booksblabbering 's review for:

Sadie by Courtney Summers

3.25

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One of the best audiobook productions I have ever listened to!

Sadie tries to find the man who killed her little sister who she basically raised following a negligent mother and bad boyfriends. 

In alternating chapters, Sadie's subsequent disappearance becomes the topic of West McCray's podcast The Girls.

These two timelines add increased tension as we follow Sadie search for answers, and the podcast that chases after Sadie and her disappearance and the chaos she leaves in her wake. 

We have someone telling their story, and then a true crime element describing this character around a story they create. 

Sadie is incredibly strong. She has a stutter and, as readers, we are made very aware how alienated this makes her feel. Whether people react negatively, positively, or understandingly. We see how imprisoned she feels by her struggles with speech and how others’ preconceptions run her life rather than her own self. 

<b>‘It'll h-heal f-fine.'

'It'll heal ugly.'

But most things do.</b>

I think this book both suffered and benefitted from its short length. 

The ending… I did scroll through Reddit boards for theories and the consensus, and my conclusion too, frustrated me. 

<b>I wish his darkness lived outside of him, because you have to know it's there to see it. Like all real monsters, he hides in plain sight.

</b>

I also did wish that her sexuality was explored more as this is praised in other reviews, yet it was a very brief scene but had a lot of potential. 

Not that this had to be expanded on, but I think I expected more based on others’ promotions.

I think this is a five star audiobook production. However, the story itself needed more depth and a more satisfying ending for my personal tastes. However, I know these very critiques will appeal to many others.