At first, I was wary of podcast-styled chapters, but I was proven so wrong. I was sucked into this absolutely horrible story of a dead girl and her missing sister so quickly that I was surprised and had trouble putting it down. Despite not being true crime, it felt so realistic that I would absolutely recommend this to fans of the genre. 

Be aware that there are some heavy themes, but nothing seemed gratuitous. Each moment is perfectly there.

Where do I even start? 

Sadie’s synopsis was an immediate attention grabber. My attention as of late has been on thrillers and suspenseful reads. Something exciting to look forward too. 

Second would have to be the alternating chapters of Sadie’s POV and then ‘radio show’ of The Girls telling Sadie’s story. At first I thought I just wanted the radio show POV but the more I read of Sadie’s side of events the more it made sense I wanted to read her and not the radio show. 

Third, while this is a tremendous read, I feel like the book carried on just a TOUCH too long. Like the climax took just a bit too long to get too where it ALMOST lost me. I nearly put the book down. I might have had I not agreed to do the blog tour in September so that gave me the extra push to finish the ending. 

Lastly, OMG THAT FREAKING ENDING! Courtney, how could you?! I don’t know if it was... anti-climactic. Too climactic. I don’t know! It’s not sitting with me right and I’m mad and upset! But I get it. And I hate it! And it wasn’t good too! Argh!

The ending is really sitting with me and I’m not sure I’ll ever get to a place where I’ll accept it. But it’s there.

Sadie by Courtney Summers was a hard read, but Summers never fails to impress me. It's the kind of story that sticks with you. I am disappointed in myself for not waiting for the audiobook because the format lends itself perfectly for listening. A mystery, an investigating and heart wrenching discoveries await you dear reader. Set time aside for this as its one that will keep you reading into the wee hours, sleep be damned. Full review to be posted on Caffeinated Reviewer September 4th.

Sadie is a tragically beautiful story, and I do mean tragic. Throughout the story of
It swaps back and forth between Sadie's point of view and that of a radio show that is centered around her disappearance. The further you read the more sad it gets. In the end there is a kind of justice but no real happy ending which makes the story seem all too real and unfortunately, familiar. 
Though there isn't explicit details, I'll warn you there is the subject of sexual abuse that plays a major tool within the story. 
I liked the way the story was told, it was well written, and how real it seems on one hand yet on the other this story is not a happy one.

Scheduled for 8/28/18.

It's not that I didn't like SADIE. I thought the story was compelling and I actually really liked the format: split between the storytelling podcast and from Sadie's point of view. I haven't actually listened to the supplemental podcast that goes along with the book and I don't think you NEED too. It'll just add to the drama and tension within the book itself. I'm just not as blown away by the book as I expected to be.

Like I said, I like the narrative format. All the written parts of the podcast I could absolutely hear them in my head as podcasts. That came through spectacularly. Different voices, the sounds people make when they're talking, background and ambient noises. I loved that part.

And Sadie's story was really good. Heartbreaking and tragic and compelling. I could totally get behind her wrath and I was fully rooting for her. At the same time she was definitely a train wreck that I couldn't look away from, again in a tragic and heartbreaking sort of way. Basically she's this girl who never had a shot, never had a chance, was pretty much destined to end up scraped off the bottom of a barrel.

It's a very visual and visceral story too. I don't get that too often, but I experienced it more deeply from a sensory perspective than I do a lot of other stories, especially thrillers. It doesn't have the same fast pace as other similar stories do and I liked that. It got to where it was going in its own painstakingly slow way, but it didn't feel slow. If that makes any sense.

What bugged the hell out of me, and I really hope it gets fixed for final print, was the distances. Someone wasn't looking at a map when they were talking about mileage and travel times from point A to point B. The entire story takes place in BFE Colorado. Now Colorado is no Rhode Island. It's not tiny. But it's not gigantic either. And the number of times I kept reading town A was thousands of miles from town B I wanted to throw my phone. Seriously. The only way you're driving thousands of miles and staying within Colorado's borders is if you're driving in circles. And driving from town B to town C would take five days. It took me four days to drive from Connecticut to Arizona while really limiting the amount of time we were driving and traveling with a 26 foot Penske with a 10 foot trailer tow. So unless Sadie's physically pushing the little Toyota or whatever tiny sedan she's driving from one town to the next, I promise it's not taking her five days to get there.

It drove me bananas.

