tw: child abuse, sexual assault, drug addiction, addiction shaming, PTSD, violence, child abduction and child death

Wow, this book was so damn heavy and I did not expect that. It made my heart burn with anger and sadness. I felt so much grief for Sadie and the life she had been forced to lead. The sad reality of Sadie's story is that it happens to young girls everywhere. Reading about Sadie's life was like picking up a newspaper. How sad was that?

One of my favorite things about this book was the inclusion of the podcast chapters. It was an unique way to tell a story and it gave a lot more insight to Sadie's life that she most likely wouldn't have shared in her chapters.

I related to Sadie in a lot of ways. One of them being her stuttering. My anxiety and fear of public speaking often causes me to stutter. It's something I am really embarrassed about and it's why I don't talk a lot and remain silent. I completely related to Sadie's feelings of being trapped in her mind because she can't get her words out. That really hit me.

This entire book is centered around Sadie's absolute devotion to her sister, Mattie. Boy, did I relate to that as well! I would give my life to my siblings. Call me dramatic but my family means everything to me and nothing brings me greater joy then my babies's happiness. It was amazing the lengths Sadie went to find out what happened to her sister and honestly, I saw myself in her when it came to that.

Overall, this book is not for the faint of heart. It deals with some incredibly heavy topics that are mentioned in the trigger warn section. Please practice self care when reading this book. If you can handle it, I think it's absolutely worth the read. It is a very rewarding experience.

Sadie was...wow.

The parts of the book that I enjoyed the most were the ones from Sadie's point of view. They were much more engaging than the counterpart.

Though I can't exactly complain because the other parts are narrated in the form of a podcast series and they're supposed to be distant and unconnected.

The storyline itself was pretty exciting, full of tense, suspenseful moments.

Sadie's character was flawed and unique, and though the end irked me a bit, I know it was the best possible ending.

All in all, Sadie was a quick, intense read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This book was so much more than I was expecting. It's the dark, gritty, sad story of Sadie, a teenage girl who raised her little sister, Mattie. After Mattie's found murdered Sadie sets out on a road trip to track down and take revenge on Mattie's murderer. Along the way we meet a cast of characters, some some caring, some shady & some down right evil.
Told in a unique alternating format & storylines. We get Sadie's story of hunting the murder as well as West McCray, who's hosting a podcast called, The Girls, trying to find Sadie.

This book will keep you on the edge of your seat through the entire emotional rollercoaster ride. I had so many theories going on through the entire book, is Sadie an unstable character, is she a murderer, is her uninvolved mother somehow responsible, was it May Beth, the woman who helped raise Sadie & Mattie...?
I wanted to just hug Sadie & take care of her. No child her age should ever have to live the life she's lived. Courtney Summers does an excellent job of making these characters so real.
The subject matter of Sadie is unfortunately so sad but so real. Not a topic I'd normally chose to read about as it makes my skin crawl, makes me angry & honestly scared. Because of this I did keep putting the book down and wondering if I should even pick it back up. But I had to know what happens on Sadie's journey and what happened to Sadie.

[Content warning: This book contains themes of sexual assault, violence, drug addiction, and child abuse.]

The synopsis for this book is spot on. Sadie is a book that will hold your attention until the last page and then leave you hanging onto Sadie and Mattie's story, feeling completely wrecked.

Courtney Summers begins this book with a new and intriguing narrative style: the script of a radio talk show/podcast that is narrated by a man named West McCray, who is unraveling Sadie's story after being called to search for her by her close friend, May Beth. As far as her neighbors know, Sadie has gone missing. But it is soon revealed to the reader that Sadie left town to find the man who she believes murdered her younger sister, Mattie.

As you can guess, things get intense. On her journey for revenge, Sadie faces threat after threat at nearly every turn. So many times I wished she could just let go of her need for revenge and just go home where she would be safe again with May Beth. But at the same time, I understood her anger and her need to find justice in a world that has betrayed her and her sister and refused them both the justice they deserve.

As West says, "Girls go missing all the time." And that's his excuse to avoid getting involved and searching for Sadie, but he soon realizes that the fact that girls go missing all the time shouldn't be an excuse to do nothing, but instead an excuse to do something. That's what this novel really is. It's a call for action and attention for all the missing girls who have been forgotten about because girls go missing all the time.

Summers handles sensitive themes, like violence, child abuse, and sexual assault, with a frankness that is shocking, but necessary. Many parts of this novel are difficult to read and it will likely churn your stomach to know the details, but Sadie's story is one that can't be honestly told without them.

