A review by lucereads98
Sadie by Courtney Summers

dark emotional medium-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

5.0

I didn’t expect much going into this book, but it quickly became one of my new favourites. It does deal with heavy subjects though so check TW if you need to.

I have never cried at a book, but this one very nearly got me. My eyes filled up at a certain part toward the end, and if you’ve read this then you can probably imagine which part got me.

I adored the format of this book. I wish I enjoyed listening to audiobooks because I know that this would’ve been done so so well.
We read from Sadies POV as she travels across the country in search of the man who killed her thirteen year old sister, Mattie. It is so clear that Mattie is Sadies entire world and she loved nothing more than her baby sister. There is nothing she wouldn’t do for her. Convinced she knows who is to blame for her untimely death, the nineteen year old takes it upon herself to track him down and get her revenge. 
We also get the POV of West McCray, a radio personality and podcast host. He received a desperate phone call from a woman asking for help to find a young girl who has run away: Sadie. In an attempt to track her down, he speaks with family, friends and strangers who Sadie crossed paths with on her journey.
It was so cool seeing McCray unravel the story and retrace Sadies steps. 

The thing that a few people don’t seem to like is the ending, but surprisingly I did. (SPOILERS AHEAD).

I usually don’t like endings that are open for interpretation. But for some reason this one was different. I think it’s because I could imagine it as a real true crime podcast / video. You don’t always get a clear answer with unsolved cases in real life, so this felt like listening to an episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved. 

A second theory is that Sadie didn’t make it out alive. As much as I hate to think it, because I came to really really love her character, I just think it makes sense. Why else would we stop hearing from her, right after she’s been hit in the head? Her dialogue stops, which to me meant that the worst had happened.

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