Other than that I mean I thought it was a good story. I'm just not blown away by it like all the advanced praise kept saying. It's new, to me anyway, in regard to format, but maybe I read a lot of thrillers and the storyline just isn't fresh for me? I don't know. I just don't get the ridiculous hype it's been getting. It's good, but it's not groundbreaking, earth-shifting good.

3.5

I think this book is more of a book for advanced teen readers and adults than one for run of the mill teens in that the time shifts in the narrative and the narrative style will be hard for teens to follow.

This is one of the darkest and most heart-wrenching novels I have ever read. Sadie, our protagonist, is a young woman who had dedicated herself completely to raising her little sister Mattie, before the latter was found dead in an orchard at the age of thirteen. Even before Mattie's murder, life had not been kind to the girls . The misery of it made me angry at times, angry that Sadie and Mattie and their adoptive grandmother had to carry such a heavy burden, anger which turned to sadness when realizing that there are people out there leading similar or even worse lives, every single day, and the world does not stop for them.

Sadie's story may have been just another footnote in a world already overflowing with suffering, if it weren't for West McCray, a journalist who follows the flimsy trail Sadie leaves behind after she disappears from home and her car is found abandoned thousands of miles away. The chapters alternate between Sadie's point of view and McCray's podcast, which adds greatly to the intrigue of the plot. The reader follows the investigation along with McCray, while getting some vital insights from Sadie, anticipating the moment when the two narratives will converge. Sadie's story is heartbreaking, but seeing West looking for her, getting to know more about her and her life, is the way that the author brings a bit of kindness and justice into Sadie's life. 

This is a very hard book to read, and for those who may be triggered by pedophilia and sexual abuse, it may prove to be too upsetting. Despite being a work of fiction, Sadie does address themes that are very real. By reading it, I feel I understand just a little bit better, all the pain and unfairness that flood the world.

Holy hell, this book hit me hard.

Sadie was everything I wished for and so much forking more.
Sadie is one of my favourite reads of 2018 so far. I highly recommend reading this one!

4.25 Stars. I was provided an ebook of this from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadie has always had to be the mom to her younger sister, Mattie. Their real mom has packed up and left them and now teenage Sadie is in charge. When Mattie turns up dead, Sadie embarks on a journey of revenge and self-discovery. Told in equal parts Sadie's story as well as a radio show, the story of Sadie will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to see what happens.

This book was a very fast read for me. I started it one night before bed and ended up staying up until I finished it. I was so captured by the character of Sadie. She is not perfect, she has a lot of flaws. She was a lisp and she is shy but she is on this mission to avenge her sister. The story also has chapters that are set up as a radio show where the host interviews people from Sadie's life. Those chapters really work to fill in gaps you would otherwise miss if you only had chapters from Sadie's POV.

The only reason this is not a five star read for me is that while Sadie is out trying to figure out where to go next and what clue she needs, she seems to figure everything out a little too fast. She doesn't really run into any dead ends and that seems somewhat unbelievable. Other than that small personal reason, I though this was almost a perfect book. I loved the mystery of it. I would recommend this to anyone who wants a thriller type book that they could finish pretty quickly.

If I was being totally honest, this review would just be me mashing my keyboard and screaming and then driving to the houses of everyone I know in the middle of the night and throwing a copy of this gorgeous, masterful book at them. But that’s not a way to write a review and I can’t drive, so I’m going to have to do this the old-fashioned way. Courtney Summers’ new novel Sadie is amazing. The hype is real. The hype is deserved. This book is everything. 

I have a lot of friends who love True Crime and detective stories. If that’s you, why are you still here? You’re going to love Sadie, hands down. This is the feminist, voicey, twisty book of your dreams, the book you’ve practically been waiting for. Go buy this book now from IndieBound, Amazon or Barnes & Noble right now. You’ll thank me later.

If you’re still here because you need a little more convincing, let me tell you about this lovely freaking book: it starts with a dead girl. Thirteen-year-old Mattie is found murdered and her nineteen-year-old sister, Sadie, takes off in a beat-up car and a few belongings, thirsty for revenge. The whole plot is framed and paralleled by a podcast called The Girls, in which a reluctant journalist tries to unearth the truth of what happened to Sadie and track her down. Fun fact: Macmillan is producing a real version of The Girls, all about YA thrillers, and you can find more info about that here. 

I loved Sadie as a character. Her voice is so strong and so complex. She’s the kind of character that makes shitty choice after shitty choice but every feeling she has jumps off the page and you feel it all alongside her. She also has a severe stutter, which is shown in the dialogue throughout the book and influences how Sadie sees herself and how others loved her. 