This book is a must read.

I'm not a frequent reader of mystery novels, but I do often read dark contemporary YA and this book happens to fall into both genres. And Sadie is so good that I think I'm going to take a broader leap into mystery YA in the future.

★★★★★

4.5/5

This was a dark, gritty story that had me enthralled from beginning to end. The characters are engaging and the story is gut-wrenching. 

The pacing is fantastic, you never feel any lag in the story. The chapters alternate between Sadie's perspective and then a podcast crime journalist talking about Mattie's murder and Sadie's disappearance. The end of each chapter has you on the edge of your seat wanting to know more.

This is classified as a YA, but hmmmm not sure. It definitely feels more adult than YA. I would be reluctant to put this on the YA shelves at our library both because of the subject matter and because it gets really really dark at times. If it's YA, it's definitely older YA. 

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley  for providing me a copy of this title to review!

This book was a no-go for me. I maybe could have gotten over the switch in narration between Sadie’s First Person POV and the people talking about the case if it wasn't for the achingly slow pace. Also, I didn't really feel like it was all that suspenseful or intriguing. I guessed pretty fast what was going on. It failed to do what Gillian Flynn's books seem to do so effortlessly.

Also, I did not connect with the main character. She fell really flat for me and I didn't feel particularly compelled to root for her.

However, I can see that a lot of people are enjoying this and I can understand it. It just personally didn't do anything for me. No major writing or editing issues to report.

Thanks to Netgalley for giving me an opportunity to read the arc.

Ninteen year old Sadie is out to find her sister, Mattie's killer - and end him. This novel is really two stories in one. The first story, told by Sadie, is the search for Mattie's killer. The second story, told by a serial podcast called The Girls, is about the search for Sadie who disappeared somewhere in her search for Mattie's killer. This tale of two stories works. Sadie has practically raised her sister due to her mother's addiction problem and abandonment when Sadie was just sixteen. She is devastated by Mattie's murder and sets out to find the killer, Keith. Fast forward and Sadie's abandoned car has been found with all her belongings, including a blood soaked shirt. What happened to Sadie? What happened to Mattie?

My expectations before picking up Sadie were super high, and since I really enjoyed her other book All the Rage, I expected it to be quite dark and talk about some taboos, and I was not wrong. I honestly have no words to describe it, expect that it was such an important read and I highly recommend it to everyone who’s mildly interested in it.

Sadie was one of the best main characters I’ve read in a while. She’s flawed and realistic, and throughout the story I found it was so easy to empathize and connect with her. As you keep reading the story you could clearly see how much she loved and cared about her little sister, till the point where there were times I heard my heart breaking because it was just so sad and pure the relationship she had with her. Her character arc was so well crafted, and she was so complex and had a lot of layers that I can only say I’m so glad I read from her point of view.

Of course this story dealt with so many heavy topics, so be aware of the content and the trigger warnings before picking up this book, because they are there. I don’t know guys, the plot was so well written, and Courtney Summer’s writing has improved so much, and I feel it fitted so well with the voice of the story.

Even though the pacing of the story was more on the slower side, I was so engrossed with the whole plot and the characters, and the whole mystery that I didn’t get bored or find myself not enjoying the book. I think it was that slow for a reason, but in the ending it became so much faster and as the revelations were done I couldn’t put it down.

I wouldn’t say though, that it’s a hardcore mystery, because even though at the beginning we pretty much didn’t know what was going on, we soon find out some revelations that made us know more about the characters and why Sadie had disappear and now they’re investigating her missing. But it’s true that there were some twists that kept me on the edge of my seat and wasn’t expecting, and let me tell you I wasn’t as torn with an ending ever since The Female of the Species, so that’s saying something.

Overall, it was such a well written story that dealt with lots of issues and the characters were amazing. I cannot stop recommending it because even though it was quite a dark novel, it was so worth the read.

Sadie by Courtney Summers is an absolute standout from all YA thrillers, and honestly, all books in general. It was incredibly gripping, and gritty, raw, and real, and the format was so unique. I can absolutely see this book having crossover appeal with adult audiences who don't normally read YA because of how mature it is.

I was on the edge of my seat for this entire book - I could not put it down. The story was incredibly engaging and the flipping back and forth between Sadie's narrative and the narrative of the podcast was such a unique way to tell this story, and it suited this book perfectly. The writing is incredibly intense and gritty and it draws the reader deep into the story. The podcast also gives the story a dose of reality - it feels like this is something that could be happening in real life, and that adds its own edge of intensity.

