Book Review: Sadie by Courtney Summers

Sadie by Courtney Summers

Rating: ★★★★★
Links: Amazon • TBD • Goodreads
Publication Date: September 4, 2018
Source: Borrowed

A missing girl on a journey of revenge. A Serial―like podcast following the clues she’s left behind. And an ending you won’t be able to stop talking about.

Sadie hasn’t had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she’s been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water.

But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie’s entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister’s killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him.

When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie’s story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he tracks Sadie’s journey, trying to figure out what happened, hoping to find her before it’s too late.

Courtney Summers has written the breakout book of her career. Sadie is propulsive and harrowing and will keep you riveted until the last page.

I remember opening up my computer one day last year to find what seemed to be the entire book blogging world reviewing ARCs of Sadie. The love for this book seemed to come out of nowhere, and there was no one who didn’t love it. I, of course, was apprehensive about reading it. Not only does hype usually scare me away, but the themes in this book are very, very dark. I usually avoid books that deal with topics like pedophilia, child abuse, and sexual abuse, but something made me check out this audiobook from the library.

I’m glad I did.

To start, I would say that if you have the choice between reading a physical copy of this book and listening to the audiobook, go for the audiobook. It is so well-done and since a large part of the book is a podcast, I think it lends itself to audio more than print. (That said, I’m sure the physical book is also amazing.)

Now, I’m not going to say a ton about the plot because I think it’s better to learn that for yourself as you read. But, overall, this book is about the murder of a little girl, Mattie, and how her older sister, Sadie, resolves to find and kill the killer. Sadie ends up disappearing and is featured on a podcast called The Girls, which recounts West McCray’s investigation into her disappearance. The book is split between Sadie’s and West’s perspective and I was sucked in from the beginning. This was one of those audiobooks that I would only reluctantly put down and then pick back up as soon as I got the chance.

I can see how the ending might be a little controversial. I was briefly upset by it, but then I told myself that, honestly, it was the only ending that made sense. I think any other ending would have detracted from the whole point of the book, so, in the end, I’m okay with it.

I don’t think I can say enough good things about this book. I would highly, highly recommend Sadie as long as you think you’ll be okay with a dark book like this. It was heartbreaking, but so, so good.