Sadie is a gritty book that tackles issues like addiction, child sexual abuse, child pornography and emotional abuse with the compassion they deserve and the empathy crucial to showing how these issues psychologically affect an individual. This is a book about the destructive power of the love we have for family and about the strength of girls to get what they want. It’s about the deterioration of families and the impact of abuse on the teen psyche. It’s simultaneously beautiful and heartbreaking. I couldn’t put it down. 

If I had to describe this book in one word, I would call it multifaceted. This book honestly has so many different sides to it and it’s told in a non-linear format that is nothing short of a masterful display of craft and form. I’ve heard such wonderful things about Courney Summers’ books, but you don’t know what you’re missing until you’ve read one. They are masterpieces.

First of all, I would like to say THANK YOU NetGalley for my free e-copy arc of Sadie by Courtney Summers in exchange for my honest review and feedback! All opinions are my own.

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 stars!

Sadie, is a gripping YA thriller about a missing girls journey to find revenge and a podcast that follows the clues she leaves behind. Sadie hasn't always had an easy life, but it was made infinitely better when her sister Mattie was born. Sadie acts as the sole care giver for Mattie and when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world collapses. 

This story is told from alternating perspectives-- Sadie and West McCray, a radio personality desperately trying to find Sadie. While I didn't initially enjoy the format, I grew to love it! Courtney Summers did a really great job with her character development allowing for me to enjoy West McCray's character and appreciate the format further. 

OKAY- this story was emotional, gripping, and horrifying all at the same time. BUT, that doesn't mean that it wasn't an enjoyable read. There are definitely some triggers throughout this story that I would make aware to any reader's thinking about picking this one up! 

Sadie is a sad story with a strong message of strength, a sister's love, as well as resilience that I feel is necessary in today's culture. While there are some horrific moments, there are moments of clarity that allow you to appreciate the plot as well as the characters. I really enjoyed it!

My 4 star rating is because I felt the ending was a bit of a cliff hanger and left me with a few questions. Other than that, it was a fast, easy read that left me wanting to know what was going to happen next. 

Thank you again NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for my free e-copy arc!

Miranda xx

Sadie is a story about a girl who goes missing after her sister dies, and exactly what she does afterwards. If you're expecting a light, fluffy thriller this is not your book. I would classify it as a dark and grim at times mystery. The story is told in alternating chapters - Sadie right after she went missing and West McCray's podcast 5 months later as he goes searching for her. The format and the writing definitely kept me enthralled. I had a hard time setting this book down after I picked it up.

However it is being labeled as a thriller and I do not agree. Is it suspenseful? Yes. But is it any bit like a thriller? Maybe at times. No big twists. It was predictable. I would label it 100% as a Mystery.

Part of the reason I typically knock books down is because I think they're forgettable. That's not why for this one. I'm only giving 4 stars because it was too predictable for me. I still will recommend this book because I really enjoyed it though!

If you are thinking about reading it, just an FYI Trigger Warnings: Pedophilia, Abuse, Alchohol and drug use is mentioned as well.

Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for sending me an ARC!

Courtney Summer's develps a great story. The way it's written is different going back and forth between a radio show and what is happening to Sadie was a little confusing at first but I figured it out and it keeps you interested. Sadie, is a book that will keep you thinking. I liked the strength and determination of Sadie. The terrible burdens pushed upon her so young by a hard life. Raising her younger sister is the brightest and happiest Sadie has ever been in her short years. She was happiest when taking care of her little sister. But bad things happen to good people and this is a book that describes how life can be brutal. Sadies mom is not present most of the time between one night boyfriends and drugs then live in boyfriends at times she is not capable of much but wanting her next fix. .Being so young left to raise a daughter is part of her problem weakness is another. The book starts off with the murder of Sadies little sister. Her whole world comes tumbling down. It continues with what she does to correct the fact it is an unsolved murder. Sadie disappears after a year of no one being caught. Her tracking around the country has a purpose that is learned slowly. She is smart and methodical and the things she learns along the way makes her more determined to keep on. Good read so glad I asked to review this book and NerGally allowed me too. I received this digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Summers has a very distinct style of writing that I'm finding I'm not a fan of. I previously read her book All the Rage and while everyone raved about it I thought it was just ok. I felt the same about Sadie. The story is compelling yet I never felt fully engrossed and I struggled with reading it. I did enjoy the podcast sections, I actually wished the whole story was written that way. But Sadie's POV was more difficult for me to get through. This is definitely a case of "it's me, not you" and if you are a fan of Courtney Summers previous books then I have no doubt you'll love this one as well.