Sadie as a character was remarkable - readers will find themselves rooting for her throughout the novel, desperately hoping for a happy ending to this poor girl's story. Sadie is so strong and determined, and as her story grows more and more convoluted we continue to see new sides of her. Every single character in this story was dynamic and well-written, Sadie most of all.

I really, really hope that the hype for this book continues through its release because it deserves it so much. Just know that this book pulls an incredible punch and you're in for an emotional, gripping, and gritty journey. One of the reasons I love reading so much is because a lot of times books encourage me to critically engage with the world around me - and Sadie is certainly a book that does so. It's definitely one of the best books I've ever read, and one that I'll never forget.

OOooo this is a hard one to rate. Parts I really liked, but I also felt it was as a whole, kind of unbelievable.

The writing style: It reminded me a lot of Laurie Halse Anderson in Wintergirls. That's told from the point of view of someone with mental illness, and the prose is chock-full of metaphors and lyrical language. It's beautiful to read, but it sounds very unrealistic and out of touch with reality. Now, I would argue that Sadie is very out of touch with reality and almost certainly mentally ill, however:

"His voice sounds like a knife that sharpens itself on other people"

Who talks like that?? No teenager I've ever heard of that's for sure. I go back and forth on whether this style of writing works for me and I'm starting to think it doesn't. It makes Sadie seem unrealistic as a character.

I also wasn't a huge fan of the format. Sadie is told from Sadie's POV, and also in the form of Podcasts interviews with her family that are airing a year after she initially left Cold Creek. Looking back, this kinda spoils the ending? And the ending was my favorite part of this. I just felt kinda meh about the whole format, I thought it didn't add much depth to the story and really was just a means of adding length and building tension.

Overall, it's dark, it's sad, but the ending and about the last 30 pages are amazing if you can put up with the weird writing style for the rest of the book. 2.5 stars.
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Sadie has had a hard life growing up without any stability except for trying to raise her younger sister. But then her sister is found murdered and there is nothing left in Sadie's life except to find her sister's killer. Now Sadie is missing.

Part of story synopsis: 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.

This story is told in alternating podcast script and Sadie's story and drew me in from the very beginning. It is a hard story to read and makes you realize that not every kid out there has a good life. It is dark and haunting and will remain with you for a long time after.

“Girls go missing all the time. Restless teenage girls, reckless teenage girls. Teenage girls and their inevitable drama.”

Sadie by Courntey Summers is unlike any other YA book I've ever read. It is part the excerpt of a radio show, part first-person narration of a troubled young woman. It is deeply unsettling, heart-breaking, gripping, mysterious, and oh so sad. When her younger sister gets killed, 19-year-old Sadie disappears. Where to no one knows. West McCray has a radio podcast on small-town America and stumbles across Sadie's case. The producers become intrigued and therefore decide to do a show on the whereabouts of this girl tracing her steps through the backwaters of Colorado. Through interviews with those close to Sadie and by following the breadcrumbs, West hopes to find the way out of the woods. At the same time, Sadie tells her story of what she's set out on doing:

"I'm going to kill a man. I'm going to steal the light from his eyes. I want to watch it go out."

Apparently, she knows her sister's killer and is determined to find him and end him. She also knows what else he has done. Crimes so heinous they are unspeakable. And all the while, West is always a step behind as the search for Sadie becomes more frantic and the big picture is revealed to the reader.
This is a gritty tour de force not only through small-town America but above all, through the mind of a broken young woman who was dealt a great injustice in life. At the same time, it is so much more than that. It is a story of all the women who have suffered. It is the story of those who failed. Those who don't live the dream. Those who live in the trailer park. Those who just get by. It is about young girls selling themselves to drivers at truck stops. About young women left with nothing but a baby on their arm. About the girls who have never seen their mums sober. About mums who are too high to take care of their children. About women who are so desperate to find love that they entrust men they hardly know with their most treasured possessions. It's a tale of violence and despair. Yet, it also shows that kindness can be found in places and people where you least expect it.

This book does NOT offer answers or closure. It's brutal. It's compelling. It's real.

"The girls lived in Sparkling River Estates. It's a small park, no more than ten trailers to it, some better kept than others. Cute little lawn ornaments and flower beds adorn one, while a rotting couch surrounded by garbage accents another. There's no sparkling river nearby, but if you follow the highway out of town, you might come across one."

I'm absolutely overwhelmed. This one will stay with me for a long time, not only for its style or its characters but for how real it all felt. So real, that it seems that Sadie truly is out there in the flesh. Wherever she is, I hope she is well. And alive.

