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*

This book was intriguing.  At first, I wasn't into the book due to the way it is written.  It is written as a script for a podcast in some of the chapters.  We also see Sadie's POV.  After the first couple of chapters, I got into the flow of it and couldn't put it down.  I enjoyed the flashbacks.  I enjoyed seeing Sadie's POV and also seeing the people she left behind and how they (mainly her surrogate grandmother, May Beth) dealt with her absence.  Although, I liked the book, I have a hard time with the YA listing. The writing seems to be YA, but the themes are a bit more mature.  There is foul language (f**k), drugs, alcohol abuse, etc.  What I have a problem with is that there is several characters in the book who are child molesters (including one who takes pics of his victims and one who takes trophies).  Reading the description of the book does not indicate rampant child abuse.  I would have a hard time giving this to a teen without guidance and discussions about the themes in this book..  This isn't just a thriller or a murder mystery, this is a very dark depressing thriller for a more mature audience.  


Thank you NetGalley for an advance copy.

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.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. That in no way has affected my review. 

Okay. Oh man, how do I want to start this off? Maybe with the two quotes from the book that I highlighted. 

“How do you forgive the people who are supposed to protect you? Sometimes I don’t know what I miss more; everything I’ve lost or everything I never had.”

“Like all real monsters, he hides in plain sight.”

Okay let me start off by saying that this hit a little too close for home. A little too close that there was no trigger warning for those who suffered sexual abuse at the hands of a pedophile. Trigger warnings are important. They’re needed with reviews so those who suffer from PTSD, like myself, don’t end up having an episode that breaks them down. I hate starting off with that, but not knowing these things are hard for ones like myself. 

This book was a rollercoaster ride and though Sadie was getting more and more reckless the further she went on, I felt I knew and understood her reasons. I mean, I lived through very similar ordeals growing up and when I tell my life stories, I’m always told my life is like a movie because of how crazy it is. The living almost dirt poor, barely getting by, forced to grow up and be the adult at such a young age, the pedophilia, molestations, and becoming a rape survivor, as well as learning to make a life for myself away from the poisons of my past that keep haunting me, and it hit me. It hit me HARD. And the thing was, I felt Courtney Summers writing thoroughly explains what goes on in a broken teenage girl’s life as she’s trying to hold onto just a bit of hope, to get a bit of life and to get that bit of revenge that the world won’t dish out. Of finding your strength to move on, to go forward more and more when this world keeps kicking you down and trying to stomp out your life. The struggles, the pain was like my own. And the way it plays out where you can only hope she survived, hope that the world was maybe a little less cruel at the end that maybe, just maybe she’s alive still. That hold of hope is familiar for all those who’ve suffered deeply in similar ways. Hearing the different sides of the stories broken up between the podcast and Sadie’s point of view gave it a fresher feel each time. It raised the stakes just a little more the further you got. And all I kept hoping the more it got along was “please let this poor little girl be okay! Please! Give us hope!” It pulls you, it tugs at you, it digs in DEEP. And all you can keep asking of the book is to go on, continue on more and reveal what happens. Hope and pray, like Sadie is, that everything turns out okay. That ending is still reeling with me. Of all the struggles, of trying to find the relief and freedom from the monsters. And the thing is, that’s how these monsters are. They prey on the ones they deem weak. They do all they can to be more powerful to lord it over and crush and destroy you completely. Sometimes you can grow up strong from it, and sometimes you can grow up beaten down. This was a story of a girl trying to find the strength to get revenge and exercise her demons of the past for good. And it hit me hard with being so close to home. It hit hard and I love and hate it for that. It’s not as triggering for me, but it does kick up a lot I’d rather leave alone as I move on. Because karma is taking care of my pain and suffering with my abuser. My truths came out when he was trying to crush me and now his world is upended and he’s all alone. I don’t even know what else to say because this book just scrapes you raw. It makes you see the infernal pain of this world. Of what becomes those who never really have a chance and find this path to be the only one to take to get justice. This was good and it hit HARD.

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.

TRIGGER WARNING: Childhood sex abuse and sibling death. 



Wow, what a damn page turner. 

I was a bit apprehensive about the writing style at first, switching between the radio show and Sadie's POV. I do wish I'd gotten to read Sadie's POV at the end, but I understand stylistically why it didn't end with her words. 

This is a heartbreaking book, so be prepared for LOTS OF EMOTIONS. Also steel yourself if things like blood, CSA, and sibling death affect you in any way.

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

I received both a paperback Advanced Readers Copy from St. Martins Press and a digital copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

Okay, this was my first ever read by Courtney Summers and wow is all I can say. She is such an amazing writer I will be reading more from her. Sadie, the main character, is such a badass in my opinion. She ventures to find Mattie’s killer. Mattie is her younger sister who Sadie raised more or less. I can’t not rave enough about how much I love this book. Summers did an amazing job of making you feel every emotion. I highly recommend you read this. Thy just created a podcast also. I have already subscribed and I am, not so patiently, awaiting for it to start. 😊

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 I was so damn surprised by this book. I’ve been seeing people talk about it and i was interested. When I saw that it was available for request on NetGalley I hopped on that hoping I could get my hands on a copy. 

It didn’t disappoint, I was entertained and intrigued from the first page to the last. This is definitely a book that stays with you after you finish reading it. 

Highly recommend 

*Recieved for Hinest review on NetGalley*

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