Reviews tagging 'Rape'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

197 reviews

mari_lit's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Grief

Moderate: Drug use, Drug abuse, Rape, Death, and Addiction

michelle_my_belle's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Violence, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use

Minor: Bullying

grays_opinion's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

I would recommend Sadie to anyone interested in a gritty, dark revenge novel and can handle the subject matter (more on that later.) I loved how the story was told, with the narration switching back and forth between Sadie and West, a podcaster covering Sadie's disappearance months after she went missing. It definitely helped build suspense and give the reader more information as to what exactly was going on. West in particular has an interesting arc, going from resistant and unwilling to cover Sadie's disappearance to becoming invested not only in her story, but also in the lives of others involved in her life. Sadie herself doesn't actually undergo any character development, but it's definitely not a bad thing; it helps show her determination in her mission and how deeply she is grieving her sister. I didn't necessarily find myself loving West or Sadie either. I definitely didn't hate them (although I didn't like West's initial dismissal of Sadie's story) but I never really found myself loving them. They're both characters on a mission; I found myself more invested in their stories than the characters themselves. As for why I said "it's complicated" when referring to the diversity of the cast, the characters are largely not racially diverse, if that's something you're looking for. Both Sadie and West are LGBTQ+, but that's not a big part of the book (or even a small part of it.) What I'm trying to say is that if you are looking for a book that includes a lot of diversity and has a lot of focus on it, Sadie is not that book.

The reason I gave Sadie 4 stars and not 5 is because of the subject matter of child sexual abuse and pedophilia. It was difficult to process and generally something that I don't like to read about. However, I thought that the topics were handled well and in a sensitive manner. If you choose to read this book, definitely heed any and all content warnings you find.

Overall, Sadie is a really gripping book. I was invested in Sadie and her mission. She and West make for somewhat compelling characters, although the story focuses more on the plot than the characters. It's a very interesting story, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes true crime. This book does kind of have a true crime feel to it, except it's fictional haha. This is a very interesting, but very dark book; a good read overall.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, and Blood

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Rape

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Murder

Sexual abuse of children is an important detail in this book, and it is heavily implied/confirmed throughout the story. Please please please sit this book out if you are triggered by that. If you choose to read the book anyways, please note that the content can be disturbing.

stevie02's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Child abuse, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Death, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, and Alcoholism

chloenk_1011's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Blood, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug use, Grief, Physical abuse, and Rape

glitterdeww'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I don't often pick up mystery thrillers, but I'm so glad that I read Sadie, by Courtney Summers. This is a gripping novel following the titular character, a nineteen year old girl full of guilt, grief, and rage after the murder of her little sister. If you have access to the audiobook of this novel, (check your local library app) I would highly recommend it. It's voiced by a full cast, and because half of the book follows a radio show host trying to piece together what happened, it sounds very much like a true crime podcast.

There are many ugly things in this book, so check content warnings. There's not a lot of graphic detail, just description enough to explain what happened to these girls. It's hard to look at, but like most difficult things I think it's important to understand what ugliness actually exists. I also want to stress that there's beauty in this novel, too. But it's the kind that makes your heart ache. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Addiction, Child abuse, Grief, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Rape, and Sexual violence

peh27's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Blood

alexafuson's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I was really impressed by the quality of writing in this book, and the full-cast audiobook performance was AMAZING. It was beautiful and horrifying how much I was able to understand Sadie while reading this book. It was a bit different than other mystery novels to me because there was no major plot twist where you realized everything you thought was wrong. More and more information was slowly revealed which made the guess we all made early in the book feel more concrete. As for the ending, I understand the purpose of it, but I’m not sure I agree with how it ended. I was disappointed with the open ending, even though it was pretty easy to guess what happened next. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, and Body horror

gen_wolfhailstorm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The Details:
Narrated by full cast
Unabridged

Well, what a fantastic production this was. I'm so glad I went ahead and waited until I had an Audible account to get to this one. The full cast really made this story special.

The way this story unfolded was genius. I felt like I could really connect with Sadie and the people that tried to help her on her journey.

It left me with a weird feeling of melancholy and heart ache. What Sadie set as her mission was valiant and selfless and I was with her for the whole of it.

I thought we'd have a more closed conclusion, but with a story like this, I mean it mirrors real life so well... there never really is a conclusion to the mysteries of life.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Abandonment, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Drug use, Domestic abuse, and Drug abuse

alohff's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault