"I can't take another dead girl"

TW: child pedophilia

I don't even know how to start this review. Sadie blew me absolutely away and has tied with Kara Thomas' Little Monsters as being my favorite thriller books.

The dual perspectives between West and Sadie were perfect and they corresponded so well together. They didn't blend together seamlessly and we would often be missing parts of Sadie's side but it was always for a reason. West gave us the outside perspective, the perspective we would have as readers of the case or, in this case, readers of the book.

West was someone I immediately sympathized with. I am also a journalist so I related a lot to his struggle with whether to cover this case or not. It felt like we were right there on the planes and in the cars along for the journey. I find myself wondering if I would've chosen to go a different way than West did. We also see him struggle with the way he chose to go about the investigation, thinking a decision had delayed his findings. We get snippets of West's home life in small details from him but I was blown away by how much of West I knew simply by his reporting. The pauses in speech, his diction, and his decisions during the investigation spoke more about West than any thing he told us could have.

Sadie broke my heart into a million pieces and I was instantly rooting for her. Her perception gives us insight into what actually happened and what West gets right and wrong. The devotion Sadie had to her sister was heartbreaking. Outside of May Beth, they were all each other had. After a constant slew of their mother's boyfriends and eventually her abandonment of them, the girls were stuck together. Whether Mattie wanted it or not, Sadie became her mother. The relationship we see between the sisters was breathtakingly real, the lines blurred between friend, sister, and mother. Sadie has one goal throughout this book. She was going to go kill the bastard who killed her sister, whether she made it back or not.

The other characters we hear from bring the story even further to life. The crime podcast aspect felt real and each one brought pieces to the investigation, either helping or hindering it. We also get to see their transformation from what we see with Sadie and the fallout of their decisions when West comes knocking.

This was a beautifully woven story that I couldn't put down. From a setting I could reach out and touch to unbelievably real characters, this book has it all.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this ARC of Sadie by Courtney Summers.

After losing her sister to murder, Sadie goes on a quest to find her mother's old boyfriend in order to seek revenge. Dealing with harsh judgments all of her life because of her stutter, Sadie has developed sharp edges that repel people, but also help her get what she wants. This is narrated in part by her in first person, and also by a reluctant podcast journalist who is two steps behind her while he digs up her story and her past.

I loved the way this was done, especially the podcast style, being a total podcast nerd myself. I also loved the story and Sadie's search to find herself, as well as her abuser. I did NOT like the ending, for reasons that you will have to read yourself to find out.

Really enjoyed this book. It was a fast-paced easy read, but dealt with some heavy topics and it was pretty sad and heartbreaking towards the end. Will definitely be reading more from this author, and would highly recommend this book!

Courtney Summers is an amazing author and I am glad I have discovered her books. While hard to read because of the subject matter it is also hard to put down. I hope this helps women to be on the lookout for predators so they can save their children. The ending leaves me with so many questions.

"I live in a place that's only good for leaving."

Sadie leaves her trailer home one night and is never seen by her loved ones again but her adopted grandmother isn't giving up on her. Sadie is reeling after the death of her younger sister, Mattie, who was more a child to her than a sister. Their mother Claire is an addict who is gone or sick more than not and so Sadie can't forgive herself for failing to protect her younger sister. She leaves and she doesn't want to be found...that doesn't stop West from trying, though.

This story is told in two POVs, one is Sadie's first-person account of what happens. It's told in present tense for her, sometimes in flashbacks, but it's all in the past for the reader. The other POV is a show's script The Girls is a journalists accounting of his search for Sadie and what he finds when he goes looking.

"When she laughed, it would go so shrill and hurt my ears but I'm not complaining because when Mattie laughed, it was like being on a plane, looking down on some city you've never been to and it's all lit up."

At the heart of this story is a heartbreaking dedication of an older sister for her younger sister and it broke me. As the oldest of four girls this book absolutely terrified, horrified, and hurt my heart. It's not an easy one to read, these girls have not had easy lives and nothing gets prettier for them as we continue with their story.

Sadie's dedication to her sister, who is 10 years younger than her, is so heartwarming and sad. She is nineteen as the story starts and was caring for a thirteen-year-old who resented her sister for being more a mother and idolized a mother who was never around. The pain Sadie experiences having to fill the role of an absent mother and living for her sister is so tragic in its beauty.

