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the_books_music_life's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I almost cried at the end of this book. This book hits so hard and hits with so many different emotions I can't even really describe the feelings I had when I was reading this. I would 100% recommend the audiobook, it's full cast with sound effects and it's like listening to a true crime podcast.
The book follows the main mystery of what happened to Mattie Southern and her sister Sadie, who is on her own search for answers and justice, and goes missing along the way. The book is in dual perspective and follows that of Sadie and West McCray a radio personality who does a podcast investigating Mattie’s murder and Sadie’s disappearance.
I got three paragraphs in and I already love it. The format is something I’ve never seen done before, it’s set in a podcast series format and it bounces between the podcast narrator and Sadie. I can get lost in the story and forget it’s not a real life true crime case I’m listening to but a fictional story
I think this book is something everyone should read but I recognize not everyone can because of the subject matter. While nothing is explained in gory details or shown physically happening the book deals with the murder of a child, child molestation, drug abuse, child abuse and parental abandonment. So be sure to read the content warnings before going into this book.
Sadie has a stutter that is prevalent in her narration and it adds to the characterization of Sadie and helps the reader relate to her. All the characters are fleshed out and feel like real people, down to the choices they make.
The way we, as readers or listeners, are brought into the flashbacks Sadie experiences of her trauma so well done, you almost think it’s actually happening instead of it being a flashback. Which is true if you have ever experienced a flashback. The more I read I can’t help but be angry at Mattie and how hurtful and mean and how she never seemed to appreciate all that Sadie had done for her.
The ending had me so worried, I was so scared that what I thought was going to happen would but thank god it went a different way. I feel like the ending will be hit or miss; some will love it, some will hate it. I felt it was a good, realistic and felt right for the story.
The book follows the main mystery of what happened to Mattie Southern and her sister Sadie, who is on her own search for answers and justice, and goes missing along the way. The book is in dual perspective and follows that of Sadie and West McCray a radio personality who does a podcast investigating Mattie’s murder and Sadie’s disappearance.
I got three paragraphs in and I already love it. The format is something I’ve never seen done before, it’s set in a podcast series format and it bounces between the podcast narrator and Sadie. I can get lost in the story and forget it’s not a real life true crime case I’m listening to but a fictional story
I think this book is something everyone should read but I recognize not everyone can because of the subject matter. While nothing is explained in gory details or shown physically happening the book deals with the murder of a child, child molestation, drug abuse, child abuse and parental abandonment. So be sure to read the content warnings before going into this book.
Sadie has a stutter that is prevalent in her narration and it adds to the characterization of Sadie and helps the reader relate to her. All the characters are fleshed out and feel like real people, down to the choices they make.
The way we, as readers or listeners, are brought into the flashbacks Sadie experiences of her trauma so well done, you almost think it’s actually happening instead of it being a flashback. Which is true if you have ever experienced a flashback. The more I read I can’t help but be angry at Mattie and how hurtful and mean and how she never seemed to appreciate all that Sadie had done for her.
The ending had me so worried, I was so scared that what I thought was going to happen would but thank god it went a different way. I feel like the ending will be hit or miss; some will love it, some will hate it. I felt it was a good, realistic and felt right for the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Grief
talk of drug abuse, talk of prostitution, flashback of trauma, talk of trophiesmichaelapr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
5.0
First off there are a few triggers that needs to be acknowledged: Pedophilia, Child Abuse, Sexual Abuse, Manipulation - All are mentions not graphic scenes, thank God, but while this book is fantastic it could be triggering and gets dark fairly quickly.
Now on to this book! I listened to the audiobook, something I highly recommend because the production of this is fantastic. We go back and forth between podcast episodes where a journalist is investigating the disappearance of title character Sadie after her sister's brutal murder and Sadie's point of view of her journey for revenge, which the journalist is investigating. The audiobook is just like listening to a podcast and the framework is artfully done.
The story itself is gut wrenching and fast-paced. It was hard to put this book down, I was so invested in the outcome and these characters. Courtney Summers writes a captivating, heartbreaking, intense story that never sensationalizes the dark content nor trivializes Sadie's struggles.
Now ahead are spoilers! It should be marked but you have been warned.
The ending of this made me so MAD and upset! I was expecting an epilogue, I really was, with Sadie's point of view. I thought surely she didn't die, that she managed to survive and was going to make a life for herself after all she's been through - I really wanted that for her. But no, we never find out! And it's implied that Sadie most likely died. Which was maddening after rooting for her, for hoping the podcast would help her!! This book still gets a 5 star rating because it was a great book but oh that was a direct hit to my heart!
Now on to this book! I listened to the audiobook, something I highly recommend because the production of this is fantastic. We go back and forth between podcast episodes where a journalist is investigating the disappearance of title character Sadie after her sister's brutal murder and Sadie's point of view of her journey for revenge, which the journalist is investigating. The audiobook is just like listening to a podcast and the framework is artfully done.
