Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Sadie - Stirbt sie, wird niemand die Wahrheit erfahren by Courtney Summers

20 reviews

middleagedbookworm's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

Listen to this on audiobook! Full cast of characters, and it’s like you are actually listening to a podcast. 

At times, I thought the actor’s inflection, or the emotion they put behind the text, didn’t match up with what was being said. I got a little bit annoyed with the actor reading Sadie’s part because she sounded like she was mad the entire time… yes, I know she WAS mad, but even when she was saying something mundane, or something that didn’t necessarily require any emotion, she still read it very sternly. I don’t know if that makes sense. However, she, along with everyone else, did an outstanding job portraying these characters.

As far as the book on its own, it was very, very good. Extremely tough subject, but told with reverence for those that have suffered, and continue to suffer, from sexual abuse. 

I LOVED how it was written as if being told through a podcast! What a unique and creative way to tell a story! 

I don’t want to say anything as far as what happens in the book, because there is really no way of describing it without giving something away.

I can understand why some people wish it didn’t leave us with an open ending, but I felt like it was done very well, and definitely leads you more one way then the other about what ultimately happened.

Highly recommend you read! Just be prepared for some heavy stuff! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Abandonment, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Murder

tahmida's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

 I listened to this as an audiobook because many people were recommending to do so and my god, it was absolutely brilliant. There's a whole cast, a different voice for different characters, which is one of the things I loved. I haven't read many thriller/mystery novels, and this definitely was a break from what I usually read. Regardless, I think I have found one of my new favourite books of all time. I adored the main protagonist, Sadie. The way the story is unravelled and told has such a strong grasp on me. The dual POV of the podcast and Sadie was very well-established through the audiobook; if you want to read this book, I highly recommend listening to it as an audiobook. Please do check the content and trigger warnings before you read this book.

The ending left me absolutely numb. I was so invested in Sadie's story. When I realised there were no more Sadie POVs left and that the book was slowly coming to the end, I was dreading what would happen to her. After the audiobook was done, I sat there for a good 15 minutes trying to process everything and then I immediately jumped on the internet to see the theories and if there was a proper ending. I ranted to my clueless friend for another 10 minutes about the ending and the book as a whole. I needed the closure so bad.

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Content Warnings

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

lubsyreads's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, and Physical abuse

felixestlechat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, and Trafficking

aymara's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

samantha_is_reading's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is such an emotional ride, it covers very heavy topics and sticks with you long after you close it. I thought the writing was really well done and the podcast aspect helped immerse you in the setting. I think it was one of the most gripping, immersive books I’ve read in a while. While this book is depressing I think it’s worth the read.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pedophilia, Addiction, Mental illness, Rape, Blood, Domestic abuse, Murder, Abandonment, and Child death

strange's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

1.5

I really did not like a lot of this book,  much of the reason why being that I feel like the actions and beliefs of a girl with severe mental illness were glorified. That being said, I can see what this story was going for, and I did think the ending was the best the book could have done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Child death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Addiction, Blood, and Drug abuse

horizonous's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This story - and especially Sadie as a character - will stay with me for a while.. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Violence

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

◦ Addiction = Heroin
◦ Alcohol = Underage drinking
◦ Death = Death of sibling
◦ Mental illness = Depression, PTSD

emilymay_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

toodeadtoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Grief, Violence, Mental illness, and Ableism

Moderate: Self harm

Minor: Pedophilia