"I turn the switchblade one more time in my sweaty palm, feeling the weight of its neat black handle and unforgiving blade tucked inside. It was his, a long time ago. It's mine now. I"m going to carve my name into his soul."

Sadie's tale is not a happy one, not at all. She has left in pursuit of the man she believes killed Mattie and she doesn't really intend on making it out alive...or doesn't really care if she does or not. She has a single motivation throughout this book and it terrifies the reader as much as it terrifies her.

This book is hard to read, really hard to read. I'm not a stranger to dark and twisted books but I had to put this one aside multiple times. There are trigger warnings galore but please be gentle with yourself reading this if any of them even remotely upset you.

Trigger warnings for: absent parents, abuse, physical abuse, mental abuse, sexual abuse, molestation, rape, child abuse, loss of a child, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, neglect, child abandonment, child pornography, pedophilia, murder, death, blood, assault, physical assault, description of rape and assault against children, forced prostitution or forced sexual favors, and pretty much all kinds of sexual assault and violence.

It's hard to say that a book is well written when it's so hard to read but it was. At first the dual POVs bothered me but in the end, I understand that it was an effective way of telling the whole story and it worked when all was said and done.

*Quotes taken from an ARC copy and subject to change*

A sister's love has no bounds. This story is beautiful, but heartbreaking. The format of this book goes between the past and the present. The present being told through a podcast. This left me heartbroken and wanting to know more. Sadie goes through so much in her life it's almost unbelievable, but her story is told so well and feels so real. This story really makes you think and makes you uncomfortable, but in a way that makes you aware that these kinds of things really happen. It's things you want to believe don't exist in this world, but do and we get to see it firsthand through Sadie's life. This book was so hard to put down and I think everyone should read this. I really enjoyed reading this even though it was a tough subject. The author did a beautiful job. Loved it.

Sadie was the first book by Courtney Summers I've read in years, but I am glad I got the chance. It's dark, definitely, but also very engaging. The way the books unfolds in alternating chapters from different POVs felt unique and clever, and I had trouble putting it down, even though it told a grim story. Recommended!

Oof, that book was dark. I was delighted to get approved for this book on NetGalley because the synopsis sounded so intriguing, and I have been meaning to read a Courtney Summers book for a long time. I’m happy to say that I definitely want to read more from her.

I don’t want to say too much about this book because it’s a thriller and I don’t want to give anything away.

The things that I will say though are that I felt so bad for Sadie and I LOVED the format and pace in which this was written.

Sadie is such a sad character living such a depressing life, and it’s hard not to feel bad for her. I would not be able to understand anyone who doesn’t root for her during the book.

This book is written in chapters that alternate between Sadie’s perspective, and a radio show/podcast investigating her disappearance. The way this is written creates the perfect amount of suspense, making you need to just keep flipping (or in my case clicking on my kindle 😂) the pages.

All in all, I think this was a very well done and emotional thriller.

Coming out of the gate, I will tell you, this book got my from the first page and kept me going until the very last. Summers writing is fantastic and the story she spun was gripping, until the very end.

<i>Sadie</i> takes a completely different spin when it comes to narration and modernizes it. Told from the perspectives of Sadie and West McCray, a radio producer is creating a new podcast. Sadie leaves her small, nothing special town of Cold Creek in search of the murderer of her 13 year old sister, Mattie. While we follow Sadie’s journey, we begin further back, as West is contacted by May Beth, and begins his journey down the road of Sadie and Mattie’s life.

The story moves forward and we follow West trying desperately to pick up Sadie’s trail and find her, while we are alternatively reading Sadie’s first person account of where she is in her journey and why she is pushing forward so hard.

<i>Sadie</i>was one of the best books I’ve read this year. Poignant, raw and captivating, I felt a connection to all of the characters. I think that the addition of West and the narration of the podcast episodes was a perfect way to align with Sadie’s narrative and was innovative, given the popularity of podcasts.

In the end, I believe Sadie’s story ended perfectly, as did West’s narration.

4.5🌟

This started off a little slow but once it got going it was a fast paced read. The story actually switched back and forth between two perspectives - Sadie’s and West’s. There were times that it would switch perspectives right at a really intriguing spot, which was probably the point, so then I to read on to get back to it but then the same would happen with the new perspective and it was just an endless cycle that helped me to zip through the story. There are still questions I have but I believe the author left those open because she wants each reader to believe thier own thing, in the way of the Giver or Inception.

