Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

65 reviews

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Physical abuse, and Rape

Moderate: Cursing and Death

thereadingshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Violence

lilianmelgoza's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Drug abuse, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Blood

harpy_reads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-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

2.75

The book was interesting enough to keep my attention, but it does end in a major cliff hanger and the author has said she does not plan on writing a sequel. This always irritates me, so that's part of the reasoning for such a low rating. I likely won't recommend it to others, and I wouldn't read it again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Violence

There is talk of minors experiencing sexual abuse at the hands of an adult - but it is not graphic. There is also brief mentions of violence perpetrated by the main character.

cheraquili's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.75

 

"It was a terrible thing, sure, but we live in a world that has no shortage of terrible things. You can’t stop for all of them."

4.75 stars

WARNING: There is both drug and sexual abuse!

What a beautifully emotional novel!
I listened to this via the audiobook, which is with a full cast, and I honestly could not be more glad that I did. The audiobook made the book feel as if it was an actual podcast with a real crime case. In fact, the characters felt so real, which is the reason why I think that ending was so emotional for me.

"I can hear a lie a mile away. It’s not some superhero perk from stuttering, being in tune to other people’s emotional bullshit. It’s just what happens after a lifetime of listening to liars."

I must admit that about halfway through the novel, I started to get slightly bored; I did not feel that I was fully enjoying Sadie's perspective. Indeed, I initially thought that my final rating for Sadie would be either 2 or 3 stars.

"Ever since Mattie died, it’s been like this, this surfacing of ugly things, forcing me to witness them because living through it all wasn’t enough."

Fortunately, the emotional ending made me love this novel as much as I was in the beginning! As previously mentioned, I was not aware of how much I was connected with the characters until the end. This was conveyed to me since it had me sobbing , and it has been quite a while since I cried because of a book. Additionally, right after I finished this novel, the first thing I wanted to do was to go up to my mother and talk to her about Sadie.

"For some people, the future ahead is opportunity. For others, it’s only time you haven’t met and where I lived, it was only time. You don’t waste your breath trying to protect it. You just try to survive it until one day, you don’t."

All in all, I just have to say this novel is definitely a MUST read, especially via audiobook. Apart from the fact that it is extremely emotional , which I have repeated several times throughout my review, it is also very intriguing and deals with heavy subjects in a special way.

Undoubtedly, I would recommend this novel to anyone who is not afraid to shed a tear! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault

jmadey's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts

lyss_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Child death

house_of_hannah's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

3.5

This book really shows that the YA genre can deal with some deep and dark topics. It really reminds me of those true crime Netflix documentaries, especially since half the book is presented in a podcast format. I imagine hearing this on audiobook is probably the best way to consume the story. 

Unfortunately, I found Sadie to be one-note. She was just running at 100 the whole time. I understand why, but even though I could connect with her cause I just couldn't connect with her. Some of the situations she ended up in seemed too convenient as well. 

If you are like me and generally dislike ambiguous endings, then I have some bad news for you. The climax of the story happens off-screen, so you can only speculate as to what happened. I enjoyed this book, and read it in two sittings, but based on the description, and how much lead up there was to the end, I really thought there would be a definitive ending. Sadie essentially takes us with her on this mission of hers, and then we are left hanging, which just felt so abrupt. 

The exploration of grief, sibling love, regret, and revenge was bittersweet. The multi-media format really added to the story in my opinion, and might actually be my favorite part of the book. I just wish the ending landed better for me. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

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

mellasthoughts's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Pedophilia