Thanks to St.Martin's Press and Netgalley for this free ARC!

What I liked: I love, love, LOVED, the atmosphere that was immediately created at the beginning of this story. It was dark and mysterious, which is exactly what I look for when it comes to thriller/suspense novels. This was my first Courtney Summers novel and it makes me want to pick up her other novels! Her writing is so atmospheric and dark and she deals with such big, heavy topics without, in a sense of shoving them down people's throats.

I also really enjoyed the podcast aspect of the novel. It gave the characters life. It put a voice to these interesting, unique individuals who come together to tell the part they played in Sadie's story. Admittedly I did listen to the podcast whenever I reached those podcast chapters, it really added a new element that isn't really there for other novels. Courtney Summers did such a good job with this novel.

As I mentioned she dealt with some heavy topics that I found easier to handle in this format. The heavy sadness that comes when someone's children have either been killed or gone missing, the issue of revenge and childhood abuse. Alcoholic parents. There were so many overlapping issues that people deal with in real life and they were dealt with so respectfully and so beautifully.

What I didn't like: There literally was nothing that I didn't enjoy about this story.

Everything about this book was mesmerizing and amazing --- until the end. It was NOT tied up nicely and I really hate that. But also I can see why it had to end that way, so I'm conflicted.

I really enjoyed Sadie. While this is technically a YA novel, I do think that fans of mystery/suspense would also enjoy this book. It's definitely more of a slow-burn mystery - this book deals with sensitive topics and was quite dark, but it worked for my mood at the time. I really liked the podcast-style chapters, it reminded me of "Serial" and broke the book up nicely - I definitely thought it added to the storyline. This is not a happy story, but I felt for Sadie and found myself really rooting for her - I just wanted to give her a hug! The author did a great job of telling each piece of Sadie's story - personally, I wasn't quite sure where she was going to end up or how everything would play out. This book was quite different than anything I've read, or anything I'm currently reading, which I appreciated. Whether you're a fan of YA or like darker mysteries, this book can appeal to lovers of many genres & I would definitely recommend it.

This one just didn’t work for me as it did for others. The podcast format was interesting and I love listening to them, but it felt clunky to me as part of the narrative. Some good bits, but overall, it just didn’t quite feel for me.

Trigger warnings : mention of murder, violence, pedophilia, sexual abuse, mentions of drug abuse.

I want to thank Wednesday Books for sending me an e-ARC of this book, this hadn’t influenced my review or rating in any way.

This book broke me in so many ways. I was dying to read it, it had been one of my most anticipated releases, yet I wasn’t expecting what I’ve got. The true crime fan inside of me thrived through the entirety of this book, yet Sadie was so much more than a story about a murder. It was a tale of sisterhood, revenge, loss and grief, it was a story about a broken family, but in the end it all came down to the girls.



This story starts with Sadie missing after the police had found her little sister, Mattie dead, everyone suspects Sadie went after the killer, yet they have very little information on what happened to her on this journey to get her revenge. The story shifts from Sadie’s perspective to the podcast created by West McCray, a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America, who’s trying to find Sadie. I found this especially exciting because you’d see what happened on Sadie’s road trip and then McCray would have interviews with the most important characters that were in the scene before, therefore giving some clues, it was very insightful.

You can basically witness the unravel of the case, you will feel heartbroken and you will be scared for Sadie, you will hope that she’s fine, but you’ll also not be able to brush away the bad feeling that she might not get a happy ending.

“I can’t take another dead girl.”



‘If I’ve learned anything about Sadie Hunter, it was that she was almost a secondary player in her own life. She lived for Mattie, lived to love, care for and protect her little sister, with every breath.’

I adored Sadie’s love for Mattie, you could feel how much she cared about her, how Mattie really had been her only reason for living and now that her little sister was gone, only revenge was motivating her to keep going. Their relationship was very complex, it wasn’t all good and it wasn’t all bad, I think what I liked the most about their story was how Sadie decided to cope with her mother not giving her a lot of attention and not being able to raise her right by taking care of her sister and trying to offer her a better life.

The writing was absolutely devastating, but also so good, there were times when I wondered what was the point of certain plot-lines and then I would just stare in amazement at how good Summers was at putting things together while keeping me in the dark. Everything led somewhere, everything had a purpose here, it was so beautifully executed.

