe that Sadie is alive somewhere, trying to find happiness in a world without Mattie.
But I also know that she wouldn’t have let Jack leave alive if she were able to stop him.
I’m so glad Jack/Keith/Darren/whatever the hell his name is is dead. And Sadie ultimately did it. Because I think we can all agree it was the switchblade he was stabbed with that led to a fatal infection. Like I said, I’m glad he’s dead.
But I really wish I could shake the feeling that after everything…there may be another dead girl.
This is amazing on audio, in part because the whole conceit is about this true crime podcast that is trying to figure out what happened to a teenage girl that goes missing in a small town, and they really commit to the podcast feel.
Things I loved about this:
Layering the male podcast’s point of view with Sadie’s, and giving her that voice and showing how it differs and how the kind of tone of the true crime show about women through the eyes of men can be off.
I also loved Sadie’s voice. She felt fierce and angry and fed up, and her drive was not always wise but it felt genuine and earned.
This is a brutal read, and should come with pretty much every trigger warning, but Summers gives life and voice and weight to real suffering in a way that will stay with me for a while.
Things I loved about this:
Layering the male podcast’s point of view with Sadie’s, and giving her that voice and showing how it differs and how the kind of tone of the true crime show about women through the eyes of men can be off.
I also loved Sadie’s voice. She felt fierce and angry and fed up, and her drive was not always wise but it felt genuine and earned.
This is a brutal read, and should come with pretty much every trigger warning, but Summers gives life and voice and weight to real suffering in a way that will stay with me for a while.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Sexual harassment