A propulsive page-turner with tremendous heart. Summers poses timely, provocative questions about the ethics of representation in our era of true-crime podcasts, giving voice to the often voiceless female victim. I'm curious how the audiobook will be produced!

I was approved for this book on NetGalley and boy was I excited to read this one. I would describe it as a suspenseful mystery. The story is about two sisters, Sadie and Mattie. Sadie grew up taking care of young Mattie while her unfit Mother was out drinking and doing drugs and bringing home various boyfriends over the years. Mattie is murdered and then later, Sadie goes missing. The story takes you back and forth between Sadie's point of view and then the point of view of West McCray, a radio personality who has taken on the investigation as part of a podcast series. This story takes you a harrowing journey of Sadie's before her disappearance.

This book was a heavy read but was beautifully written. I was immediately sucked into the story. The podcast dialogue was unique and made it very interesting to read. I couldn't wait to get to the next chapter after the next to find out more as it continuously left you at the edge of your seat. I liked how the author slowing unraveled the pieces of the puzzle. Based on the ending of the story, I'm really hoping for a sequel to the book. I gave this book five stars. I highly recommend it. You will not be disappointed!

Whoa. Just.... whoa. 

I must admit that I had only a slight desire to read this book based on the premise alone. But EVERYONE was reading it, so I requested it and was granted an advanced copy from NetGalley.

The first few chapters were a little slow and confusing. It switches between Sadie's point of view (past) and a podcast point of view (present). At about 14% I was ready to switch books, but I didn't feel I had given it enough of a chance, so I told myself to make it to 20% and then I could stop.

Well... I didn't. I made it all the way to 74% and was so tired, I put it down. Couldn't sleep because I couldn't stop thinking of it, so I got up and finished it - all in less than 4 hours. 

It. Was. So. Good.

It contains some pretty heavy content and at times is pretty dark and twisted, but oh my word... tears. Broken hearts. 

You know pretty much exactly where this book is headed due to the alternating past and present, but I felt that really helped the book honestly. There was just a bit at the end that I wish we had learned a bit more about because it felt lacking, but then again, the fact that you can make your own assumptions is often a plus in books like this.

Sadie comes out in September and there's already quite a bit of hype around it...and I'm just going to add to it, turns out. I have no regrets.

Sadie is split into two formats to tell its narrative: a investigative reporting podcast called The Girls in which West McCray--over a year after the incident--attempts to solve the murder of Mattie and the appearance of her older sister Sadie, and Sadie's own first-person, present-tense narrative account. What's great about this is you not only see how people were affected by the events, but it's also constructed in a way that makes you feel like the reporters are just one step behind figuring out what happened to Sadie.

I think it's best to go into this with knowing as little as possible about the plot, and that certainly worked for me, but I will say: major trigger warnings for child molestation, child pornography, and child neglect. I don't think descriptions of such incidents are graphic, but Sadie does have flashbacks and the undertones are always there. Your mileage may vary.

It was kind of a slow-burn at first, but then I found I just needed to know. I absolutely tore through about the last two-thirds or half of the book. The great thing is the podcast chapters weren't just recaps or the aftermath of what Sadie's chapters told us...they uncovered things she wouldn't tell because she was so upset and traumatized. No space was wasted. Even the podcast host got some character development! Plus, the writing was descriptive and atmospheric.

I really want to highlight some aspects of Sadie I found unique and important. There are plenty of books I haven't read yet, but I do believe I've never seen abject poverty like this represented in YA. Sadie and her sister grew up in a trailer in a small Colorado town. Their mother is young, a heroin addict, and alcoholic, and they are often undernourished. Sadie "grew up" at a young age, taking on mothering responsibilities over her sister and dropping out of high school to work. All of this is dealt with from many perspectives thanks to the podcast. I also really liked Sadie's description of her sexuality (a label isn't mentioned, but it's close to pansexuality, or another fluid/multiple-attraction identity) and appreciated that was included.

Speaking of the podcast--I admit I haven't listened to Serial, the hit podcast The Girls seems to be based on, but I listen to a lot and it's great to see this medium entering YA. Even more exciting: apparently, The Girls is being adapted to an actual podcast by the publisher! Despite the podcast's title, there's a lot of commentary in it about missing and dead girls in thrillers--a topic we've been discussing recently with hit titles like Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train, et al--and it explores Sadie with the nuance she needs. I'm not much of a thriller or mystery reader in part because of these plots, so if you have that trepidation like I do, I recommend checking out Sadie!

"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.