I would definately reccomend this to anyone who loves a good mystery.

I received an ARC from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

This book has a really interesting premise, but it feels like a cop-out. It's well-written, but it cuts out (or "fades to black") just before anything really important happens, and we only find out what's happened later, in recollections. This book is narrated in alternating chapters between Sadie Hunter, who's looking for her sister's killer, and West McCray, who's looking for Sadie, who's gone missing herself, as part of his podcast. But if it were just narrated from the podcast's perspective, it would have made no difference. Perhaps this book has some sort of deeper meaning that I missed, but it felt like there was very little point to the book itself. I got all the information I needed from the blurb, and it didn't really engross me as the psychological thriller it's marketed as.

There has been a lot of buzz for this book-especially around Book Expo this year. And the hype is much deserved. Couldn't put this book down!! Loved having Sadie's story interwoven with the podcast-style transcript of West and interviews with everyone in Sadie's life or who she met along the way. Great book-so glad I got a chance to read it!

If you've already read any of Courtney Summers' novels, you have an idea of what to expect. You know that this will be amazing and that it will break you multiple times. You know that awful things will happen and that they will happen to people it's hard to like, people who still don't deserve what happens to them. 

This is accurate for Sadie, too, although that paragraph doesn't do her any justice. This is, like all of Courtney Summers' books, intense. But it is also easily the most intense of any of her books. It feels very timely but I'm also pretty sure that there's never been a time when it hasn't been. 

This is a page-turner, but it's also incredibly hard. I wanted to know what would happen next (if we would know what happened to Sadie; if there would be justice for Mattie's murderer) and I also was pretty sure that I wouldn't necessarily like those answers.

By the time there were about 50 pages left in this book (a little over, actually), I realized I was so tense, I had a stomachache. The last time this happened was during the last season of Breaking Bad.

Highly recommended. You need this book but it will hurt.

Sadie had me in a talespin. I thought the novel was very well written and had me hooked. The ending was a little unnerving but I don’t want to spoil it. I think it just leaves the question how far anyone would go for someone they love

This book made me feel so many things.

I’ll start with the easy stuff. I really loved the format of this novel. It has alternating POVs. One is West McCray, a radio personality who has made it his mission to find out what happened to Sadie months after she has gone missing, and the other is Sadie herself, showing her story as it unfolds. This was a genius way to show us what happened. We get to learn more about Sadie and Mattie’s past through West, and got inside Sadie’s head during her POV. I actually really loved how almost all the chapters ended with little cliffhangers and you had to read an entire chapter in the others perspective before finding out what happened. This is probably why I read the entire novel in one sitting.

Now to the not so easy stuff. There’s VERY dark subject matter in this. There’s no explicit details, but it was definitely enough to make me sick to my stomach several times. I highly recommend anyone who’s suffered from child sexual abuse or sexual abuse period to stay clear of this book. It is an excellent book, but I can definitely see it triggering some people. Please take caution and stay safe.

This book plays very heavily on family relationships. The entire motivation for the story is Sadie’s love for her sister. I loved this a lot. There’s no romantic subplots and I really enjoyed that too.

Some people are going to really love the ending of Sadie, and some people are going to really hate it. For me, I really loved it. It’s heartbreakingly realistic and makes you realize how the world really is. It’s been about 24 hours since I finished the book and my heart is still aching for the characters. I can tell that this is a book that will stick with me.

Dry, hard to read, and too much cursing. This book is not a good one. I hate West’s POV for the way things are broken up. I hate Sadie’s POV because I dislike the character. Too many meaningless details. I really don’t need to know and I don’t care about so much.

Wow. Wow. Wow.
This book may well break your heart, so be warned
Sadie is nineteen, living in a trailer park and raising her younger sister Mattie. When Mattie's dead body is found, Sadie is determined to find out what happened and get revenge for her little sister, Several months later Sadie's car is found abandoned with her belongings inside and one mystery becomes two.
There are two distinct points of view throughout the novel, we get the story from Sadie's perspective as she sets out to avenge her sister, certain that she knows who is responsible. As she travels we learn more about her life growing up, and how she came to be responsible for her sister. The second perspective is written in the style of an investigative podcast, with interviews etc and follows the hunt for Sadie following the discovery of the abandoned car. ( On a side note, I think this format would lend itself incredibly well to the audio book format, and I loved this book so much that I would love to listen to it too.)
As the author gradually reveals the eventual fates of the two girls with consummate skill, I was completely absorbed in Sadie's heartbreaking journey, it felt incredibly real, and I found myself rooting for this girl who has never had it easy, from her almost non existent relationship with her mother, to her struggles to feed and clothe her sister and care for her, and of course on her heartbreaking journey to stand up for her one last time.
Powerful, emotional , clever and compelling, this is easily one of the best books I've read all year,
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own