The story itself is gut wrenching and fast-paced. It was hard to put this book down, I was so invested in the outcome and these characters. Courtney Summers writes a captivating, heartbreaking, intense story that never sensationalizes the dark content nor trivializes Sadie's struggles.
Now ahead are spoilers! It should be marked but you have been warned.
The ending of this made me so MAD and upset! I was expecting an epilogue, I really was, with Sadie's point of view. I thought surely she didn't die, that she managed to survive and was going to make a life for herself after all she's been through - I really wanted that for her. But no, we never find out! And it's implied that Sadie most likely died. Which was maddening after rooting for her, for hoping the podcast would help her!! This book still gets a 5 star rating because it was a great book but oh that was a direct hit to my heart!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
bipolarblue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Domestic abuse
the_savannahhumphrey's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
karyn_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Addiction, Alcohol, and Death
Moderate: Blood
judyannemarcelo's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Blood, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Pedophilia
thelittlemermaid11's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Physical abuse
ambergray's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
beautiful yet disturbing. i will never not recommend this book, so incredibly powerful.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, Murder, Emotional abuse, Death, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Abandonment, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexism
arubunwritten's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
CW: abuse, paedophilia, drugs, neglect, violence
Sadie follows two threads of a story, the first is in the form of a podcast called The Girls, following the disappearance of Sadie Hunter after the murder of her sister. The second is Sadie's point of view as she sets on a path of revenge because she knows who killed her sister.
I don't usually listen to audiobooks but for Sadie it felt appropriate due to the podcast chapters and I definitely recommend it because they've done an excellent job. The podcast chapters are spot on, the voices are excellent and Sadie's actress is fantastic and displays such a good range of emotion.
Sadie is not an easy story to read by any means. It's about abuse, neglect, murder and there's a running thread throughout the book that girls go missing all of the time, bad things happen to runaways and poor girls and that seemingly good men can get away with hideous things for years. Summers tells you that this story isn't unique but that doesn't mean it shouldn't matter.
The story is compelling, each chapter has Sadie finding another clue and she moves another step towards revenge and the podcast chapters expand on the world and characters of the book. It makes the characters feel more realistic, seeing Sadie's perspective vs how they portray themselves when they are interviewed in the podcast. It made me think about all of the true crime podcasts I listen to and how one-sided or incomplete they must be.
There's an element of mystery and dramatic irony in the telling where the readers know what is happening to Sadie but the podcast is only just finding out and you so desperately want them to connect the dots.
I really fell in love with Sadie as a character. She's tough and she's angry but she is a product of her circumstances. Her anchor in life was her sister, Mattie, and when she is murdered, the only real choice she has is to exact revenge. She has so many facets to her character and Summers really takes you through her pain, her having to grow up so fast and how helpless she feels. Something Sadie wants desperately to believe is that she's dangerous to the men that can harm her, but over and over again, we are reminded that she's just a teenage girl - and one from an impoverished background at that.
I loved this book and I will be thinking about it for a long time.
Sadie follows two threads of a story, the first is in the form of a podcast called The Girls, following the disappearance of Sadie Hunter after the murder of her sister. The second is Sadie's point of view as she sets on a path of revenge because she knows who killed her sister.
I don't usually listen to audiobooks but for Sadie it felt appropriate due to the podcast chapters and I definitely recommend it because they've done an excellent job. The podcast chapters are spot on, the voices are excellent and Sadie's actress is fantastic and displays such a good range of emotion.
Sadie is not an easy story to read by any means. It's about abuse, neglect, murder and there's a running thread throughout the book that girls go missing all of the time, bad things happen to runaways and poor girls and that seemingly good men can get away with hideous things for years. Summers tells you that this story isn't unique but that doesn't mean it shouldn't matter.
The story is compelling, each chapter has Sadie finding another clue and she moves another step towards revenge and the podcast chapters expand on the world and characters of the book. It makes the characters feel more realistic, seeing Sadie's perspective vs how they portray themselves when they are interviewed in the podcast. It made me think about all of the true crime podcasts I listen to and how one-sided or incomplete they must be.
There's an element of mystery and dramatic irony in the telling where the readers know what is happening to Sadie but the podcast is only just finding out and you so desperately want them to connect the dots.
I really fell in love with Sadie as a character. She's tough and she's angry but she is a product of her circumstances. Her anchor in life was her sister, Mattie, and when she is murdered, the only real choice she has is to exact revenge. She has so many facets to her character and Summers really takes you through her pain, her having to grow up so fast and how helpless she feels. Something Sadie wants desperately to believe is that she's dangerous to the men that can harm her, but over and over again, we are reminded that she's just a teenage girl - and one from an impoverished background at that.
I loved this book and I will be thinking about it for a long time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Pedophilia
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Cursing and Death