Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Sadie by Courtney Summers

139 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

cande02's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Love this book more than I caThis book made me feel more than I can express. All the time I felt the same fear as Sadie, I cried many times, I got angry, I stopped reading and I kept going. It is imposing and very raw.. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence

Minor: Sexual violence and Child abuse

biancahartley's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual violence

crunchycrystals's review against another edition

dark emotional

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

reading this on audiobook is a WHOLE different experience im gonna be processing the conclusion to the podcast for probably 2 weeks. its so hard for me to express this book in a star rating the writing is just really good i swear

i did cheer out loud when i found out keith died

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Abandonment, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Drug abuse, Blood, Alcoholism, Death, Child death, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Car accident, Blood, Medical content, and Vomit

shreka's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Gore, Murder, Addiction, Pedophilia, Vomit, Rape, Grief, Stalking, Child death, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

innastholiel's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Child death, and Rape

Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Drug abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Blood

lilliansbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-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

4.25

amazing read but taking off a star because what was that ending. i am in severe emotional distress WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Ableism, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Murder

jalynd5630's review against another edition

sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, and Violence

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

keyside's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Murder, Sexual violence, and Gore