Sadie is about a girl's quest to find her sister's murderer and bring him to justice; by herself and on her terms. What makes this book superior I think, is the way it is told. The story is narrated from two different POV's, one being Sadie's and the other one belongs to West McCray, a radio personality. While Sadie looks for clues and follows leads that will point her in the direction of the man who murdered her 13 year old sister, West McCray follows those leads months later looking for Sadie. He chronicles his search on his podcast titled, The Girls. This story is gritty, intense, at times heartbreaking and memorable, just like its title character.

The author knows how to weave a good mystery and pace it perfectly. It feels like overtime her tone and writing style have matured tremendously, although I will point out that I hardly remember the tone and plot of the book I read once by her years ago. But I feel that's precisely the reason why the growth in her writing style is so notable; this is hardly a book that I'm likely to forget about in the future. Courtney Summers makes an impact with Sadie. I can't recommend it enough.

(I gave this 4 stars instead of 5 because the ending felt unfinished to me. I kept trying to go to the next page on kindle and nothing. I'm one of those readers that needs closure.)

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher Wednesday books for providing with an arc of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I think the highest praise I can give <i>Sadie</i> is that it made me cry. I’m not a book crier and can probably count on one hand the books that have made me shed a tear.

There’s not much I can say about <i>Sadie</i> without spoiling it so instead I’ll keep it short. On its surface, this is a mystery but it’s so much more than that. It’s about family, love, revenge, and our tendency to ignore the aspects of life that are we’d rather not look to closely at. The alternating POVs in this story between Sadie and the podcast episodes kept me frantically turning pages waiting to see what came next.

Honestly this is in my top 5 of 2018 and I have read <b>a lot</b> of books this year. If you preorder one book this year, this should be it. I know I’ll be telling all of the readers I know to grab a copy of <i>Sadie</i>.

Thanks Netgalley and Wednesday Books for providing me with this eARC!

This book completely and utterly broke my heart, in the best way possible!
I had never heard of Courtney Summer or about her books before. I stumbled upon this one quite accidentally when I saw one of my favourite reviewers giving it a 5 star rating on goodreads. I was curious and when I found out that it was available in Netgalley to review, I immediately downloaded and started reading.
The book is about Sadie, a teenager who goes missing soon after her sister is found murdered. The story is told from alternating viewpoints. One is that of Sadie and the other is West McCray who is doing a podcast on the sisters and trying to solve the mystery of Sadie’s disappearance.
“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you?”
The narration is gripping right from the start. We get the cold clinical analysis of McCray trying to piece together the puzzle pieces of the disappearance right alongside the passionate, fierce determination of Sadie to find the person who killed her sister, Mattie.
The feelings this book evoked in me were at times so intense that I had to put down the book at multiple points to just breathe. It was horrifying to see what can happen to young girls who have nobody and nothing looking after them. The language was so powerful that you can’t help but feel every painful memory Sadie had endured in her life, from the people who were supposed to love and protect her.
“Imagine having to live every day knowing the person who killed your sister is breathing the air she can't, filling his lungs with it, tasting its sweetness. Imagine him knowing the steady weight of the earth under his feet while her body is buried six feet below it."
How do I even find words to describe Sadie? She was fierce and brave and so so badass that she is right up there with all the other amazing literary women I have come to admire like Lisbeth Salander from the Girl with a Dragon Tattoo and Celie from The Colour Purple. Her strength and ferocious love literally brought me to my knees.
Courtney Summers managed to infuse each and every word with so much raw power and emotion that I found myself crying outright at multiple points while reading. She doesn’t pull back any punches in portraying sensitive issues like abuse and pedophilia. Its one of those rarest of rare books that just overwhelms you with all the powerful emotions it stirs in you.
If pedophilia and abuse are not trigger factors for you, then please read this book. Its not to be missed. It releasing on the 4th of September.
Rating : Blew it right out of the park. 5 or 10 or even a thousand stars wouldn’t do it justice.

Received an e arec from netgalley in exchange for an honest review