Besides the main character being someone that was very easy to love despite her manipulating and threatening people through this book, she also had a severe stutter, I don’t think I’ve ever read about a character that stuttered before. Her feelings on stuttering and how people perceived her because of it were very interesting to read about. In general, I really liked being in Sadie’s mind despite how dark this book got. She was very powerful, brave and loyal to those she loved.

Another thing that I appreciated about this book was how every character, no matter how minor, was multi-dimensional. Summers seems to have a talent at creating compelling characters and this book made me very excited about reading her other books.

I loved the feminist aspects in this story as well, how this book basically tried to raise awareness at how many women out there have stories similar to Sadie’s, stories that will never be told because our society doesn’t care about those girls, those vulnerable girls that are poor, don’t have parents looking out for them.

I would absolutely recommend it to everyone who can handle the trigger warnings mentioned above. I think this is a story that everyone can read and love, it’s captivating, it will keep you hooked until the end and you’ll definitely want to know what happened to Sadie.

Wow! This is a rough read and due to its content I wouldn’t suggest it to everyone as somethings could be quite triggery (child abuse, substance abuse, sexual abuse of minors).

This is brilliantly written though. The story starts with the tale of one girl found dead, Mattie, and her older sister, Sadie, missing but the vehicle she’d been traveling in has been found abandoned. The story alternates between Sadie’s pov and a podcast called ‘The Girls’ done by a man named West McCray whose investigating what happened to Sadie. Sadie is a tragic character, whom loved her sister very much and is set on a very dark goal. The podcast always seems a couple steps behind her pov so it’s really interesting getting outsiders perspective on something you experienced with Sadie. The story seems to move at a pretty fast rate, especially with the transcription of the podcast every other chapter. I highly recommend this book, just you know, not to everybody because certain topics can be hard to handle.

Oh god, that ending though.

CW: sexual assault, substance abuse, child abuse

This was a unique and riveting read, but the intensity of the subject matter and tone will not be for everyone. I wavered on whether I could continue, but I'm ultimately very glad I did. I immensely enjoyed the innovation of form in this book- a narrative told in two timelines, one of which being a traditional first person narration of the eponymous character Sadie as she seeks justice for her sister, and one being a true crime podcast (a la Serial) following the story of her sister's murder & Sadie's disappearance a year after the fact. I personally preferred the podcast sections, but both were strong. Thematically, this book has a lot to like about it: the affects of trauma, family loyalty, and our cultural obsession with lost and dead girls.

A final word: I am not comfortable calling this YA. The protagonist is in her early twenties and this is not a book about firsts or finding your place in the world. Yes, the main actor is young, but I don't think that the rest of the book qualifies as YA. This might be a pro or con for some, but just wanted to put that out there

I always like to throw back to my days as a high school teacher, and do the "three adjectives you would use to describe" thing. For this book: Sad, dark, and grim. Despite the fact that this is WAY outside of my comfort zone, I could not stop flipping the pages. I needed to find out what happened to The Girls, and Summers did a magnificent job telling their story.

• Pro: Summers did an incredible job crafting the character of Sadie. I didn't really like her, but I felt so much for her. Here was a young woman, who lost her childhood due to abuse and an absent parent, but she was still able to find love in her heart, and pretty much gave it all to her sister. She was layers upon layers of complicated, and it was a amazing the way Summers slowly peeled them away.

• Pro: The format of this story was brilliant. It alternated between Sadie's first person narration and transcripts of The Girls podcast. It wasn't only that the format was interesting, it was used so well. We saw things first through Sadie's eyes, and then got a whole new perspective via the podcast, which sometimes added more clarity or more confusion about the events leading up to Sadie's disappearance.

• Pro: This book incorporated several topics, including addiction, sexual abuse, and poverty. Summers did not tiptoe around the topics, nor did not shy away from the ugly parts of it all. She painted a heartbreaking portrait, and I appreciated her approach, because it left me with a lot to think about.

• Con: Although I felt it fit the whole tone and feel of the book, I would have liked a little more from the ending.

• Pro: One character I did really enjoy was West McCray. I loved his voice and the humanity he showed as he searched for Sadie. There were a lot of shady people in this story, and having him around kept a little light in the story for me.

• Pro: The writing was really the standout for me, as far as this book goes. In addition to well crafted characters and a fabulous format, Summers masterfully created mood and tension. She had my emotions right where she wanted them at every turn in this book.

• Pro: It was incredible how invested I was in this story. I wanted justice, I wanted revenge, I wanted Sadie to be found, and my emotions rose and fell with each victory and defeat along the way.

Overall: Sadie was not an easy read, but it was powerful, heart wrenching, and painful in the best way.